§ 37. Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Lord President of the Council how many complaints he has received from members of the public and hon. Members regarding the televising of the House.
§ Mr. MacGregorI have received a few letters from members of the public making general comments, but I am not aware of any complaints about the way in which the televising operation itself has been carried out within the House during the current Session.
§ Mr. BanksTelevising the House of Commons is one bit of television output about which the Prime Minister does not have to write a letter of cringing apology to someone because it has, of course, been so successful. Following what the right hon. Gentleman said in reply to the previous question, when shall we have television from gavel to gavel so that people can tune in to the debates that they want to watch rather than the debates chosen for them by broadcasting journalists?
§ Mr. MacGregorI agree with the hon. Gentleman that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has been extremely successful in the House in the way that he comes over on television. The hon. Member for Newham, 635 North-West (Mr. Banks) will be aware that the Select Committee on Broadcasting, &c. hoped that a continuous service operated by United Artists would be available from this autumn. There have been technical and legal problems with the Marco Polo satellite, but it is hoped that live continuous coverage of the proceedings of the House will be available from the Marco Polo satellite to cable subscribers in the new year as soon as the problems have been overcome.
§ Mr. Simon CoombsI support what hon. Members have said about the need for live television coverage to be provided in the offices of hon. Members. When does my right hon. Friend expect the consultant's report to be available to him and, in due course, to the House?
§ Mr. MacGregorWe hope that the consultant's report to which I referred earlier will be available towards the end of the year—probably by the end of November.