House of Commons Hansard Debates for 16 Apr 1996 (pt 15)

Mr. Bruce Grocott (The Wrekin): How can the Secretary of State say that she is pleased about that when, as recently as last December, she and her Ministers were insisting that there was no need for any further controls or regulations and that the whole thing could be left to the so-called free market? Is it not plain to everyone that she made a change only because she was forced to do so by a parliamentary vote and that the availability of sport on television to most of our constituents is not safe in the Government's hands?

Mrs. Bottomley: The hon. Gentleman's remarks have little relevance. There has been detailed consultation on the Bill and the options have been examined at each stage. In the same way as we issued a consultation document on ownership and digital broadcasting, it was also appropriate to produce a detailed consultation document before taking permanent decisions. The House will be aware of the complexity of the issue.

Mr. Joseph Ashton (Bassetlaw): While understanding the morality of what my hon. Friend the Member for The Wrekin (Mr. Grocott) said, and his motives, surely if events are open to everyone an unofficial cartel could be formed to offer a minimum price for events such as the cup final. Where is the referee or regulator to ensure that the teams and clubs playing in the cup final can say, "It is not fair; we are not being given a fair price and therefore do not think that we should go on television"? Where is the referee?

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Mrs. Bottomley: The complexity of the issue has become clear to a far wider audience in recent months. A great deal of money is going to sporting organisations as a result of the sale of rights and the rights holders feel strongly about that. [Interruption.] I take issue with the hon. Member for Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Maxton)--many of the organisations are now involved in a number of activities, encouraging more and more young people to take up sport. Our stadiums are of a high standard. As we go football crazy in the summer with Euro 96--the biggest sporting event for 30 years--many of us will be aware that the extra income stream has been of benefit.

At the same time, as the hon. Gentleman says, the public are concerned about being able to see more sport, albeit that the amount of sport has dramatically increased. That is why the House will eagerly look forward to the voluntary code of conduct being drawn up by the Sports Council which considers precisely those issues and examines the matters that should be taken into consideration when sports rights holders want to do the right thing for sport in its widest sense.

Mr. Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley): A number of us had reservations about the pay-per-view £10 that subscribers were asked to pay for the Bruno-Tyson fight. But having said that, Sky has been knocked right, left and centre. Will my right hon. Friend pay tribute to the fact that Sky Sports shows more than 10,000 hours of sport compared with the BBC's 1,500 hours? Credit should be given credit where it is due.

Mrs. Bottomley: I pay that credit where it is due--much more sport is now available on television.

Part V of the Bill merges the existing Broadcasting Standards Council and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission. A new body, the Broadcasting Standards Commission, will combine the remits of the two existing bodies, creating a single focus for public concerns about taste and decency and the portrayal of violence. It will also be involved in questions of unfair treatment and unwarranted infringement of privacy by broadcasters. For the first time, the new body will be given the power to commission research into issues of unfair treatment and the infringement of privacy. That power will be in addition to its power to commission research into standards in broadcasting which has, until now, been commissioned by the existing Broadcasting Standards Council. To reinforce the BSC's authority, the Bill requires broadcasting and regulatory bodies to record any action that they take following a complaint to the commission. That information will be published in the Commission's regular complaints reports.

The new commission is an advisory and adjudicating body. It will build on the influence of its predecessors, but it is the broadcasting regulatory bodies--the Independent Television Commission, the Radio Authority and the Welsh Authority--that are directly responsible for ensuring that programmes meet standards of taste and decency and do not contain material that is offensive to public feeling. The new BBC royal charter and agreement set out similar responsibilities to be met by the corporation, and more clearly identify the governors' specific obligations on those questions.

Sir John Gorst (Hendon, North): In the past three quarters of an hour that my right hon. Friend has been on

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her feet she has mentioned plurality, diversity, quality and liberality, but the one word that she has not mentioned--perhaps she is about to come to it in the next section of her speech--is impartiality. Is she satisfied that the licensing arrangements that she is outlining are adequate in terms of impartiality in the BBC? Has she given thought to the appointment of a particular governor with special responsibility for impartiality?

