BBC Digital First proposals and effect on journalists

That this House recognises the financial pressures faced by the BBC as a result of the freeze in the level of the Licence Fee but shares the concern of the National Union of Journalists regarding the likely impact of the BBC's digital first proposals on the breadth and quality of the Corporation’s journalistic content and programming; welcomes the stated commitment to enhance investigative journalism across England, but regrets that the plans involve scrapping We are England, the successor to the award-winning Inside Out programme which was only launched last year once again putting staff at the risk of redundancy; is further concerned by the proposals to replace the BBC News Channel and BBC World News with a single service, threatening its present comprehensive sources of unfolding news and diminishing the overall breath and diversity of UK news and sport broadcasted; opposes the decision to scrap the local news and politics bulletins based in Oxford and Cambridge respectively, depriving people of relevant coverage to their own local communities; fears that the proposals will result in an overall reduction in the headcount of journalists employed, and compromise the role of the BBC in informing and educating as well as entertaining British public; and calls on BBC management to respond constructively to concerns expressed during the consultation period and think again where clear opposition is expressed.