Speeches by Smith.

“In terms of how it is collected, what is the mechanism and, more importantly, what is the level of evasion? Has that changed since the system was introduced?”

“That is helpful. It sounds like it needs a fairly high degree of consensus from the 16 regional authorities. Can they block it?”

“We would like to explore the German model in a little more detail, if that is all right. Justin, can you explain how the household levy works in practice in Germany, including who is required to pay it, how it is collected and how it is distributed?”

“On the detail of that, would you say, “You have to pay the licence fee if you have a TV or a broadband feed”? How would it work?”

“Any of those things—all of the above.”

“Yes, or if you have a smartphone—whatever.”

“I should have declared an interest, as I am supposed to every week, as the chair of the all-party group on the BBC. Secondly, we have had a number of contributions, over a period of time, about whether, as a potential funding option, a levy on streamers and other platforms could provide significant income for the BBC. …”

“On the detail of that, would you say, “You have to pay the licence fee if you have a TV or a broadband feed”? How would it work?”

“I should have declared an interest, as I am supposed to every week, as the chair of the all-party group on the BBC. Secondly, we have had a number of contributions, over a period of time, about whether, as a potential funding option, a levy on streamers and other platforms could provide significant income for the BBC. …”

“As you will have seen, the Government have ruled out a number of funding options in the Green Paper. We are still trying to tease out the pros and cons of them all. There are a couple of other options in respect of which you could help us to tease out the pros and cons. First, what are your views on the pros and cons o…”

“As you will have seen, the Government have ruled out a number of funding options in the Green Paper. We are still trying to tease out the pros and cons of them all. There are a couple of other options in respect of which you could help us to tease out the pros and cons. First, what are your views on the pros and cons o…”

“Maybe we should be asking somebody else that question, in due course.”

“Maybe we should be asking somebody else that question, in due course.”

“It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Sir John Hayes), who made a characteristically interesting speech. I agree very much on the need to improve our investment in productivity and skills. I will start by making a very brief tribute to Suzannah Reeves, Joanna Midgley, John…”

“Marina, you referred to the BBC questionnaire. There were nearly 900,000 responses, and some 90% said that independence is really important. You referred to the figures. How do you explain the 48% who believe that the BBC is independent of Government and the 38% who do not?”

“James, we tend to focus on news and current affairs when we talk about independence from political influence. In your life as a creative, have you ever felt any caution because of concerns about political influence, either in commissioning or your personal work?”

“I am chair of the APPG for the BBC.”

“Do you think the general public know about the Government appointments, or is it more about their political view when they start viewing the BBC?”

“Marina, you referred to the BBC questionnaire. There were nearly 900,000 responses, and some 90% said that independence is really important. You referred to the figures. How do you explain the 48% who believe that the BBC is independent of Government and the 38% who do not?”

“James, we tend to focus on news and current affairs when we talk about independence from political influence. In your life as a creative, have you ever felt any caution because of concerns about political influence, either in commissioning or your personal work?”