§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are satisfied with the strength of the BBC transmitters used for the Russian language service; how this compares with those used by the Voice of America, Radio Liberty and other prominent Western stations; and in which geographical areas in the Soviet Union the BBC programmes are usually clearly audible.
§ Lord TREFGARNEMy Lords, the Government are not satisfied with the strength of the BBC's transmitters used for the Russian language service, and for this reason have made financial provision for a capital programme to improve the audibility of the BBC's external broadcasts, which is now under way.
The operating power of the BBC transmitters varies between 70kW and 250kW. The Voice of America operates at 250kW and Radio Liberty varies between 50kW and 250kW. West Germany and France operate at 500kW; Italy at 100kW and Spain at 350kW. According to the BBC, their Russian service is normally audible in the Moscow, Kiev and Leningrad areas, but the quality of reception varies according to the time of day, time of year and ionospheric conditions.
Lord CHELWOODMy Lords, I am most grateful for that reply, which is 312 encouraging so far as it goes. May I press my noble friend to say a little bit more about the timing? Does he agree that the longer it takes to provide the BBC with powerful transmitters such as are used not only by the countries he has mentioned but also by much smaller countries like Sweden, Norway and Switzerland, the more it will cost? Is he also aware—I presume he is—that there is a great risk if any more time is lost (and something like ten years has been lost) of being crowded out on the air?
§ Lord TREFGARNEMy Lords, I certainly agree with a good deal of what my noble friend says. The improvement of the audibility of the BBC external services both in English and the vernaculars is regarded as a matter of priority by Her Majesty's Government. A sum of £1.8 million for capital expenditure has been made available in the current financial year and there is provision for £5.1 million of capital expenditure in 1980–81. The Government are now considering the question of financial provision for subsequent years.
§ Lord ORR-EWINGMy Lords, can my noble friend give us some indication when the first of these high powered transmitters might become operational? Does he not agree that this is an urgent problem and that a crash programme is really warranted, in view of the tremendous need to get the British voice and British viewpoint put across in the Soviet Union and its satellites?
§ Lord TREFGARNEMy Lords, I certainly agree that we must do what we can within the limits of our resources. But I should say in answer to the specific point put by my noble friend that the new transmitters are unlikely to be in service, even with the expenditure I have referred to, until 1983. With regard to the speed, which was the burden of the point put by my noble friend, there has been a difficulty with planning permission for the site of one of the new transmitters in the West country, but we believe this has now been overcome.
§ Lord DAVIES of LEEKMy Lords, will the noble gentleman tell me—
§ Lord DAVIES of LEEKNoble Lord—but all Lords are gentlemen—
§ Baroness FAITHFULLMy Lords—
§ Lord DAVIES of LEEKI include Lady Faithfull! To be serious, in view of the dynamic interest once again of all of this House in constructive Russian broadcasts, is the noble Lord aware how long it takes someone to learn to be fluent, having done about four years in the language myself, and will he see that we do not withdraw grants to people to learn the Russian language?
§ Lord TREFGARNEMy Lords, I think that is a rather different point.
§ Lord HANKEYMy Lords, coming back to the Russian service on the BBC, is it jammed at present or has jamming stopped since Helsinki?
§ Lord TREFGARNEMy Lords, I have no information about that, but my recollection is that they are not now jammed.
Lord MORRISMy Lords, are Her Majesty's Government aware that the BBC external services broadcast one hour per day to Turkey, and that Russia, together with the satellites and including a clandestine Communist station within Turkey, broadcasts 14½ hours a day. In the light of present circumstances, do Her Majesty's Government agree that this position should be very seriously reviewed.
§ Lord TREFGARNEMy Lords, I am afraid that that again is another question.
Lord CHELWOODMy Lords, now that I have had more time to think about my noble friend's Answer, is he aware that the quite small capital sums which he has announced will be made available will be completely inadequate to make sure that the BBC's output, which is widely acclaimed as perhaps the best in the world, will be audible in a very large part of the Soviet Union, and at this particular time is that not a most regrettable thing?
§ Lord TREFGARNEMy Lords, I would not accept that the sums announced are inadequate at all. As for inaudibility, it is not only a question of 314 buying new transmitters; it is also a question of where you can site them.
§ Lord WIGGMy Lords, will the noble Lord be good enough to say how much time is now given by the Russians to broadcasting in English, as compared with, let us say, six months ago?
§ Lord TREFGARNEMy Lords, I do not have that information.