BBC Local Radio

My hon. Friend is absolutely correct. That is a really important point about the BBC's local services, which are listened to and which give a voice to all those who are otherwise not catered for by other broadcasters, whether those broadcasters are run by the BBC or anybody else. The BBC runs five local radio stations in my region of the west midlands, including the brilliant BBC WM with its broadcasting legends Ed Doolan, Paul Franks and Phil Upton, on whose show the hon. Lady and I were interviewed this morning. Local radio in the midlands attracts more than 800,000 listeners each week, and its content is of huge importance. It organises detailed debates and discussions on issues of local and regional importance. As my hon. Friends the Members for Workington (Tony Cunningham) and for Liverpool, Walton (Steve Rotheram) have said, it covers major issues such as crises and floods. At the moment, there are debates involving the candidates to be elected mayor in Leicester and Mansfield, discussions about the impact of spending cuts on the voluntary sector in the black country, coverage of local government elections, Ed Doolan's legendary consumer advice service and brilliant sports reports, all of which would not be covered or debated were it not for the BBC's local and regional output.