Speeches by Irons.

“It seems that not much was said publicly in response to the memo in general. How did we get to this point where we were not really responding to the points that were raised publicly for quite a long time?”

“Thanks so much for coming in today. Sir Robbie, in your view, what took the board so long to publish a response?”

“Yes, but I was wondering whether there were any conversations. Were your views canvassed in any way? Were you asked your opinion?”

“Okay.”

“Caroline has just outlined that better training has been put in place for data analysis, because anyone can look at a spreadsheet and come up with an answer for anything. She has outlined the actions that were taken off the back of that clear failure. Where that has happened, is that not the BBC behaving in the way it …”

“Can I clarify something? Dr Shah, you said that you were not involved in Sir Robbie coming on to the board, but, Sir Robbie, did you have any role in Dr Shah becoming chair? Sir Robbie Gibb indicated dissent.”

“Yes.”

“Thanks very much for coming in today. I will declare some interests: I used to work at Channel 4, my husband still works there, and I have two small children who are addicted to little screens. My level of parenting at this point is, “Does it have a beginning, middle and end?” If it does, I am like, “Okay, you can watc…”

“That doesn’t pay the bills, though, does it?”

“How can we incentivise the retention of intellectual property in this country?”

“Do you think the fund would be a good way to start in getting that onward journey and retaining iconic brands?”

“Do you think there is a future model in which public service providers could create content for video streaming platforms but retain the IP?”

“Sorry, I mean is there a way they could make it big on a global streaming platform, but make extra money out of the merchandising that comes off the back of it?”

“I am going to turn to prominence, which has come up quite a lot. There is something around not all children’s content being the same—there is a big difference between “Cocomelon” and “Hey Duggee”—but, as you alluded to earlier, if you are a parent letting your child on these platforms, there is not any way of distingui…”

“Would you look to extend that same legislation around prominence on smart TVs to VSPs as well?”

“You have put forward a framework around quality-based content and making it surface. What is in that and how would that practically work?”

“Finally, what do you think the incentive would be to make YouTube do all of this voluntarily?”

“Now, more than ever, the role of the BBC in our national story and our democracy and the trust we put in it are vital. Trust is not given; it is earned, and we cannot shy away when things go wrong. Does the Culture Secretary agree with me that the charter should focus on transparency, accountability and measurable comm…”

“7. What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of NHS online on waiting times.”

“The wellbeing of our nation’s young people remains in crisis, with one in five having a probable mental health condition and the number being referred to emergency mental health care continuing to rise. In communities like mine in Croydon East, where young people are waiting months and sometimes even years for help, fa…”