HC Deb 19 December 1945 vol 417 cc1497-8W
Major Lloyd

asked the Minister of Information why, when in 1938 it took salaries representing 26.43 percent, of the total B.B.C. income to mount programmes costing 24.66 per cent, of that income, it now takes salaries representing 44.83 per cent, of that total income to mount programmes costing 20.12 per cent, of that income.

Mr. E. J. Williams

The figures quoted in the Question relate, respectively, to the year before the outbreak of war and to the last year of the war in Europe. The different proportion in the latter year is due to the development of the B.B.C.'s wartime services, undertaken at the Government's request; in particular, the foreign language services, in respect of which the cost of programmes is relatively small in relation to salaries; the monitoring service, which involves staff costs but not programme costs, and the engineering services, which were very greatly expanded to enable British broadcasts to be heard in Europe and throughout the world.