§ Mr. Whiteheadasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further assistance he can offer to the cable television experimental stations set up by his Department, in view of their critical financial difficulties.
§ Mr. John:When the local community cable television experiments were authorised in 1972, it was made clear that public money would not be available to finance them. Last year, however, the Voluntary Services Unit made a grant of £5,000 to the experimental station Swindon Viewpoint to give some breathing space for it to find additional sources of revenue to meet future commitments; it was emphasised that no guarantee could be given as to future Government funding. In the present circumstances, 777W there is no justification for granting public money for the subsidy of what are essentially local projects.