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“(3B) The functions of the Service shall be to secure that a wide and diverse | |
range of high quality programmes in Gaelic are broadcast or otherwise | |
transmitted so as to be available to persons in Scotland. | |
(4) The Service may— | |
(a) make grants out of the Fund, or | 5 |
(b) otherwise apply it, | |
for any of the purposes of carrying out their functions or for any | |
purpose connected with the carrying out of those functions. | |
(4A) In carrying out their functions, the Service may finance, or engage in, | |
any of the following— | 10 |
(a) the making of programmes in Gaelic with a view to those | |
programmes being broadcast or otherwise transmitted so as to | |
be available to persons in Scotland; | |
(b) the provision of training for persons employed, or to be | |
employed, in connection with the making of programmes in | 15 |
Gaelic to be so broadcast or otherwise transmitted; | |
(c) research into the types of programmes in Gaelic that members | |
of the Gaelic-speaking community would like to be broadcast or | |
otherwise transmitted. | |
(4B) But the Service are not to be entitled, for the purpose of carrying out | 20 |
their functions, to provide— | |
(a) a Channel 3 service; | |
(b) Channel 4; | |
(c) Channel 5; | |
(d) a national sound broadcasting service; | 25 |
(e) a national digital sound programme service; or | |
(f) a television multiplex service or a radio multiplex service.” | |
(4) For subsection (9) of that section there shall be substituted— | |
“(9) In this section, section 183A and Schedule 19— | |
‘Channel 3 service’, ‘Channel 4’ and ‘Channel 5’ each has the same | 30 |
meaning as in Part 1; | |
‘national digital sound programme service’ has the same meaning | |
as in Part 2 of the Broadcasting Act 1996; | |
‘national sound broadcasting service’ means a sound | |
broadcasting service within the meaning of Part 3 which, under | 35 |
subsection (4)(a) of section 239 of the Communications Act 2003, | |
is a national service for the purposes of that section; | |
‘Gaelic’ means the Gaelic language as spoken in Scotland; | |
‘programme’ includes any item included in a programme service; | |
‘radio multiplex service’ has the same meaning as in Part 2 of the | 40 |
Broadcasting Act 1996; | |
‘the Service’ means the body established under subsection (3) and | |
known as Seirbheis nam Meadhanan Gàidhlig (the Gaelic | |
Media Service); | |
‘television multiplex service’ has the meaning given by section | 45 |
235(1) of the Communications Act 2003 to a multiplex service | |
within the meaning of Part 1 of the Broadcasting Act 1996; | |
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and a reference to being available to persons in Scotland includes a | |
reference to being available both to persons in Scotland and to others.” | |
204 Membership of the Service | |
After section 183 of the 1990 Act there shall be inserted— | |
“183A Membership of the Gaelic Media Service | 5 |
(1) The Service shall consist of not more than twelve members. | |
(2) The members of the Service are to be appointed by OFCOM | |
(3) OFCOM must appoint one of the members to be the chairman of the | |
Service. | |
(4) The approval of the Secretary of State is required for the appointment | 10 |
of a person as a member of the Service, and for the appointment of a | |
member as their chairman. | |
(5) The members of the Service must include— | |
(a) a member nominated by the BBC; | |
(b) a member nominated by Highlands and Islands Enterprise; and | 15 |
(c) a member nominated by Bòrd Gàidhlig na h-Alba (the Gaelic | |
Development Agency). | |
(6) When appointing members of the Service, OFCOM must have regard | |
to— | |
(a) the desirability of having members of the Service who are | 20 |
proficient in written and spoken Gaelic; and | |
(b) any guidance issued by the Secretary of State for the purposes | |
of this section. | |
(7) OFCOM must secure, so far as practicable, that the membership of the | |
Service is such that the interests of each of the following are adequately | 25 |
represented— | |
(a) the holders of licences to provide regional Channel 3 services | |
for areas wholly in Scotland; | |
(b) the holders of licences to provide regional Channel 3 services in | |
respect of which determinations under section 184(4)(b) are for | 30 |
the time being in force; | |
(c) the independent television and radio production industries in | |
Scotland; | |
(d) other persons and bodies concerned with the promotion and | |
use of the Gaelic language, including those concerned with | 35 |
education in Gaelic and in Gaelic culture. | |
(8) Schedule 19 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the Service. | |
(9) In this section— | |
‘Bòrd Gàidhlig na h-Alba’ means the body of that name formed | |
