Baroness Buscombe

Question: What is your assessment of the state of British broadcasting at the moment? Do we need all the changes set out in the Communications Bill?

Baroness Buscombe: In principle, we welcome the general thrust of this Bill. With the emergence of the information society media convergence is becoming increasingly important in so many areas. It is therefore appropriate that the five existing regulators are brought under the umbrella of Ofcom, the new industry regulator.

So many changes have transpired since the 1996 Broadcasting Act was implemented, not only in terms of the way that broadcasting is managed but we have experienced significant cultural changes as a nation and therefore I think it is necessary to react in terms of telecommunications and broadcast industry regulation.

However, I am very keen that the industry is regulated only where necessary.

This light touch approach to regulation must be exercised by Ofcom; they must use their judgement to help drive the industry forward. Where appropriate, Ofcom should leave important issues such as ownership to the remit of the Competition Commission.

In some respects I question whether the Bill goes far enough to future proof this invaluable industry.

I fear that some of the issues, such as the subject of foreign ownership, are being prejudiced by certain political personalities. There are those in the Lords and in the Commons who are opposed to Rupert Murdoch's position within the media, for example. They are basing a value judgement on how they think the broadcasting industry should be managed and structured according to their dislike of Murdoch and that is not an appropriate mechanism to review an important legal issue.

I question the need, and here I speak very much from a personal view point, for regional broadcasting except for regional news.

I think that most young people today particularly do not want to feel compartmentalised because of their geographical location - their world does not focus on regions and they look beyond national boundaries. The internet is proof of their change in attitude; broadband is not specifically addressed by the Bill although its omission has been raised by all sides of both Houses.

We can do no more than debate it - we really hope to do all we can to put pressure on the government to help encourage the development of broadband technology. It cannot be ignored. I do not believe that we should necessarily restrict or regulate it with a heavy hand but I do think that for the sake of the consumers, advertisers and the industry that certain parameters should be set.

An issue that I believe is of increasing importance is that of public service broadcasting. I find that the concept is viewed very differently by different generations. Someone in their twenties may possess an entirely distinct opinion of what the concept involves than someone in their forties.

I think there is a huge question mark now over the future of the BBC. We feel very strongly that the BBC should come fully within the remit of Ofcom. There should be a level playing field in terms of good governance, in terms of fair trading and in terms of the monitoring of their commercial activities.

We say that very much in support of the BBC. I believe it is in the BBC's best interests to bring them within the umbrella of Ofcom now. I cannot think of one example where the biggest player in the field is excluded from external scrutiny yet all the smaller players are subject to external regulation. I think that to ask Ofcom to do its job properly without the biggest player on the pitch is crazy.

Question: Does all this amount to a Conservative vision for broadcasting and the media, or is it just a series of technical measures and pro-competition measures?

Baroness Buscombe: We do have a vision in terms of the future, which is one where wherever possible the market should decide, with the consumer being a very powerful mechanism within the market place.

That said, I do believe that because broadcasting is such a powerful medium we cannot leave everything to chance. We do have to use our best offices and I mean this above party politics, to ensure that our future broadcasting industry produces good quality programming and maintains a certain standard.

Question: Does the party have a position on the media's cultural influence over society?

Baroness Buscombe: Yes, cultural influence is extraordinarily powerful. I believe that some of the prejudices that some members of Parliament in both Houses have against popular programming are entirely unfounded.

I do have a problem with this assumption that everything we produce in this country is good and everything that is produced everywhere else is bad. All those involved with the Communications Bill in the House of Lords are confident that Lord Currie and his team are going to do an excellent job.

We are at one with the Government on issues such as foreign ownership and cross-media ownership. I am aware that some of my colleagues do not think that we are right on this issue but we are trying to look forward.

Question: The Communications Bill's approach is essentially one of regulating broadcast content while deregulating ownership. Is that the right approach to take?

Baroness Buscombe: Yes. It is terribly important that we send a very clear message in terms of deregulation of ownership to anybody who wants invest in our media and telecommunications industry. We have robust standards and a very powerful regulator, Ofcom, who will help maintain those standards. Anybody who may try and compromise these standards will face Ofcom's wrath.

Consumers should have the freedom to choose what they watch. If the programmes that are broadcast are substandard the consumer will not watch them.

