HC Deb 25 January 1949 vol 460 cc799-801

5.50 p.m.

Mr. Hobson

I beg to move, in page 2, line 49, at the end, to insert: but this proviso shall not apply to licences of any type wholly or mainly intended to meet the needs of persons desiring to use, in a private dwelling-house and without making any charge to other persons, apparatus not designed or adapted for emission (as opposed to reception). The intention of this Clause is that regulations with regard to the cost of wireless licences shall be laid before the House. They are the broadcast receiving sound licence and the television receiving licences in the home, ships' wireless licences, aircraft wireless licences, police wireless licences, etc. However, there is also another class of licence, to which this proviso applies, because we cannot lay down yet precisely what regulations may be required. For instance, there is development taking place at the present time in the exhibition of television programmes in cinemas. We cannot be asked to lay down rigid regulations which it would be impracticable to lay down about that. There is nothing sinister in this at all.

There may be other instances. There may be a new firm starting the manufacture of radar equipment, and it may have a vessel at sea, and may wish that the results of the experiments going on in the vessel should be communicated to its headquarters. It may require that for a short period of some months, and may wish for a licence accordingly. In such circumstances it seems to me far better that my right hon. Friend should have carte blanche as far as the cost to be paid by such an undertaking for a licence is concerned. It may be possible, as a result of the development of television relays to cinemas, and possibly from our experience and knowledge, to lay down in the form of regulations precise charges. If that is so my right hon. Friend will do so. From a business and practical point of view I am sure that hon. Members opposite will agree that it is essential that my right hon. Friend should preserve the right to charge a licence in the special circumstances such as I have outlined.

Mr. Grimston

The House will recollect that there was very considerable confusion on the Committee stage about this matter, and I am obliged to the Postmaster-General for putting down an Amendment which, at any rate, takes the domestic user out of the purview of the variable rates of licence. We appreciate that there are these special cases in which it is not possible to set down always exact charges. However, we hope that they will be kept as few as possible, and we shall watch the first regulations very carefully.

There is one thing that, I think, will have to be watched, and that is the Postmaster-General uses these powers here solely on a cost basis, and does riot seek to use these powers to exercise a veto upon the television of some particular thing the Postmaster-General does not like. That is not the purpose of this at all, and I am glad to have the assurance of the Assistant Postmaster-General that that is not the intention. However, I think it is just as well for the House to bear in mind that the variable powers which may be taken under this type of regulation could be used for selective purposes. by making it quite prohibitive to broadcast some event which the Government in power at the time did not like to televise. So far as the sphere of these variable regulations is reduced to the minimum, we recognise their necessity. The domestic user having been taken out, we are happy to accept the position as it is.

Amendment agreed to.