Recommendation 9

The Committee recognises the pressures Public Service Broadcasters are currently facing and the invaluable “cultural health service” that they provide. As Ofcom’s Transmission Critical report sets out, they are universally available, required to deliver trusted (and local) news, and make a breadth of high-quality programmes for UK audiences and beyond. As well as holding governments and others to account and keeping the public informed, they also help bring the county together with their coverage of sporting and cultural events. As suggested in the Green Paper regarding the BBC but which could also apply to the PSBs as a whole – “If it did not already exist, we would have to invent it”.