HOUSE OF COMMONS Mark Thompson Esq LONDON SWIA OAA Director General of the BBC Broadcasting House Portland Place London WIA 1AA 21Sl December, 2011

Dear Mark

Re. 'Delivering Quality First' and the proposed cuts to BBC Local Radio

This is just a short note to thank you for your constructive response to my questions about BBC Local Radio at the recent session with the Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee, which I hope will also serve - just before the deadline - a my response to the consultation.

As I said, I used Radio Stoke as an example to raise wider issues, becaus e it is my local station and the one with which I am most familiar.

Under the plans, the station stands - I understand - to lose 20% of its annual budget and Cl minimum of eight of its 35/36 staff. The early morning breakfast programme will go and the very popular afternoon show before the drive time broadcast.

In addition, the cuts threaten sports coverage and the ability to get staff out of the studio and into the community, for newsgathering or broadcasting.

Five stations - Cumbria, Solent, Manchester, Merseyside and Lancashire - are exempted from losing local output because of their 'distinctive coverage', and I certainly do not begrudge them that.

What is very confusing locally here, though, is that Radio Stoke certainly has very distinctive coverage, serving the needs of North Staffordshire, which is very distinct from Birmingham and the rest of the West Midlands.

It is also consistently, I understand, in the top five best performing local BBC stations in terms of audience penetration (over 34.5%, according to the latest figures).

You will understand, therefore, the confusion over what criteria have been used in coming to decisions over the exemptions.

According to the BBC briefing to MPs, too, the plan is to focus on 'peak-lime programmes when the audience is highest and the output i most distinctive - breakfast, mid-morning. drive, weekend mornings and Saturday sport. '

Yet Radio Stoke's afternoon programme, I understand, draws more people than drive time - so again, more confusion, and no doubt there further examples elsewhere around the country. As I mentioned, too, in my area BBC Local Radio has more relevance to local people, and certainly to me, than Regional TV ews, which is escaping any cuts.

The main programme Midlands Today, I am afraid, is really Birmingham-centric (a subject which came up over the cuts to ITV regional news, which were really not such an issue in cities like Stoke-on-Trent, for exactly the same reason).

Cutting BBC Radio content (in Radio Stoke's case, giving more over to WM) simply compound this" Big City-centricity, a concern which may not be appreciated outside metropolitan areas.

I would, therefore, urge the BBC to restore these cuts to Local Radio and rethink where savings could be made, not least regarding the alleged costs of some of the 'newer categories' of "talent" at the BBC.

Best regards and yours sincerely

Paul Farrelly Member of Parliament for ewcastle-under-Lyrne