HC Deb 29 April 1991 vol 190 c20W
45. Mr. Simon Coombs

To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will make a statement on televising the House on cable systems.

Mr. MacGregor

In its recent report, the Select Committee on Broadcasting reiterated its belief in the desirability of establishing a television channel dedicated to continuous coverage of parliamentary proceedings. Of the three proposals submitted to it, the Committee concluded that the scheme put forward by United Artists was "the most thoroughly worked out and immediately practicable". The United Artists service, which is expected to begin in the autumn, will be available, without any extra charge to subscribers, to any home or other building served by a local cable network. In addition, it is hoped, subject to the outcome of discussions involving the Independent Television Commission, that the service might also be transmitted via one of the spare transponders on the Marco Polo satellite, for the time being at least by BSkyB.