§ Dame Janet FookesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has completed his review of the proposed changes to the regulations covering the siting of satellite dish antennae which was announced following the merger of British Satellite Broadcasting and Sky Television.
§ Sir George YoungMy right hon. Friends the Secretary of State and the Secretary of State for Wales have given careful consideration to the implications of the merger. Their concern in originally proposing a general permission for two dishes per dwelling house was to ensure fair competition between major operators in the satellite broadcasting field. In the circumstances following the merger, they see no immediate case for pressing ahead with a general permission for two dishes.
They propose, therefore, to retain the present general permission for one dish per dwelling house, but to go ahead with the other proposals which they made in November to secure better protection of visual amenity and sensitive areas. A small change is being made to the proposed definition of the size of a dish to bring it into line with current practice in the industry. The necessary amendments to the Town and Country Planning General Development Order will be laid in Parliament shortly. I should however make clear that, should the Independent Television Commission license another significant direct broadcasting by satellite (DBS) provider or should another major satellite service emerge that cannot be received by means of an Astra aerial, they would consider the case for moving back to a general permission for two dishes. They look to the industry to press ahead with technical innovation which will lessen the impact of these dishes on visual amenity.