Speeches by Peacock.

“I can come in on that. It speaks to feedback, but, in terms of complaints, there is of course the BBC First service. If you complain to the BBC, you can then escalate it to the executive complaints unit. The detail was run through in your previous session with the BBC, so audiences who are not happy can certainly feed …”

“Yes. It is hard to tell. If I was to ask my constituents in Barnsley if they listen to the World Service, I would suspect that they would say not. However, if I was to talk to them about some of the motivators and reasons behind the World Service that this Committee has been exploring, and the huge contribution that it…”

“It absolutely is a huge part of our soft power across the world, and I am sure that Baroness Chapman can speak to some of the specifics on that. Certainly, from my Department’s perspective, the World Service has a huge part to play in broadcasting, across the world to 58 countries and in 42 languages[1], the voice of G…”

“It will be jointly chaired between the two Departments. The Foreign Secretary said in front of your Committee that it is about getting greater bang for our buck. We have a huge amount of soft power, and a lot of that does fall into our Department with the creative sectors, the sports sectors and so on. It is about grea…”

“Of course, and there is a complaints procedure right now. A complaint goes to the BBC first, and it can then be escalated. If the hon. Gentleman’s constituents are not happy, they can then go to Ofcom. As part of the charter review, it is absolutely right that all members of the public can have their say. We will be la…”

“The shorter-term settlement, as Baroness Chapman has outlined, was a negotiation between the Foreign Office and the Treasury. We work closely with the Treasury and the Foreign Office, and we meet regularly with the BBC as a whole. In terms of the short to medium term, we will have the second spending review. The longer…”

“I am happy to step in. I do not want to misquote the Secretary of State, but I believe she was in front of the Committee last week and used words around “increasingly unsustainable”. We all recognise that, over the last 10 to 15 years, the BBC has had a very challenging funding situation. Depending on what estimate you…”

“In terms of how we look at the funding of the World Service, we are assuming that its longer-term funding will be considered as part of the charter review. However, I do appreciate—and this point has been put to me by the World Service and others—that that is, ultimately, two and a half years away. In terms of the shor…”

“It will be jointly chaired between the two Departments. The Foreign Secretary said in front of your Committee that it is about getting greater bang for our buck. We have a huge amount of soft power, and a lot of that does fall into our Department with the creative sectors, the sports sectors and so on. It is about grea…”

“The shorter-term settlement, as Baroness Chapman has outlined, was a negotiation between the Foreign Office and the Treasury. We work closely with the Treasury and the Foreign Office, and we meet regularly with the BBC as a whole. In terms of the short to medium term, we will have the second spending review. The longer…”

“I am happy to step in. I do not want to misquote the Secretary of State, but I believe she was in front of the Committee last week and used words around “increasingly unsustainable”. We all recognise that, over the last 10 to 15 years, the BBC has had a very challenging funding situation. Depending on what estimate you…”

“In terms of how we look at the funding of the World Service, we are assuming that its longer-term funding will be considered as part of the charter review. However, I do appreciate—and this point has been put to me by the World Service and others—that that is, ultimately, two and a half years away. In terms of the shor…”

“That would be a conversation that we would have between the Foreign Office and the Treasury. Of course, we do have the second spending review coming up.”

“Yes. It is hard to tell. If I was to ask my constituents in Barnsley if they listen to the World Service, I would suspect that they would say not. However, if I was to talk to them about some of the motivators and reasons behind the World Service that this Committee has been exploring, and the huge contribution that it…”

“I can come in on that. It speaks to feedback, but, in terms of complaints, there is of course the BBC First service. If you complain to the BBC, you can then escalate it to the executive complaints unit. The detail was run through in your previous session with the BBC, so audiences who are not happy can certainly feed …”

“That is a very good question and one that I will ask the BBC and write to the Committee about.”

“I am Stephanie Peacock I am the media Minister and the Member of Parliament for Barnsley South.”

“I completely echo that. As we have said right from the beginning of this session, it is a huge asset to the country, not just in terms of power but the huge contribution that it makes. We have talked about all of that this afternoon—humanitarian, education, the accuracy of information, and the huge contribution that it…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton) on securing this important debate. The public leisure sector plays an important role in the delivery of sport, physical activity and leisure across the country. It does that throug…”

“I was grateful to the hon. Gentleman for coming to speak to me about this issue. I will speak to my officials and make sure that we approach Sport England very speedily.”