§ Q15. Mr. Wigleyasked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on the Government's change of general policy in respect of the fourth television channel in Wales.
§ The Prime MinisterWe have given very careful consideration to the arrangements to be made for Welsh language programmes once the fourth television channel is in operation, in the context of our proposals for that channel generally. We are satisfied that the fairest, most efficient and most economical way of achieving our objective of more Welsh language broadcasting is for BBC programmes to continue to be carried on one of the BBC's two channels and for programmes from the Welsh ITV contractor or from independent producers to be carried on the fourth channel. The consultative machinery which we will propose on scheduling will ensure that clashes between programmes in Welsh are avoided, that a proper proportion of such programmes is seen in peak viewing time and that non-Welsh speaking viewers have alternatives available to them. Our plans will mean that viewers in Wales will have available to them, as well as programmes in Welsh, the programmes to be provided on the fourth channel for the United Kingdom as a whole.