under section 5 of the National Heritage (Scotland) Act 1985; | 40 |
‘regional Channel 3 service’ has the same meaning as in Part 1. | |
(10) The Secretary of State may by order amend the reference in subsection | |
(5) to Bòrd Gàidhlig na h-Alba (the Gaelic Development Agency)— | |
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(a) by substituting a reference to another body formed under | |
section 5 of the National Heritage (Scotland) Act 1985 with | |
functions relating to the promotion of Gaelic; or | |
(b) for the purpose of giving effect to a change to the name of the | |
body referred to in that subsection. | 5 |
(11) An order under this section shall be subject to annulment in pursuance | |
of a resolution of either House of Parliament.” | |
205 Supplementary provisions about the Service | |
(1) Schedule 19 to the 1990 Act (supplementary provisions about the Gaelic | |
Broadcasting Committee) shall be amended as follows. | 10 |
(2) In paragraph 2 (tenure of office and remuneration)— | |
(a) in sub-paragraph (1), for “sub-paragraph (2)” there shall be substituted | |
“sub-paragraphs (1A) and (2)”; | |
(b) after sub-paragraph (1) there shall be inserted— | |
“(1A) A person is not to be appointed as a member of the Service for | 15 |
a term of more than four years (but a person so appointed | |
shall be eligible for re-appointment at the end of his term of | |
office).” | |
(3) In paragraph 7 (employees of the Committee), after sub-paragraph (3) there | |
shall be inserted— | 20 |
“(4) A person who is an employee of the Service is not to be eligible to be | |
appointed as a member of the Service.” | |
(4) After paragraph 8 (financial provision) there shall be inserted— | |
“8A (1) The Service must pay all their receipts to OFCOM. | |
(2) OFCOM must hold amounts received by them under this paragraph | 25 |
to the credit of the Gaelic Broadcasting Fund (and, accordingly, those | |
amounts are not to be regarded as forming part of OFCOM’s | |
revenues).” | |
(5) In paragraph 12 (annual reports), after sub-paragraph (1) there shall be | |
inserted— | 30 |
“(1A) The report must include a statement of how the Service are | |
proposing to carry out their functions during the next financial year.” | |
Chapter 2 | |
Regulatory Structure for Independent Television Services | |
Preliminary | 35 |
206 Regulation of independent television services | |
(1) It shall be a function of OFCOM to regulate the following services in | |
accordance with this Act, the 1990 Act and the 1996 Act— | |
(a) services falling within subsection (2) that are provided otherwise than | |
by the BBC or the Welsh Authority; and | 40 |
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(b) services falling within subsection (3) that are provided otherwise than | |
by the BBC. | |
(2) The services referred to in subsection (1)(a) are— | |
(a) television broadcasting services that are provided from places in the | |
United Kingdom with a view to their being broadcast otherwise than | 5 |
only from a satellite; | |
(b) television licensable content services that are provided by persons | |
under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom for the purposes of the | |
Television without Frontiers Directive; | |
(c) digital television programme services that are provided by persons | 10 |
under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom for the purposes of that | |
Directive; | |
(d) restricted television services that are provided from places in the | |
United Kingdom; and | |
(e) additional television services that are provided from places in the | 15 |
United Kingdom. | |
(3) The services referred to in subsection (1)(b) are— | |
(a) television multiplex services that are provided from places in the | |
United Kingdom; and | |
(b) digital additional television services that are provided by persons | 20 |
under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom for the purposes of the | |
Television without Frontiers Directive. | |
207 Abolition of function of assigning television frequencies | |
The Secretary of State shall cease to have any function under the 1990 Act or | |
the 1996 Act of assigning frequencies for the purposes of any of the following— | 25 |
(a) services falling to be licensed under Part 1 of the 1990 Act; | |
(b) S4C; or | |
(c) television multiplex services falling to be licensed under Part 1 of the | |
1996 Act. | |
208 Abolition of licensing for local cable systems | 30 |
On and after the television transfer date no licence shall be required under Part | |
2 of the 1990 Act for the provision of a local delivery service. | |
Channels 3 and 5 | |
209 Digital Channel 3 and Channel 5 licences | |
(1) This section applies to the grant by OFCOM, at any time on or after the | 35 |