Mrs. Bottomley: My hon. Friend speaks for many when he identifies the profound concern that is felt and the fact that the BBC's reputation rests on its reputation for impartiality. I welcome the statement of the retiring chairman of the BBC, Duke Hussey, that that was a vital element for the BBC, and the comments of the incoming chairman, Sir Christopher Bland, who once again spelt out the importance of that issue. In the statement of pledges--which is required under the royal charter and agreement--the first pledge involves impartiality. The BBC will shortly produce its first document under that heading and I know that my hon. Friend and other hon. Members will want to scrutinise it carefully. The charter and agreement spell out very clearly the governors' duties as regulators--including, above all, ensuring that there is impartiality and confidence in the process. My hon. Friend the Member for Hendon, North (Sir J. Gorst) will be aware of some of the steps that we have taken already to establish a separate line of complaint for those who are not satisfied. I believe that my hon. Friend will be further reassured on that front when he sees the statement of pledges.

I have referred already to the technical prowess and the enviable overall quality of broadcasting in this country. The United Kingdom is notable also for its seriousness in maintaining standards of fairness, taste and decency in broadcasting. I believe that developments in the digital world will reinforce those important principles for which British broadcasting is valued around the world.

Part IV of the Bill contains provisions ancillary to the BBC's privatisation of its transmission network. The Government support the privatisation of BBC transmission services, which will provide the corporation with new funds to invest in digital television. I notice that the amendment standing in the name of the Leader of the Opposition regrets that privatisation. Are we to understand that beneath that amendment there is a policy--or perhaps that is too much to ask--to renationalise the BBC's transmission network?

Without those funds, money would have to be diverted from programme making so that the corporation could make the necessary investment in digital television. Would the Opposition deprive viewers and listeners of programmes rather than support an imaginative use of public assets in the public interest? Substantial investment by the BBC in digital broadcasting will be a catalyst for commercial broadcasters' involvement and an incentive for the more rapid development of digital services. The Bill also provides that BBC commercial broadcasting services--as opposed to those funded by the licence fee--are regulated by the ITC and the Radio Authority, like other commercial broadcasting services.

We intend to propose a number of amendments to the Bill in Committee--many in response to issues raised in the debates in another place. We shall introduce amendments to the public interest test for newspapers acquiring broadcasting interests. They will clarify that the test is not retrospective and does not apply continuously,

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and they will also permit the application of the test where a national paper starts a local paper in an area where it has acquired broadcasting interests.

In close consultation with the broadcasting regulators, we shall make proposals to strengthen further the definition of control--effectively outlawing arrangements that are designed to circumvent the ownership rules. We shall also announce our proposals for regulating shareholdings in broadcasters which fall short of control.

During the debate in the other place, concern was expressed about news provision on channel 3. We shall introduce an amendment making it clear that the one company selected by the ITV companies from an approved list compiled by the ITC will be the sole provider of channel 3 news. It need not provide it indefinitely--nor does it necessarily have to be ITN, the current provider--but a single source will provide proper competition for the BBC and a nationwide service of national and international news.

We shall fulfil our commitment to allow independent local radio licensees who take a place on a digital radio multiplex to extend their licences for a further eight-year term. We also propose to allow existing independent local radio licences to be renewed without a further bidding process when no other operator expresses an interest. We shall strengthen the ITC's powers to deal with foreign satellite broadcasting applicants, ensuring in particular that licence applicants are not serving the interests of political bodies.

In the light of a great expansion in the number of channels and in opportunities, we shall not allow the United Kingdom to become a base from which terrorist or propagandist organisations can broadcast overseas. We shall propose amendments to the existing licence application process to safeguard Britain's good name as a country with a responsible broadcasting regulation regime.

I shall also mention briefly our plans for reviewing the progress of digital broadcasting, thereby setting a time scale for the transition from analogue to digital reception. That will occur five years after the first multiplex licences are awarded--or earlier if the take-up of digital television merits it. We shall put that on the face of the Bill. However, we shall not bow to pressure exerted by the Opposition to set a date now for switch-off. We are not prepared to coerce viewers into accepting digital television regardless of their personal choices.

In its craven desire to appease the industry, the Labour party would stop those least able to afford a digital television seeing any television. The Conservative principle of customer choice has been a constant feature of our broadcasting policies for all the years that I have been in this place. Customer choice will determine the success or otherwise of digital terrestrial television, in the same way as customer choice determined the format of satellite television soon after the passage of the Broadcasting Act 1990.