Alun Cairns MP has secured a debate in Parliament on Monday 21 October to discuss the future of the BBC.
The General Debate will give MPs an opportunity to reflect on some of the recent issues, including the move to Salford, cultural working practices, pensions and management of the organisation. There are clear lessons that can be learnt from recent experiences.
In particular, Mr Cairns raised the cost of the 3 BBC inquiries into the Savile scandal since October 2012. In total, £4.9 million has been spent, with further costs still to be accounted for.
The Vale MP has been campaigning for greater transparency of the BBC’s finances. He introduced a Ten Minute Rule Bill last November that called for all invoices in excess of £500 to be published. Mr Cairns has also raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest when BBC journalists act for private companies outside their BBC responsibilities.
Mr Cairns explained:
“I want the debate in Parliament to be about the future of the BBC. The public will be aware of a number of different recent scandals and issues and I think it is right that the future of the corporation is considered in parliament.
“It is important that taxpayers are aware of how their money, the license fee, is being spent. Every local authority in England publishes every invoice over £500, I think it would be reasonable for the BBC to do the same. For too long the BBC have resisted FOI calls and public scrutiny is essential.
“I hope this is the start of a positive debate into the future of the BBC and how it learns its lessons.”