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Electronic Communications

I have given way to the hon. Member for Stone (Mr. Cash) once already, and I want to make some progress. I will give way to some of his hon. Friends before I finish. All four of these major undertakings—digital switchover, the move to Salford, programmes in the nations, and the BBC as partner—would be destabilised by this ill-conceived Tory attack. At a time when our commercial broadcasters are facing economic difficulties, this work only serves to underline the importance of a properly funded BBC as the backbone of our creative economy and the cornerstone of public service broadcasting. Two months ago, we saw a prime example of this with the memorandum of understanding between the BBC and ITV plc to enter into news gathering and production partnerships that will deliver cost savings rising to an estimated £7 million by 2016 in the provision of regional news in England and Wales on ITV.