§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Lord McIntosh of Haringey)My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Culture. Media and Sport (Tessa Jowell) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
On 5 December 2002 I placed the independent review of BBC News 24 by Richard Lambert in the Libraries of both Houses, together with a letter setting out my response.
In response to the review, I attached two further conditions to the approvals of BBC News 24. These required the governors to publish their response to the Lambert report by the end of March 2003, and to promulgate revised commitments for the service, taking account of Richard Lambert's recommendations, by the end of May 2003.
In addition, I was minded to attach a third condition requiring the governors to report more fully on the delivery of News 24 in the BBC's annual reports. I stated that I would reconsider the intention in the light of the BBC's formal response and subsequent 2003 annual report.
I have judged that these two documents provide enough information and demonstrate sufficient improvements to remove the need for a further condition on the approval.