Diolch yn fawr, Lywydd. I think we’ve enjoyed a very rich debate this afternoon, discussing not only the BBC itself, but also the contribution it makes to public life and its contribution to the culture of Wales and the United Kingdom. I should start my remarks by welcoming Bethan to her role as Chair of the committee. You certainly succeeded where I failed. I very much support—. [Interruption.] [Laughter.] I will finish the sentence. I very much welcome the news that the Assembly is to create a committee—a permanent committee on this occasion—that will look at these matters. I think it’s a very timely thing to do, and I think it will soon become very important, and a committee that will speak with authority, not only on behalf of this place but of the people of Wales as well. I think the voice that we have heard this afternoon from all sides of the Chamber—and it’s good to see unanimous support for these matters on all sides of the Chamber—will be heard more strongly as a consequence of the Assembly itself having this ability to take these decisions. So, it’s something that the Government welcomes very much, and also the thoughtful way in which Members have structured their contributions.

Can I say, first and foremost, that it’s important that the BBC does recognise that if it is to deliver on the promises that it makes—and I think Lee Waters explained a number of promises over a number of years that I and others have heard—it needs to have a structure that will deliver on those promises? That means structures of management, governance and accountability that all ensure that the voice of Wales is heard. I share Members’ concerns about the recent structural changes to the board of management of the BBC—the executive board—and I look forward to the BBC explaining how that will strengthen Wales’s voice, how that will ensure that Wales’s voice is heard when all decisions are taken, and how that ensures that Wales is a part of all the decisions taken by the executive board of the BBC. I will expect the BBC, in giving us this explanation, to ensure that the voice of Wales is always heard wherever these decisions are taken.

The points that have been made by different Members at different times all relate to a culture within the BBC—and I think that Rhun ap Iorwerth explained this very well—where there is not simply a metropolitan bias in terms of management decisions, but in terms of the thinking and the culture behind those decisions, which is rooted not in the needs of the United Kingdom as a whole, but rooted in the comfortable thoughts and prejudices sometimes of people taking those decisions. That is something that needs to be challenged. I can assure all Members that the Welsh Government is not only engaged in the process of charter renewal, but is ensuring that the voice of Wales is heard in terms of those decisions.

I want to respond to the debate this afternoon by looking at some of the matters that Members have raised. Let me first of all start with that of funding and resources. It’s absolutely correct that we’ve seen BBC investment in Wales reduced at a time when its investment in Scotland, Northern Ireland and key English regions has increased. This is unacceptable, and it’s unacceptable not only that those decisions were taken, it’s unacceptable that the governance and accountability structures enabled and allowed those decisions to be taken, and what we need in the future are structures of accountability that will not allow this situation to arise again. It is very, very clear that the BBC needs to invest additional funding into the services it provides for Wales, and I agree very much with the points that Lee Waters has said. I have no interest in receiving further letters or hearing further speeches without a commitment to additional resources to deliver the services that the BBC themselves have said that Wales needs and deserves, and I look forward to hearing the BBC’s proposals on that.

And when we talk about resources and funding, we are talking about net resources and net funding. We are not interested in resources being given with one hand, being told that we’re going to have these additional funds in order to make additional programmes, to provide additional services, and then be told on the other hand that efficiency savings mean that half of those resources are not actually going to arrive into the BBC in Wales. So, we are looking for a real commitment, and not a commitment that passes muster in a press release, and we will be ensuring that that happens. And, at the same time, we have heard on many occasions that Lord Hall has made commitments to improve the BBC’s portrayal of Wales on network television and to ensure that we have the programme making here in Wales that we would anticipate and expect.

Let me also say this: we know that there are changes being made to the way that the BBC is structuring studios and programme-making divisions. Those matters are rightly and properly a matter for the BBC. However, it is right and proper that we also hold the BBC to account in ensuring that that does not lead to a reduction in programme making for the network from Wales and does not lead to a reduction in studio facilities in Wales. It is a matter for the BBC management how they structure and how they manage the organisation, and it is right and proper that management have the authority to do that, but we need to ensure that the BBC’s structures ensure that its commitments are delivered for all parts of the United Kingdom. And, in doing so, I refer again to Rhun ap Iorwerth’s comments about the levels of authority being provided to the director of BBC Wales. It is absolutely essential that the director of BBC Wales does have the levels of power and responsibility to deliver a coherent service across all the different services available to the BBC in Wales, and that means levels of authority over all of the scheduling and production and commissioning of programmes. That is certainly something that I and, I think, many others will be looking for.

In terms of the accountability, I agree with what has been said by Members this afternoon, that accountability of the BBC should rest here at the National Assembly and not simply in Government. I’m an old-fashioned type, sometimes, and I do believe that a public service broadcaster is different to a state broadcaster and that a public service broadcaster should be accountable to this place, to the parliamentary body, and not simply to Government and to a Minister. I agree very much with what Julie Morgan said about the appointment of members of the BBC unitary board, and I would certainly want to see that endorsed in some way or done through a public process through this place, and not simply through Government and decisions taken by Ministers.

In terms of where we go from here—and I’m aware that time is moving on, Presiding Officer—I met with Rhodri Talfan Davies yesterday to discuss the latest developments in terms of the restructuring of the BBC and charter renewal. I also met with the chair and chief executive of S4C last week to discuss the latest developments in relation to the charter and the forthcoming review of S4C, which is due in 2017. I can assure Members that we will continue to be fully engaged with all of these processes.

My officials have continued to hold regular meetings with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and other devolved administrations to discuss the charter review, and these meetings will continue over the summer. I can say that there’s been positive progress on a number of issues, but we’re still aware that there are points to be resolved. I will be meeting, I hope, with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport next week to discuss broadcasting. I wrote to the Secretary of State earlier with a transcript of the oral statement I made here some weeks ago and the subsequent contributions of Members. I’ve highlighted the importance of the cross-party agreement in the Assembly on the majority of broadcasting issues, and I can assure Members that, in my meeting next week, I will also reflect upon the points that have been raised by Members here today.

Given events in Westminster at present, we are unsure whether the UK Government will be in a position to go ahead with the publication of a draft charter before summer recess, but even if it does not, we would expect that draft charter to be published very quickly after Parliament returns in the autumn. I will seek to schedule a debate here in the National Assembly in September to give all Members an opportunity to have a more detailed discussion on the content of the draft charter. I hope I can reassure Members that I will continue to remain engaged fully in these matters, both in terms of the debates and the discussions with the BBC itself, and also the DCMS, to ensure that the voice of Wales is heard at all times.

I look forward to the work of the committee that is being established here. I look forward to the work of the committee speaking for the National Assembly and speaking for Wales. I hope that the consensus that we have in the Chamber today on all these issues is one that will remain with us as we go through this period of charter renewal. Thank you very much.