Thank you very much, Llywydd. It's a pleasure to contribute to a debate on broadcasting, because it's been a pleasure of mine over many years to be responsible for legislating on broadcasting in Westminster. And I want to make it entirely clear that I remain of the view, personally, and as a Minister, given my experience over the past four or five months, that this isn't the time to start to talk about devolving broadcasting partially, or to consider devolution of any part of broadcasting, to Wales as part of the development of the devolution settlement, because the nature of the economy and culture of broadcasting and, more importantly, all of the digital communication platforms available, and much of that industry in the bay in Cardiff—that industry is of necessity one that has operated and developed not only through regulation within the UK, but also through regulation at an international level. 

The Government's made its position entirely clear in the amendments to the motion on what we want to secure in terms of broadcasting in Welsh and English being sufficiently funded, and concerns about cuts to S4C. But we are just as firm in the view that we need to be able to make the case about the economy and the effects of communications more generally, together, within the United Kingdom.

ITV Cymru Wales continues to play a crucial role as an effective alternative to the BBC, and we do believe that introducing an amendment that recognises that public service broadcasters should be more accountable to all Parliaments within the UK is a crucial part of our work. That’s what I have been pursuing as Minister with overview of broadcasting, which is non-devolved, and that, namely, is to increase the accountability of broadcasting and communication institutions of the UK to this Assembly and, through that, to the viewers and listeners of Wales.

We are working hard as a Government to ensure that the BBC’s new charter gives a mandate to the BBC to deliver far more to the people of Wales, and the BBC now has appropriate accountability to the National Assembly for Wales. As we as a Government prepare to appoint a member of the Ofcom board to represent Wales for the first time ever, we are aware that these arrangements pave the way for us to have a very real influence as a Welsh Government on the communications structure more generally in the UK.