§ Mr. David Kidney (Stafford)What proportion of public hearings of Select Committees in this Session could be viewed by internet users in real time? [89171]
§ Sir Archy Kirkwood (on behalf of the House of Commons Commission)Up to this morning, there have 22 been 110 public meetings of Select Committees in the current Session of which 28—some 25 per cent.—were webcast.
§ Mr. KidneyHow long will it be until that figure is 100 per cent?
§ Sir Archy KirkwoodIt may be some time. The hon. Gentleman takes a genuine interest in those matters, and I thank him for that. He will know that a webcast experiment was conducted in 2002 through joint offices in both Houses. It involved four channels covering "gavel to gavel" proceedings in the House of Commons, the House of Lords, Westminster Hall and one Select Committee at any given time. That experiment is being reviewed. We hope to have options that flow from the review, and I hope that the Board of Management will take some decisions later this year.