ITV Regional News Programmes

EDM number 2103 in 2006-07, proposed by John Grogan on 11/10/2007.

That this House celebrates the contribution of ITV Regional News to the DNA of ITV, providing millions of viewers with news programmes that strongly reflect the cultural and social lives of their area; reflects that regional news has been a key obligation of the Channel 3 licence holder since its launch in 1954 providing strong competition to the BBC in this genre of programming to the benefit of all viewers; recognises that Ofcom's first PSB review concluded that the existing commercial PSB model would not be sustainable following digital switchover but also notes Michael Grade's comments in June 2007 that `if ITV got an advertising credit for its national and regional programmes....Immediately ITV would have an added incentive to invest in programming for the nations and regions'; strongly opposes the Chairman of ITV's precipitate plan announced in September 2007 to cut regional news budgets in half, from £90 million today to £40-50 million in the future, reduce regions from 17 (11 regions and 6 sub-regions) to nine, and merge areas such as Tyne Tees with Border, West and West country, East and West Midlands and Meridian and Thames Valley; and calls on ITV and Ofcom to work together to find a solution that enables ITV to generate sufficient income to maintain a regional news network of which both the country and the regions are rightly proud.

This motion has been signed by a total of 87 MPs.