Mae hwn yn gyfnod hollbwysig i ddarlledu yng Nghymru. Yn ystod yr wythnosau a’r misoedd i ddod, mae yna benderfyniadau allweddol i’w gwneud mewn perthynas â darlledu a’r trefniadau rheoleiddio. Bydd Llywodraeth Cymru, felly, yn sefydlu fforwm cyfryngau annibynnol newydd i Gymru. Roedd hyn yn un o argymhellion y pwyllgor cymunedau yn ei adroddiad ar yr adolygiad o siarter y BBC cyn yr etholiad. Byddaf yn rhoi mwy o fanylion am y fforwm newydd maes o law. Heddiw hoffwn i ganolbwyntio’n bennaf ar fater o gryn frys, sef yr adolygiad o siarter y BBC, ond byddaf i hefyd yn cyfeirio’n fyr at faterion darlledu allweddol eraill.

Llywydd, through our memorandum of understanding with the United Kingdom Government and with the BBC, the Welsh Government has been, and will continue to be, fully involved in the charter review process. A draft charter is likely to be published over the summer and a Plenary debate will be held immediately after the summer recess. I intend to meet with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport before the summer recess to discuss this and other broadcasting issues.

On 12 May, the UK Government published a White Paper on the BBC charter. On the same day, Lord Hall, the BBC’s director general, wrote to the First Minister to set out a progress report on the BBC’s provision in the devolved nations, to which the First Minister has responded this week.

In general terms, we are pleased that the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has taken on board a number of the issues we have raised, both in our detailed response to the Green Paper consultation and in discussions between officials and Ministers throughout the charter review process. Further details are needed on a number of proposals outlined in the White Paper, although some of these are addressed in the director general’s letter to the First Minister.

It is encouraging, Llywydd, that the BBC intends to protect spending in the nations relative to other areas and is now committing to allocate additional funding for its dedicated services in the nations. However, clarity is urgently needed about what this actually means in terms of financial support and what practical impact this will have on the breadth of services the BBC provides for Wales. We do not see the development of Cardiff as an important centre for network productions as any sort of justification for reducing the BBC’s investment in other services. Additional resources should be earmarked for high-quality programming such as drama, which will enhance English-language programming for Welsh audiences. The Welsh Government has previously called for the BBC to invest significant, additional funding into Welsh programming. We welcome Tony Hall’s recognition that the portrayal of Wales and the other devolved nations must improve and that the BBC intends to set portrayal objectives for commissioners. All the public service broadcasters must recognise that proper representation of the full diversity of the UK has to include better representation of the diverse cultures of its nations and regions, and that includes Wales. We also support the intention to have a drama commissioning editor responsible for each nation. It is vital that this individual will be based in Wales and that commissioning decisions for Wales are actually made here as well. More should be done to ensure fairer distribution of production activity away from London and into the nations and regions of the United Kingdom. We recognise that some improvements have been made, but, nevertheless, too many decisions continue to be made inside the M25.

Fundamentally, within the BBC a change of culture is needed. We recognise the key role played by the BBC as a provider of news coverage about Wales and for the people of Wales. The BBC remains the most significant provider of both non-network television news and current affairs programming in Wales. We acknowledge and recognise that the BBC has been the main driver of the improvements in coverage of devolved political issues in Wales. However, Wales continues to be under-represented, even when stories are relevant across the whole of the UK. Examples of poor and inadequate reporting include the recent contractual dispute between the UK Government and junior doctors in England, and, in my opinion, network coverage of the recent Assembly election was also inadequate.

We recognise the fact that Wales will be represented on the BBC’s new unitary board—we pressed hard for this. We look forward to receiving further details about the proposal to create a sub-committee of the board for each nation. We also welcome the intention to create a service licence for Wales, which reflects our own call for a compact for Wales in the new charter. The service licence must clearly define what Wales needs and what the BBC has a duty to deliver in the next charter period. It is disappointing that there is no detail about how Ofcom will develop and deliver this new service licence. We were clear that a full review of the BBC’s public purposes was urgently needed, as a basis for a new charter contract. If that review had been undertaken, we would be in a better position to set out the requirements of a fit-for-purpose service licence for Wales.

Lywydd, rydym ni hefyd yn croesawu’r cyfeiriad yn y Papur Gwyn at sicrhau annibyniaeth S4C. Mae’n hollbwysig bod S4C yn cael digon o gyllid, yn ogystal ag annibyniaeth o ran golygu a rheoli. Rydym ni hefyd yn croesawu bwriad Llywodraeth y Deyrnas Unedig i gynnal adolygiad cynhwysfawr o S4C, rhywbeth rydym ni wedi bod yn pwyso’n barhaus amdano ac a addawyd yn 2010 yn wreiddiol. Ond fe ddylai hyn gael ei wneud ochr yn ochr â’r adolygiad o siarter y BBC yn hytrach na wedyn. Fe ddylai hefyd fod yn rhan o adolygiad ehangach, mwy sylfaenol o anghenion y maes darlledu gwasanaethau cyhoeddus yng Nghymru. Rydym ni’n disgwyl cymryd rhan lawn yn yr adolygiad o S4C, gan gynnwys y broses o ddatblygu’r cylch gorchwyl.

Ensuring plurality of English language television in Wales is vital, in news and also general programming aimed at Welsh viewers. ITV Cymru Wales therefore has a vital role to play as an alternative to the BBC for news and non-news programming. We do not view the existing level of provision on the channel 3 licence as appropriate, or even adequate. Provision should be increased, especially considering ITV’s healthy financial position. If Channel 4 receives public resources, then it should be required to produce at least a population share of network commissions in the nations and regions. We were disappointed that Ofcom did not agree with our view that Channel 4’s quota for out-of-London productions should be implemented by 2016 rather than 2020. Channel 4’s record in commissioning content from Wales has historically been negligible; its spend in Wales remains below 1 per cent of its total content spend and the broadcaster has no commissioning staff based in Wales.

I am pleased that there is cross-party consensus on the majority of broadcasting issues. This was reflected by the committee report on the charter review a few months ago, by the letter sent last week from Assembly Members to Tony Hall, and also in the report by the Welsh Affairs Committee of the House of Commons, which was published last week. Llywydd, as a Government we will continue to ensure that the interests of the Welsh people are recognised and addressed as the draft charter is developed. We will also stress that the commitments that the BBC has now made to improve services to Wales and other nations should be mandated for in the charter itself.