HL Deb 27 July 1981 vol 423 cc550-2

2.53 p.m.

Lord Orr-Ewing

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will now instruct the BBC to close down their outdated 405-line black and white TV transmissions, and thus save money and energy, and make these frequencies available to the Home Office for other valuable uses.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Belstead)

; My Lords, my right honourable friend the Home Secretary has no plans to accelerate the timetable which he announced on 20th May last year in another place for the phased closure of the 405-line VHF services of the BBC and the IBA. These services are reaching the end of their useful life, but surveys carried out by the broadcasting authorities have indicated that there are still many small communities which can receive the 405-line services but which do not receive satisfactory 625-line UHF services. Accordingly, the closure of the 405-line services is to begin in 1982 and will be phased over a period of about four years in such a way as to minimise any inconvenience to the remaining 405-line viewers.

Lord Orr-Ewing

My Lords, would my noble friend not agree that frequencies are a very valuable commodity and that these particular bands are badly needed for the development of mobile radio and other essential services such as the police, the fire service and the like? Would it not, therefore, be an advantage if notice were now given that for a relatively small number of very old sets—between 20 and 40 years old—there will be a speeding up of the timetable, so that these wavebands may be available for essential and developing mobile services, just as they are already in the United States and in some Western European states?

Lord Belstead

My Lords, this is a difficult problem. There are people still using 405-line television and the only fair way, I think, of making the transition to 625-line television is through a phased programme. My noble friend specifically mentioned the question of the mobile radio services. I might add that it was at the request of my right honourable friend the Home Secretary that the Mobile Radio Committee is undertaking a study of the spectrum requirements for land mobile radio in the future.

The Duke of Atholl

My Lords, is my noble friend aware that there are many small communities in Scotland which are dependent on the 405-line services to receive any television reception at all, and that they would bitterly resent it if the Government increased the speed with which they are phasing out the 405-line services unless they received their own particular local stations on 625-lines? I imagine that that would be a fairly expensive undertaking at present or, for that matter, at any future time?

Lord Belstead

My Lords, I appreciate what my noble friend the Duke of Atholl has just said about communities in Scotland. My noble friend may wish to have his attention drawn to the fact that when my right honourable friend the Home Secretary on 20th May last year answered a Question for Written Answer about the programme of phasing out the 405-line television services, my right honourable friend also announced what are called "self-help schemes" for communities which will not be able to receive 625-line television.

Earl De La Warr

My Lords, is my noble friend aware that the BBC is most anxious to close down this service next year? Would he also agree that it is becoming almost impossible to maintain these old sets because spares simply are not available? Would he further agree that second-hand monochrome 625-line sets can be bought very cheaply indeed? Therefore, in so far as there is hardship, I do not think it is relevant.

Lord Belstead

My Lords, I generally take my noble friend's advice in matters of broadcasting, but in this particular instance I think that next year would be too soon. There is the need to try to look after the smaller communities, and at the moment both the BBC and the IBA have what they call their Phase Two programme for extending 625-line coverage to communities with a permanent population of 500 or more. That will be followed up with a Phase Three programme for the very small communities of 200 or more—and that within the period of four years when we believe that the 405-line television should come to an end.

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