Thank you very much, and thank you for your kind words at the beginning of your remarks. Can I say, Bethan, that I enjoyed the conversations that we had in committee earlier this year, and last year as well? I think we’ve always found a great deal of consensus in different parts of this Chamber on broadcasting and on the media in general, and how this place would like to address those issues. I remember when I chaired the Broadcasting Committee in a previous Assembly, there was a great deal of consensus amongst, I think, the four or five of us on that committee about the way forward, and that consensus has continued through to the report that was published by Christine Chapman just before our last election.

Can I say this? I very much welcome proposals to establish a committee of this place to investigate these matters and to hold not only myself as a Minister to account, but also broadcasters, and to ensure that the debates and the discussions, which all too often happen behind closed doors, happen in public. We need to ensure that there’s a correct balance in place between the Government placing what could be, or would be, seen as undue pressure on broadcasters to act in a particular way and a democratic institution holding those same broadcasters to account. So, I think there’s a very important role for this place to play in that level of accountability. I’ve never found it difficult to ensure that, within the overall structures of the United Kingdom, where broadcasting is not devolved, broadcasters recognise that they should be accountable to the Parliaments of the United Kingdom for portrayal issues and issues of content, because of the wider cultural issues that are referred to there and also the wider issues of the United Kingdom where this Parliament and other Parliaments have a right and proper interest. So, I hope that as a Minister, where I will pursue the programme of the Government, I will be not only held to account by the committees of this place, but also that we will work in a more cohesive manner in holding others to account for what they deliver to Wales.

In terms of the independent media forum—and I say it’s a media forum rather than simply a broadcasting forum—it’s important that we do have independent voices that speak with authority, with knowledge, and speak openly about the advice that they provide to me as a Minister. I would invite all Members this afternoon to write to me with any ideas that they might have for how that forum would operate and perhaps even people they might wish to see on it—I don’t know, that’s a matter for you. But, certainly, it is my intention that this would operate in a wholly open and transparent way. This is not meant to be a forum that avoids difficult decisions or a forum that provides advice that would only be seen by a Minister subject to FOI request. I don’t want to go down that road. What I want to see is a more open, transparent and informed debate about the future of the media in Wales.

One of the things that we’ve seen, where many of us have discussed the role of the media in recent events and particularly in conjunction with the referendum taking place later this week—I believe that the media has an absolutely fundamental role to play in a modern, open, informed and democratic society. That means that as politicians and as electoral representatives, we have a responsibility, but also those who exercise power through the media also have responsibilities, and they need to recognise that they need to be accountable for the actions and decisions that they take.

I look forward to my meeting with John Whittingdale, as Secretary of State. I will be making the points that you have outlined, and in meeting the BBC as well. I think the BBC do need to recognise that it’s one thing to say that they want to increase the English language provision in Wales, but that has to be met then with the funding that ensures that that programming is delivered and that production values are enhanced and not reduced as a consequence of those financial decisions.

I would probably go a little further than perhaps you’ve suggested in terms of some of the structural changes that are needed for the management within the BBC. Clearly, these issues are matters for the BBC and not for politicians, but I would like to see BBC Wales having levels of authority and accountability that enable decisions to be taken about the shape of BBC services in Wales and serving Wales. That doesn’t simply mean deciding which programme competes with ‘Coronation Street’; it affects the shape of the schedule but also the schedule itself. That is the sort of managerial decision that I would like to see, but I would also like to see a change of culture within the BBC, which I think is absolutely essential.

You’ve mentioned ITV, Channel 4 and S4C. The points that we make about the BBC are equally true for all public service broadcasters, and it’s particularly disappointing—. Your brother’s, of course, a much respected, excellent journalist working for Channel 4, but we don’t see much of him in Wales, unfortunately, and we would like to see more of him in Wales. Channel 4 produces some excellent news coverage, which doesn’t have a regular place on mainstream broadcasting all too often, particularly on the international agenda and development issues around global development issues. But that does not mean it does not have a responsibility to the taxpayers of the United Kingdom and Wales.