television transfer date, of a licence under Part 1 of the 1990 Act to provide a | |
Channel 3 service or to provide Channel 5. | |
(2) The licence must— | |
(a) be a licence to provide the licensed service with a view to its being | |
broadcast in digital form; and | 40 |
(b) contain such condition (if any) requiring the provider of the service to | |
ensure that the whole or a part of the service is also provided for | |
broadcasting in analogue form as OFCOM consider appropriate. | |
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(3) The conditions included in a licence by virtue of subsection (2)(b) must be such | |
as to enable effect to be given to any directions given from time to time by the | |
Secretary of State to OFCOM about the continuance of the provision of services | |
in analogue form. | |
(4) Where the licence contains a condition falling within subsection (2)(b), it must | 5 |
also contain a condition that— | |
(a) the programmes (apart from the advertisements) that are included in | |
the service provided in analogue form, and | |
(b) the times at which they are broadcast, | |
are to be the same as in the case of, or of the specified part of, the service | 10 |
provided for broadcasting in digital form. | |
(5) The licence | |
(a) must be a licence which continues in force, from the time from which it | |
takes effect, until the end of the licensing period beginning or current | |
at that time; and | 15 |
(b) shall be renewable, on one or more occasions, under section 211. | |
(6) For the purposes of subsection (5) a licensing period is— | |
(a) the period beginning with the commencement of this section and | |
ending with 31st December 2014; or | |
(b) any subsequent period of ten years beginning with the end of the | 20 |
previous licensing period. | |
(7) The licence must contain the conditions that OFCOM consider appropriate for | |
the purpose of performing their duty under section 255. | |
(8) The conditions of the licence must also include conditions prohibiting the | |
imposition, whether directly or indirectly, of the following— | 25 |
(a) charges on persons in respect of their reception in the United Kingdom | |
of the licensed service; | |
(b) charges on persons in respect of their reception in the United Kingdom | |
of any service consisting in the provision of assistance for disabled | |
people in relation to programmes included in the licensed service; and | 30 |
(c) charges on persons in respect of their reception in the United Kingdom | |
of any service (other than one mentioned in paragraph (b)) which is an | |
ancillary service in relation to so much of the licensed service as is | |
provided in digital form. | |
(9) It shall be unlawful to impose a charge in contravention of a condition imposed | 35 |
under subsection (8). | |
210 Replacement of existing Channel 3 and Channel 5 licences | |
(1) It shall be the duty of OFCOM to make an offer under this section to every | |
person who, when the offer is made, is the holder of a licence (an “existing | |
licence”)— | 40 |
(a) to provide a Channel 3 service; or | |
(b) to provide Channel 5. | |
(2) The offer made to a person under this section— | |
(a) must be an offer to exchange his existing licence for a replacement | |
licence; and | 45 |
(b) must be made as soon as practicable after the television transfer date. | |
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(3) The replacement licence offered must be one granted in accordance with the | |
provisions of— | |
(a) Part 1 of the 1990 Act; and | |
(b) section 209 of this Act; | |
but sections 15 to 17A of the 1990 Act (award of licences) are not to apply in the | 5 |
case of the replacement licence. | |
(4) Subject to subsection (5), where OFCOM make an offer under this section to a | |
person, the service which they are proposing to license by the replacement | |
licence must be a service which— | |
(a) is provided with a view to its being broadcast in digital form; but | 10 |
(b) subject to that and to any requirements of section 209, appears to | |
OFCOM to be a service that is equivalent in all material respects to the | |
service the provision of which in analogue form was authorised by the | |
existing licence. | |
(5) An offer under this section may, to such extent as OFCOM think fit, propose | 15 |
the grant of a licence to provide a service for an area or at times which, though | |
substantially the same as in the case of the existing licence, are not identical. | |
(6) The offer must propose the inclusion in the replacement licence of conditions as to the | |
payment of amounts to OFCOM which require the payment of— | |
(a) the same amount in respect of each complete calendar year falling wholly or | 20 |
partly within the period for which the replacement licence is in force, and | |
