HC Deb 30 June 1954 vol 529 cc1337-8
17. Mr. G. Roberts

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General why the Principality of Wales, and especially the province of Gwynedd, continues to be badly served in the matter of reception of the Welsh Home Service: and what action he contemplates to remedy the position.

19. Mr. C. Hughes

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General if he is aware that the reception of the Welsh Home Service in Anglesey continues to be unsatisfactory; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the Welsh people can hear their own programme.

Mr. Gammans

The B.B.C. know that in some parts of Wales and Anglesey reception of the Welsh Home Service is not satisfactory. It is not possible to make any major improvement because no new stations operating on the present medium wave length can be fitted in, and because no additional medium wave lengths are available. As the hon. Members know, the B.B.C. hope that very high frequency broadcasting may in the long run be the answer to our problems here.

Mr. Roberts

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that this is a pressing problem in Wales, where some hundreds of thousands of Welsh people are unable to receive the only programme in which they are really interested, that this is a special case calling for special action, that talk about very high frequency modulation is of no use, and that he should expend on this pressing Welsh problem one-tenth of the energy which is most regrettably used up in promoting commercial television?

Mr. Gammans

I must correct the hon. Gentleman. There are no available wave lengths which can be allotted for this part of Wales. The solution, the B.B.C. are convinced, lies in the direction of very high frequency.

Mr. Roberts

Could not the hon. Gentleman press forward with the provision of subordinate transmitters or boosters along the coasts of Wales? It has been tried previously, I think, with some substantial improvement. Is anything being done about this position, because it is getting worse every month?

Mr. Gammans

It is not a question of nothing being done, but the proposal of the B.B.C. is to tackle this problem by the only method which they consider to be satisfactory, and that is by V.H.F.

Mr. J. Griffiths

Are we to understand, therefore, that this very important area is to be left completely unserved until the new scheme comes into operation?

Mr. Gammans

There will not be any dramatic improvement in the situation until the very high frequency stations come into operation.