At times I am concerned that some of the issues debated in the House of Lords fail to consider the fantastic programme choice that we have today.

Question: Is it a problem that some peers may not be familiar with new services such as Sky Digital or Freeview?

Baroness Buscombe: Possibly. When the issue first arose concerning the Electronic Programme Guide and BBC1 and BBC2 's possible demotion from 101 and 102 to 214 and 215, my children knew immediately what channels were currently occupying the slots in question. The next generation has a completely different approach to the media.

Question: Should the BBC face tougher restrictions on how it promotes its services?

Baroness Buscombe: All the cross-promotional activity on the BBC amounts to advertising in terms of consumer enjoyment of broadcasting.

The consumer is assuming that he or she is paying £116 a year to avoid advertising yet just recently the BBC have won a coveted advertising award. This is where the BBC has done itself a great disservice - by using self-promotion to chase ratings.

Question: Would your proposals to bring the BBC under Ofcom allow issues like this to be addressed?

Baroness Buscombe:

Yes this is the intention behind our policy. It is not just for the benefit of the viewer but also the BBC.

Question: Does Ofcom have the powers it needs over the commercial sector?

Baroness Buscombe: In the main, but we are trying to fine-tune some of the issues at the moment.

I believe that the advertising industry should be self-regulated. It will be necessary to establish a relationship between Ofcom and the advertising industry but the advertising industry should be permitted to self-regulate with Ofcom at arm's length. The Advertising Standards Authority has proved how effective this can be. Plurality of providers does not guarantee plurality of voices and it is the voices that are important.

Question: As the Bill passes through parliament, do you think you will be able to force any changes on the government?

Baroness Buscombe: Yes. I am really pleased that the government have now agreed to my amendment to future proof the Bill to facilitate bringing the BBC fully under Ofcom at Charter Renewal. Furthermore, we believe that it is wrong that religious broadcasters are openly discriminated against by being prevented from holding a broadcast licence. We think that is wrong, not on religious grounds, but purely on grounds of choice - let the consumer decide. It is wrong to single out religious broadcasting and we have cross-party support on that.

We are also hopeful that the government will accept the amendment that would allow there to be one independent news provider. We think it is wrong to dictate percentage of ownership and have tabled an amendment to this effect. We again have all party support on this issue.

Question: At the last election it was a Conservative manifesto commitment to privatise Channel 4. Is that still a party policy?

Baroness Buscombe: We are currently reviewing our broadcasting policy in light of the pending implementation of the Communications Bill. This Bill will encourage deregulation and convergence and our future policy will reflect this.

Question: The party has complained about the BBC's local election coverage. Would you have more confidence in the handling of the complaint if it went through Ofcom rather than the Board of Governors?

Baroness Buscombe: Yes. If the BBC were externally regulated by Ofcom it would be protected from accusations of partiality. This is not just a Conservative issue. It reaches across all parties however the Conservatives feel this bias more strongly. Why is it that, until recently jobs at the BBC were only advertised in the Guardian?

I am aware that the BBC is now trying to break down some of these barriers.

However a recent example shows just how important external regulation is. The BBC has decided to show film of two dead British soldiers in the Gulf. If the Governors are ultimately responsible for editorial policy, how do they propose that they will remain independent to adjudicate complaints?

Question: Culture secretary Tessa Jowell has been warning broadcasters recently about "dumbing down". Would you echo her warnings?

Baroness Buscombe: I think that politicians have to be particularly careful whilst making such statements. The public are watching these programmes. Content decisions should ultimately be the decision of the Ofcom Board.

One argument proposed is that an audience does not know what programmes they like until they see them however there are those who believe that the public have an independence of mind to choose what they view. I believe that as a nation we do believe in quality broadcasting. Let us have more of it but there is definitely a part of us that enjoys that almost mindless bit of fun.

Question: Do you see a future for regional broadcasting?

Baroness Buscombe: Again, this is a personal view but I do not think that regional broadcasting in terms of news will have long-standing value.

However in general terms, many people complain that Sky is the dominant company in the broadcasting world but the reality is that if we hadn't been so restricted by having to have all this regionalism, which has created a lot of fragmentation in terms of investment and commitment, maybe we would have had a much more powerful national commercial television company and therefore Sky may not have become so dominant.