FUNCTIONS EXERCISABLE BY IBA BEFORE TRANSFER DATE IN CONNECTION WITH LOCAL SOUND BROADCASTING

HC Deb 08 May 1990 vol 172 cc56-9

`.—(1) It shall be the duty of the IBA to prepare before the transfer date, in the case of each relevant programme contractor, a contract which—

1. (a) is expressed to be made between the nominated company and the contractor; and
2. (b) is to come into force in accordance with subsection (3) at such time (if any) as the contractor becomes the holder of a local licence by virtue of paragraph 1(1) in Part IV of Schedule 9 to this Act; and
3. (c) makes provision for and in connection with the transmission by the nominated company, as from any such time, of the programmes included in the local service provided by the contractor (as the holder of such a licence).

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) the IBA shall, after consultation with all the relevant programme contractors, draw up a number of different standard forms of contract, and each contract prepared by them under that subsection shall be in such one of those forms as they may determine after consultation with the relevant programme contractor concerned.

(3) Any contract prepared under subsection (1) shall by virtue of this subsection come into force, as a contract between the nominated company and the relevant programme contractor concerned, at any such time as is mentioned in paragraph (b) of that subsection and (subject to the provisions of the contract) shall continue in force for such period as is specified in it, being a period expiring not later than 31st December 1994.

(4) If—

1. (a) any contract prepared under subsection (1) has not yet come into force, and
2. (b) the nominated company and the relevant programme contractor concerned agree that it would be more appropriate for them to be parties to a contract which is in one of the other forms of contract drawn up as mentioned in subsection (2), and
3. (c) the nominated company prepares such a contract as is mentioned in subsection (1) which is in that other form,

subsection (3) shall have effect in relation to that contract as if it had been prepared by the IBA under subsection (1) (and accordingly shall not have effect in relation to the contract referred to in paragraph (a) above).

(5) The IBA shall be deemed to have had power to impose such requirements as have been imposed by them on the various local sound programme contractors with respect to the making of payments to the IBA for the purpose of enabling reductions to be made in relevant charges; and in this subsection "relevant charges" means charges made by the nominated company in connection with the transmission, during the period beginning with the transfer date and ending with 31st December 1994, of programmes which are included in local services falling within any description of such services determined by the IBA.

(6) The IBA shall have power, with the approval of the Secretary of State—

1. (a) to dispose of any relevant transmitting equipment to a relevant programme contractor; and
2. (b) to do so for such consideration as they may determine (whether or not it represents the market value of the equipment).

(7) In this section—

• "local licence" and "local service" have the same meaning as in Part III of this Act;
• "local sound programme contractor" means a person who is a programme contractor by virtue of a contract for the provision of local sound broadcasts;
• "relevant programme contractor" means the pro-gramme contractor under a contract which, if effective immediately before the transfer date, would be a contract to which paragraph 2(1) in Part III of Schedule 9 applied;
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• "relevant transmitting equipment" means equipment which has been used by the IBA in connection with the transmission of local sound broadcasts;

and expressions used in this section which are also used in the Broadcasting Act 1981 have the same meaning as in that Act.'.—[Mr. Mellor.]

Brought up, and read the First time.

Mr. Mellor

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

Mr. Deputy Speaker

With this it will be convenient to take Government amendment No. 482.

Mr. Mellor

The new clause completes the transitional arrangements for independent radio by dealing with the transmission aspects. It gives effect to arrangements that have been agreed by the Home Office, the IBA arid the Association of Independent Radio Contractors. It is entirely acceptable to those organisations and I hope, therefore, to the rest of us.

New clause 29 allows the IBA to sell transmission equipment at less than market value to radio companies as part of the arrangements for the transition to the new radio regime. It is part of the cushioning process that most hon. Members seek.

Amendment No. 482 would ensure that any equipment disposed of in that way was not caught by the scheme for the division of the IBA's three successors.

Mr. Corbett

I agree with everything that the Minister said about the Committee stage. We welcome the new clause, which the Minister has introduced to fulfil the undertakings that he gave in our earlier discussions.

Does he envisage that there are likely to be any redundancies as a result of the changes? Has he had any discussions that have led him to a view about whether any redundancies will be voluntary or compulsory? If redundancies are expected as a result of the change in the arrangements, will he encourage the Radio Authority, and, where necessary, the IBA, to give other broadcasting organisations first refusal of the skills of any of the personnel whose jobs disappear?

I know that the Minister accepts that, by and large, the staff are highly skilled. Many of them have long years of experience and could be of great value to other parts of the broadcasting system. It would be a great shame if we allowed their skills to be blown away. I am sure that none of the parties that are likely to be concerned in the change object to the proposal, but perhaps the Minister would be kind enough to draw my remarks to the attention of those concerned.

Mr. Mellor

I know of no reason for any redundancies flowing from the new clause. The privatisation of the IBA transmission system is proceeding well, with full co-operation from all concerned and in a very open spirit. As far as I am aware, there should be no radio redundancies as a result. I believe that, if there were a need for any redundancies in the system as a whole—radio and television—they would be voluntary. As I said, I have no reason to think that the change is proceeding in anything other than a good spirit on the part of all concerned.

I echo what the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington (Mr. Corbett) said about the quality of the technicians and other staff whom the IBA employs. They have an outstanding record and I believe that they will work extremely well under the new arrangements. Dr. Forrest, the present head of the IBA transmission side, who has been made the chief executive-designate of the new company, warmly endorses the arrangements, which he believes will open the way to an extremely good future for him and his colleagues.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause read a Second time, and added to the Bill.