HC Deb 16 July 1973 vol 860 cc4-5
5. Mr. Kaufman

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications when he next plans to meet the Chairman of the Independent Broadcasting Authority.

Sir J. Eden

I saw Lord Aylestone last Thursday, and another meeting has not yet been arranged.

Mr. Kaufman

When the Minister next sees Lord Aylestone will he discuss with him the breach of Section 3(1)(e) of the Television Act involved in the joint opinion poll conducted by the ITN and The Times? Will he also take into account the undesirability of ITN, a body required by statute to be impartial, sponsoring a joint polling operation with a newspaper that in recent months has shown itself quite ready to fiddle its presentation of opinion poll findings?

Sir J. Eden

I read the hon. Member's article, and in any case Lord Aylestone had told me that the hon. Member had written to him and that he was looking into the points raised. Section 3(1)(e ) of the Act refers only to programmes being broadcast.

Mr. Whitehead

Did the Minister take up with Lord Aylestone on Thursday the remarkable Press statement put out by the IBA on 11th July, which stated that there would now be only 18 commercial radio stations on the air by 1976? Does that not show that in Committee the Opposition were right in saying that what the Government would end up with in commercial radio was a regional network and not local radio?

Sir J. Eden

Progress with the independent local radio stations is primarily a matter for the authority. It is obviously concerned with the costs involved in the development of the programme, but as the hon. Member has a later Question on the Order Paper about this matter I shall be giving him an answer later in the day.

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