HC Deb 16 July 1973 vol 860 cc7-9
7. Mr. John Grant

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications if he will now have discussions with the Independent Broadcasting Authority concerning his powers in relation to television advertising.

Sir J. Eden

No, Sir. The IBA's responsibilities and my own are clear. The recent allegations in the Press that the IBA's own rules on advertising have been broken have been examined in consultation with the IBA. I am satisfied that the IBA's policies are right, that it has adequate machinery for ensuring that the programme companies abide by these policies or guidelines, and that on the rare occasions when they have been breached, the IBA has sought and received a satisfactory explanation.

Mr. Grant

The Minister may be satisfied with the IBA's application of its policy, but is he satisfied with the six-minutes' rule and its observance? Has it not been breached with considerable frequency? If the rule has been breached, is the Minister satisfied that the programme companies have not made excess profits? Those are the allegations that have been made, based upon the industry's own figures.

Sir J. Eden

It certainly appears to be the case that the six-minutes' guideline, averaged over a period of one day, is observed. The difficulty of flexibility applies to the seven-minutes-in-the-hour rule, and that is the guideline that provides flexibility in the interests of better programme planning. But I can give an assurance that even in that instance it does not mean more money to the companies, because it is on a totally different basis and the form of contract does not allow for more money to be earned.

Mr. Wyn Roberts

Is it not a fact that the recent Sunday Times inquiry ended with a denial of the allegations made by the IBA and, basically, an admission of error by the newspapers concerned?

Sir J. Eden

I cannot comment on the newspaper reports. I can say that it is always dangerous to use statistics for purposes for which they were not intended. The JICTAR reports are produced for the advertisers and do not provide a basis for working out the total broadcasting time and the amount of advertising time permitted in a day. The authority is careful to make checks each week, and if there are any discrepancies it follows them up immediately.

Mr. Evelyn King

Is it not a fact that while we must enforce a proper proportion between advertising and programmes over a long period we can, over a short period, injure rather than assist the integrity of programmes, which is not desirable? Is it not a fact that advertising is rather liked by housewives, as it gives them a chance to make the coffee, and that it is rather liked by men because they often think that the advertising programmes are better than the other programmes?

Sir J. Eden

The practice has changed slightly in recent years, to take into account the need to minimise interference with programmes, with the result that in recent months there has tended to be fewer but longer breaks rather than frequent short breaks for advertising.