Dear ms ambreen
Reference CAS-1379184-J1Y6RZ
Thanks for contacting us about BBC News.
I understand that you feel we haven’t devoted enough time or provided in-depth coverage of the Health and Social care bill and the opposition to it.
The political opposition to the Bill culminated in the House of Commons emergency debate on 20 March. Accordingly, the Commons debate featured heavily in our news coverage on the day and was the lead story during our main news bulletins.
The Health and Social Care bill has been one of the biggest UK stories over the past few months and we believe we have afforded it the appropriate level coverage in a fair and impartial manner, allowing viewers and listeners to make up their own minds on the matter at hand.
The time given to each issue or report in the news has much to do with whether it’s news that has just come in and needs immediate coverage, how unusual it is and how much national interest there is in the subject matter. The choice has to be selective and no matter how carefully such decisions are made, news editors are always aware that some people may disagree with them.
We’ve covered this story regularly over many months, both throughout our news broadcasts and in current affairs programmes offering more in depth discussion. You can view examples via the links below:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/house_of_lords/newsid_9699000/9699477.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/house_of_lords/newsid_9701000/9701904.stm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12177084
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17289988
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-16933394
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-14779676
Nevertheless, I fully appreciate that you feel that we haven’t provided sufficient coverage of this bill, therefore please be assured that I’ve registered your complaint on our audience log. This is a daily report of audience feedback that’s made available to many BBC staff, including members of the BBC Executive Board, channel controllers and other senior managers.
The audience logs are seen as important documents that can help shape decisions about future programming and content.
Thanks once again for taking the time to contact us with your concerns.
Kind Regards
Anna Sweeney
BBC Complaints
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