Concerns have been raised in the House of Commons over proposed reductions in BBC local radio provision, with the centenarian public broadcaster making plans for extensive cuts across a number of areas.
During an Urgent Question in Parliament, members from across the parties praised the impact on local communities, including in respect of the provision of local news and media plurality, that local radio has.
Member of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee and Winchester and Chandler's Ford MP, Steve Brine, highlighted the plight that his local provision will face.
BBC Radio Solent has a weekly audience of over 256,000, which makes up part of the 5,800,000 people listening to BBC Local Radio across the county.
The proposals would see Solent's reach be limited to Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight from 6am-2pm weekdays, losing 8 hours each weekday and the entire weekend coverage. From 2pm Solent's output will join other local areas.
Mr Brine highlighted that "at weekends we think there'll be no purely local output at all, not even breakfast, except potentially only sport commentary."
The MP went on to ask the Minister; "Will the Minister ask the BBC, and will she give us, the House, her opinion, as to whether that is what the license fee payers, the BBC's customers, actually want, because I very much doubt that?"
Julia Lopez, the Minister of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, welcomed the Hampshire MP's question saying; "The BBC is a public service broadcaster and it's there to deal with types of journalism that is not covered adequately by the markets."
"So, I think it's very important to ask some of these questions, because this is why the BBC has support and if it's not delivering that kind of distinct local and regional content then we have to ask them serious questions."
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