(b) an amount equal to the same percentage of the qualifying revenue for each | |
accounting period of the licence holder falling within that period, | |
as would have been payable under the existing licence had that licence continued in | |
force until the end of the period for which the replacement licence is granted. | 25 |
(7) That offer must also propose the conditions for allowing amounts paid for a | |
period under the existing licence to be set off against liabilities for the same | |
period arising under the replacement licence. | |
(8) An offer under this section must set out— | |
(a) the terms of the proposed replacement licence; | 30 |
(b) the conditions on which OFCOM are proposing to grant the | |
replacement licence; | |
(c) the period for which the offer is open; | |
(d) the date on which the proposed replacement licence will be granted if | |
the offer is accepted; | 35 |
(e) the time as from which it is proposed that that licence will take effect if | |
the offer is accepted; and | |
(f) the time from which the existing licence will cease to have effect if the | |
offer is not accepted. | |
(9) The times set out under subsection (8) must— | 40 |
(a) in the case of the time set out under paragraph (e), be in the period of | |
twelve months beginning with the television transfer date; and | |
(b) in the case of the time set out under paragraph (f), be in the period of | |
eighteen months after the end of the period set out under paragraph (c) | |
of that subsection. | 45 |
(10) Where a person to whom an offer has been made under this section elects, by | |
notification to OFCOM, to exchange his licence for the replacement licence | |
offered to him— | |
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(a) he is entitled, on the date set out in the offer, to be granted, in | |
accordance with Part 1 of the 1990 Act and section 209 of this Act, a | |
replacement licence under that Part in the terms, and on the conditions, | |
so set out; | |
(b) the replacement licence shall come into force, and the existing licence | 5 |
cease to have effect, at the time specified in the offer, or such later time | |
as OFCOM may, with the consent of that person, direct; and | |
(c) the service which he is authorised to provide by the replacement | |
licence, so far as it is provided in digital form, shall be a qualifying | |
service for the purposes of Part 1 of the 1996 Act. | 10 |
(11) Where the person to whom an offer has been made under this section— | |
(a) does not elect, during the period for which the offer is open, to | |
exchange the existing licence for the replacement licence, or | |
(b) rejects the offer before the end of that period, | |
the existing licence shall have effect as if the period for which it is to continue | 15 |
in force ended with the time specified in the offer for the purposes of | |
subsection (8)(f). | |
(12) In this section “qualifying revenue” has the same meaning as in section 19 of | |
the 1990 Act. | |
211 Renewal of Channel 3 and 5 licences | 20 |
(1) The holder of— | |
(a) a licence to provide a Channel 3 service, or | |
(b) a licence to provide Channel 5, | |
may apply to OFCOM for the renewal of his licence for a period of ten years | |
from the end of the licensing period current at the time of the application. | 25 |
(2) An application for renewal may only be made in the period which— | |
(a) begins four years before the end of the current licensing period; and | |
(b) ends three months before the day that OFCOM have determined to be | |
the day by which they would need to publish a tender notice if they | |
were proposing to grant a fresh licence to take effect from the end of | 30 |
that period. | |
(3) A determination for the purposes of subsection (2)(b)— | |
(a) must be made at least one year before the day determined; and | |
(b) must be notified by OFCOM to every person who, at the time of the | |
determination, holds a licence in respect of which there is right to apply | 35 |
for renewal under this section. | |
(4) Where OFCOM receive an application under this section for the renewal of a | |
licence, they must— | |
(a) decide whether they will be renewing the licence; | |
(b) if they decide that they will be, determine in accordance with section | 40 |
212 the financial terms on which the licence will be renewed; and | |
(c) notify the applicant of their decision and determination. | |
(5) Section 17(5) to (7) of the 1990 Act (suspect sources of funds) apply in relation | |
to an applicant for a renewal under this section as they apply in relation to an | |
applicant mentioned in section 17(5) of that Act, but as if references to the | 45 |
award of a licence were references to its renewal. | |
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