Speeches by Rutland.

“Are there any funding models that you would want to see come off the table?”

“There has been speculation in the media about the Government’s thinking on BBC funding, notably about general taxation. Have you had any conversations with the Government about the breadth of funding options under consideration?”

“So from your perspective, working out what the public and other stakeholders want the BBC to be for comes first, and the funding model follows from that.”

“Yes.”

“Moving on slightly, the Government said that funding of the BBC would be discussed as part of the charter review process. What was your instinctive reaction to the linking of the two? Is it predictable, frustrating?”

“It seems to me that the people who would be most likely to participate, if there were direct elections to the board, are the most engaged individuals.”

“Beyond direct elections to the board, what other ways do you think it might be possible to improve the public sense of ownership of the BBC?”

“You mentioned the potential for activists to take over under the various mutualisation models and you talked earlier about protecting the BBC’s independence as part of charter renewal. If there were direct elections for representatives to the board, do you think that that could politicise the BBC? It seems to me that d…”

“Good morning. I will ask a bit more about how the public might gain a greater sense of ownership over the BBC. Dr Shah, the Culture Secretary has said that mutualisation is something worth exploring as part of the debate over the BBC’s future. What do you think that would look like in practice for the BBC?”

“I chair the BBC APPG.”

“Going back to the licence fee, we were talking about the level of return that you are seeing from the licence fee and the number of people currently not paying it. What specific measures are being implemented to combat licence fee evasion and do you feel that they are working?”

“What about a streamer levy?”

“Moving from sources of income to streams of expenditure, what is happening with your spending on high-end TV to compete with the global streamers, and does that result in difficulties on the amount that you have to spend on content for other genres?”

“It feels like a reformed licence fee remains the preferred model from your perspective. There has been a fall in the number of people paying the licence fee and that trend seems set to continue. How would you see a reformed licence fee, whether reformed in how it is paid or in its enforcement, reversing the decline?”

“Do you have a specific view on general taxation? We have seen the Government make quite difficult spending decisions in the past week. Is there not a risk that further difficult decisions would come if the BBC were to be rolled into general taxation funding, and that there would be competing pressures and increased pol…”

“T4. Many of my constituents face extortionate hikes in service charges while getting little in return, with repairs not being carried out, poor service and a lack of transparency and accountability from their managing agent, FirstPort. Can the Minister outline what the Government are doing to bring an end to the scanda…”

“It is a privilege to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I thank the hon. Member for Chichester (Jess Brown-Fuller) for securing this important debate. Maternity services are a vital part of our national health service. They are unique in that they are entrusted not only with the care of newborns at their m…”

“My constituents in East Worthing and Shoreham, and all those served by Southern Water, face a 47% increase in their bills after years of mismanagement by the company and the previous Government. Will the Leader of the House assure me that the Government will ensure that the additional money that my constituents will be…”

“We have talked a little bit about lottery funding already, how much lottery funding currently goes to high-end television, and are you satisfied with the amount?”

“I am going to ask about supporting British high-end television. The inquiry has heard that the contractual practices of streamers can make it difficult for British production entities and independent production companies to build long-term, sustainable businesses, because the streamers can own pretty much all of the ri…”