Speeches by Irons.

“We had Richard Sharp here a few weeks ago and he described the licence fee as regressive. Will you be thinking about how we could perhaps make the licence fee fairer? Will those discussions happen?”

“The impacts on the wider sector—the commercial sector—if the BBC can suddenly start running advertising, for example, would be massive and might have unintended consequences. Would you be looking at the wider impact on the sector, not just on public service broadcasters?”

“I should declare that I used to work for a public service broadcaster before coming to Parliament. You mentioned that you had discontinued the funding model review and that you are rolling it into the charter review process. Are you thinking about reforming the licence fee more than replacing it?”

“I will talk a bit about the BBC and ask some questions on that. The charter renewal is coming up in 2027. You have talked about having a BBC that means the public can, "feel ownership of their national broadcaster", and that reflects our country, and that everyone has a stake in. How will you feed that into the charter…”

“I congratulate the hon. Member for Glastonbury and Somerton (Sarah Dyke) on securing the debate and my hon. Friend the Member for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard (Alex Mayer) on her maiden speech. It is an exciting speech to get off the list. I am fortunate enough to be a Londoner, and not just any Londoner but one luck…”

“There you go. As a Londoner who grew up with a well-integrated, well-run and efficient public transport system, I know when I raise issues around under-investment from the Government into our services, there will be colleagues who represent constituencies such as the one my husband grew up in who have to wait an hour f…”

“8. What steps her Department is taking to incorporate information collected by youth sector organisations into the national youth strategy.”

“On Tuesday, I chaired the all-party parliamentary group on youth affairs, where we discussed this Government’s plans for a national youth strategy with more than 80 young people and organisations from across the sector, including grassroots organisations such as Reaching Higher from my constituency, which supports youn…”

“It is going to become more of a crowded and competitive landscape as time goes on. What are you hoping will set the BBC apart from your competitors as we go forward?”

“Mr Sambrook, do you have any thoughts about the BBC’s position in fighting disinformation and things like that?”

“I will pick up on that point about information and disinformation. Mr Sharp, in your speech in January 2023, you said, “The BBC now has an opportunity…to establish ourselves as the pre-eminent purveyor of facts to the world in, what is in practice, the disinformation age”. What do you think makes the BBC that global go…”

“Thank you for coming in today. I am thinking a bit more about something you mentioned earlier, Jon—about trust and the BBC leading the way globally on that. How is the BBC building that trust with such different audiences? You are bringing forward quite a diverse range of voices, so how do you build trust among such va…”

“I think I agree about the BBC not marking its own homework. That is a good point, and it allows the BBC to stand on its own two feet and maintain that trust and that brand. I suppose the challenge for the BBC is how it allows its competitors to get away with not having the same level of scrutiny. It is a different sort…”

“Mr Sambrook, do you have any thoughts about the BBC’s position in fighting disinformation and things like that?”

“I will pick up on that point about information and disinformation. Mr Sharp, in your speech in January 2023, you said, “The BBC now has an opportunity…to establish ourselves as the pre-eminent purveyor of facts to the world in, what is in practice, the disinformation age”. What do you think makes the BBC that global go…”

“It is going to become more of a crowded and competitive landscape as time goes on. What are you hoping will set the BBC apart from your competitors as we go forward?”

“Thank you for coming in today. I am thinking a bit more about something you mentioned earlier, Jon—about trust and the BBC leading the way globally on that. How is the BBC building that trust with such different audiences? You are bringing forward quite a diverse range of voices, so how do you build trust among such va…”

“I think I agree about the BBC not marking its own homework. That is a good point, and it allows the BBC to stand on its own two feet and maintain that trust and that brand. I suppose the challenge for the BBC is how it allows its competitors to get away with not having the same level of scrutiny. It is a different sort…”

“I welcome the announcement this week of the Government’s commitment to developing a national youth strategy, and youth organisations in my constituency look forward to contributing to it. However, given the 73% reduction in spending on youth services under the previous Government and reports by the Children’s Society t…”

“I welcome the Government’s commitment to bringing youth services together, and we in the all-party parliamentary group on youth affairs, which I chair, look forward to playing our part. However, owing to the 73% reduction in youth services at a local level, local groups such as Croydon Youth Consortium in my constituen…”