PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
Channel 4's role as a Public Service Broadcaster (7 June 2021)

That this House shares the concern of the National Union of Journalists that the Government is still actively considering the privatisation of Channel Four Television Corporation, a publicly owned but commercially funded company which makes a notable contribution to British broadcasting; notes that Channel 4 is not presently run for profit, but generates revenues to put back into commissioning independent producers to make distinctive content; further notes that the company is required to fulfil a public-service remit, which stipulates it must be innovative and distinctive, stimulate public debate on contemporary issues, reflect cultural diversity of the UK, champion alternative points of view, inspire change in people’s lives and nurture new and existing talent; observes that proposals to privatise the company were considered and rejected just five years ago, with the then Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport describing the channel as a precious public asset; recalls that the House of Lords Select Committee on Communications report entitled A Privatised Future for Channel Four?, published in July 2016, HL Paper 17, warned that the distinctive quality and contribution of Channel 4 News in particular could be adversely affected by privatisation; considers that any steps towards privatisation would inevitably replace Channel 4's characteristic public service ethos in favour of the narrow interests of shareholder profit; and therefore calls on the Government to commit to retaining Channel 4 in public hands.

Sponsored by:
Grahame Morris (Labour)