FINAL BROADCAST OF WESTWAY PROGRAMME ON BBC WORLD SERVICE

That this House regrets that Westway, the BBC World Service radio soap, had its final broadcast on the World Service on 29th October; notes that this programme has been going out on that service twice a week since 1997, and has an audience estimated at between three and 20 million around the world; further notes that it was set in a West London medical centre and tackled issues such as a Muslim girl bullied at school for wearing a headscarf and an immigrant doctor who discovers she is HIV positive, tackled health issues of the day and broadcast the virtues of UK multiculturalism to the world; believes that it has been a great tool for the UK and a lifeline for many young people where such issues in their own countries are not tackled and that such programmes can be much more effective than a dry news programme in getting a message across; congratulates the actors, writers and technicians who contributed to this series over those eight years; and further regrets that the BBC has taken the decision to cut this example of realistic drama and multiculturalism which was popular with its listeners at a time when the BBC has said that it wants more of both on its channels.