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Digital Economy Bill [HL]

My Lords, one dimension that we are concerned about is the disappearance of news provision in localities and the regions. A cardinal point behind the Government’s proposals on the IFNCs and funding is to ensure that gaps that appear and cause distress because of the disappearance of local news are filled. In some cases, as the noble Lord will be all too well aware, the issue is not the plurality of newspapers but whether there is one there at all. If there is one, it tends to be the only outlet. We are concerned to see newspapers supported to a degree, when it can be guaranteed that news provision meets the standards that we expect with regard to broadcasting provision. Restricting the funding as the noble Lord suggests would be to restrict it to television news only. Of course, it is widely recognised—and this is why the Bill is called the Digital Economy Bill—that the future of digital Britain is very much online. The purpose of the clause is to provide for a convergence of news provision across as many platforms as necessary, and not just television. Restricting funding to Channel 3 News is at odds with the principle behind this clause and confines the news to the old analogue world, when the whole concept behind the Bill is to make provision for the world that is rapidly developing before us. If we limited IFNC funding or provision to broadcast television, we would be propping up an old model and not recognising the change towards a digital future and a digital economy. That is the main thrust behind the Bill and why the Bill rejoices in its title. We are concerned to ensure that we take account of the increased use which undoubtedly our fellow citizens will make of the new technology, in addition to analogue television, and provide the standards of news coverage which obtained for eight decades or so under old television presentation. The BBC was the sole provider for five or six decades, with independent television playing its part subsequently. We are now moving into a digital Britain, and we have to provide for that.