Speeches by Smith.

“Sixteen banks have closed in Manchester Withington in the last five years, and the impending closure of the NatWest in Chorlton and the Halifax in Didsbury means there will be just one bank left in my constituency. Most of us bank online nowadays, but individuals and businesses still need to access local services. I do…”

“I congratulate my hon. Friend on his well-deserved elevation to ministerial office. Even though digital ID will make it easier for people to access public services and engage with public bodies, there is still an awful lot of disinformation, and frankly conspiracy theories, out there trying to undermine the case for it…”

“10. What steps he plans to take to consult the public on the design of the digital ID scheme.”

“Ian, you said that you think that the tax credit is a better solution than the YAC fund. If the YAC fund were funded by a levy on streamers and YouTube, would you still take that?”

“Do any of those have some sort of culturally influential criteria?”

“I want to talk about the Young Audiences Content Fund a little bit, because, in the course of our inquiry, we have had a large number of people saying that it is a great idea and being quite enthusiastic about some form of Young Audiences Content Fund. Why is the BBC maybe less enthusiastic about it?”

“Patricia, in your speech to the Children’s Media Summit, you said, “Platforms that succeed with children must share responsibility and invest accordingly”.”

“I need to declare an interest as the recently elected chair of the all-party parliamentary group on the BBC. I want to talk a little bit about financial support. Patricia, you proposed an extra uplift in the tax credit for culturally relevant children’s content. Can you talk to us about what you want to achieve with th…”

“How do you know that? What assessment have you made of the attractiveness of the UK in that context?”

“You mentioned that in the enhanced incentive for independent film. Are you aware of any work that’s going on to assess the impact of that?”

“Presumably, you have had some discussions about this proposal with Treasury or DCMS. What response have you had, if any?”

“Presumably, it supports some type of YAC fund if it was paid for by the video-sharing platforms and international streamers.”

“You are calling for them, presumably, to provide some up-front finance, and which specific platforms are you referring to there?”

“In your speech, Patricia, you referred to the levies in France and Germany. Do they only apply to subscription streamers, and not video-sharing platforms like YouTube?”

“We also heard about what has been described as a postcode lottery, both in terms of the interpretation of what is needed to go through the processes and the capacity to deliver these things. What actions can we take nationally to end the postcode lottery and improve the capacity, expertise, and the consistency of the p…”

“Are you making those happen?”

“Generally, in terms of improving the process.”

“Anything from DCMS on that particular topic?”

“Can we talk about listed building consent briefly? We have heard from a number of people about the delays and inconsistency in the process. Is the Cabinet Office doing anything to accelerate listed building consent for public estate re-use?”

“Yes, but where other Departments can see an advantage in the policy change, they can make the case, can they not? I would encourage both Departments to make the case in this situation. Are there any other financial, or other, incentives that you can use to promote repair, reuse and conversion into new homes?”