FUTURE OF REGIONAL INDEPENDENT TELEVISION

Early day motion 830, tabled 15 March 2004 by Frank Doran (Labour). Signed by 127 members.

That this House places great value on the tradition of regional public service broadcasting in ITV, including the production of original programming across all genres made for the whole ITV network at regional centres throughout the UK; notes with great concern that, following the Granada/Carlton merger, there has been an increasing trend to centralisation of production in London and just one or two regional centres, as evidenced by redundancies and reorganisation at Meridian TV and by the recent announcement of 400 redundancies and studio closures at Carlton's Birmingham and Nottingham centres; believes that the continuation of this trend to centralisation is undesirable for the broadcasting system, for regional economies and most of all for viewers; and calls on ITV plc to reverse this trend, on Ofcom to apply with vigour the regulatory requirements in the Communications Act for significant regional production and on the Government to protect the regional programme making structure of independent television.

Signatures by party: Labour 89, Liberal Democrat 20, Labour/Co-operative 8, Conservative 4, Plaid Cymru 2, UUP 2, DUP 1, Independent 1.