Select Committee
Parliament

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Channel 4 News has had "extraordinary success" in reaching young people through social media, particularly across Facebook, publishing around 60 videos each week, David Abraham tells the committee.

He says its one of the largest providers of public service news to younger audiences.

Mr Abraham says that online revenue has been a successful growth area, accounting for 10% of the broadcaster's revenue.

Select Committee
Parliament

Chair Damian Collins begins by asking the two witnesses about why Channel 4's seen a decline in "weekly reach".

David Abraham notes the broadcaster's digital growth, which makes up for some of the "erosion" on the main channel.

"The innovation Channel 4 has shown has allowed us to remain relevant," he argues.

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, UK Parliament

Select Committee
Parliament

The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee is shortly to begin its one-off session on Channel 4’s annual report. Committee members will be looking at the broadcaster’s performance in the last year, and how successful it has been at fulfilling its remit.

The witnesses are:

• David Abraham, Chief Executive, Channel 4
• Charles Gurassa, Chair, Channel 4

Image source, Getty Images

Welcome to today's coverage of Westminster.

We'll be crossing over to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee soon for an evidence session on Channel 4.

House of Commons
Parliament

The House of Commons adjourns and will return tomorrow at 11.30am for Treasury questions.

House of Commons
Parliament

Health Minister Philip Dunne responds to tonight's debate on healthcare in North Staffordshire.

He says the Department of Health wants to see "sustainable, financially viable, high-quality healthcare" but provision has been "coloured" by the Mid Staffs scandal.

He praises NHS staff "working tirelessly" to serve people at Royal Stoke Hospital, and suggests the key is to "propose at a local level the way local healthcare can be provided".

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's Gareth Snell is opening his adjournment debate is on the provision of health care in North Staffordshire.

He says the NHS is one of the country's proudest achievements but is also where "spending squeezing has been greatest".

He tells MPs that in addition to a £25m black hole for Royal Stoke Hospital after money from the Department of Health did not arrive it was asked to find a further £10m savings.

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs vote 285 to 130 in favour of the government's timetable for the Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill, which would see it go into a public bill committee until 16 November.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Transport Minister Jesse Norman responds to the debate for the government, telling MPs he welcomed the focus on legal and moral issues in this afternoon's debate.

He says he hopes MPs have been reassured that insurance premiums will not go up as a result of the bill.

The bill passes second reading, but a vote is forced on the programme motion or timetable for the bill.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald upbraids the government for halting a bill in the previous parliamentary session only to introduce two smaller bills, one of which is that currently being debated.

He describes it as an "embarrassment", which shows the government is "running scared of Parliament" and has a "threadbare" legislative agenda.

He says Labour will be seeking changes to the bill in respect of the "liberal" use of delegated powers and the potential cost to insurance policyholders.

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative Luke Graham praises it as "sensible and simple" for consumers to be required to have insurance covering automated vehicles.

Although some people are wary of the change, he continues, human error plays a significant role in road accidents and the increased use of automated cars "may actually help to make our roads safer".

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's Darren Jones raises concern over consumer debt and how it is managed as the uptake of electric cars increases.

There is a need for operating systems which can safely process and store "the enormous amount of data" created by the vehicles, he says.

"This is the start of a journey of robots becoming part of our daily lives," he adds, saying this raises ethical questions - and it's "happening to us, not because of our leadership".

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Lib Dem Christine Jardine welcomes the bill, saying air pollution is "a genuine cause for concern" in her Edinburgh West constituency.

But the bill "falls short", she says, calling on the government to adopt Lib Dem policies such as an air quality plan and diesel salvage scheme.

She suggests councils should require new industrial developments to provide charging points for electric cars.

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative Iain Stewart tells MPs that the UK's approach to automated vehicles has to be "as up to date as possible to get a good share of that market".

It's important the bill is not "prescriptive - it has to be enabling", he argues.

He also makes the point that automated cars could help those who may not be able to drive, such as the disabled and elderly, as well as having environmental benefits.

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's Justin Madders warns: "The impact on jobs from automated vehicles won't be addressed until it is too late."

He calls for an economic impact assessment of the bill.

He also calls for greater clarity over how "life and death decisions" will be taken by the operating systems used by automated vehicles, with a focus on how they behave in the eventuality of an accident.

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative Sir Greg Knight calls for clarity over who has access to tracking information once autonomous vehicles become more widely available.

He asks: "Will others be able to seek access to this data log, such as, for example, an employer trying to see what the employee has been up to during the day?

"Or perhaps an ambitious divorce lawyer, seeking to prove adultery has taken place and trying to find out where the occupant of the automated vehicle went during the afternoon."

House of Commons
Parliament

The SNP's Alan Brown claims that similar measures on automated cars were in the pipeline in the previous Parliament, which, he says, indicates "the folly of calling a general election".

"We are redoing work that was done before and costing the taxpayer money," he argues.

He stresses Scotland "should not be left behind" as this industry develops, pointing to the potential for automation to assist drivers on country roads.