§ Mr. Moateasked the Lord President of the Council what estimate he can make of the likely capital cost to be incurred in the current financial year by the Government in connection with the broadcasting of proceedings of the House.
§ Mr. William PriceThe cost of the commentary boxes in both Chambers was estimated at £68,000, providing the work was carried out in an uninterrupted period of 13 weeks. However, a decision has only just been taken by the House on the scheme to be adopted, so overtime and weekend working will be necessary to get the bulk of the work done during the coming recess. This is expected to bring the total cost to £85,000 in this financial year. Any additional expenditure depends on the future recommendations of the Joint Committee on Broadcasting and decisions taken on those recommendations by both Houses.
§ Mr. Moateasked the Lord President of the Council what estimate has been made of the likely capital cost to be incurred in the current financial year by the broadcasting authorities in connection with the broadcasting of the proceedings of the House; and what is his estimate of the annual net costs of operating the service.
§ Mr. William PriceThe level and timing of the costs which the broadcasters will incur in broadcasting parliamentary proceedings will depend on the arrangements on which Parliament has yet to decide. The BBC has proposed to meet 1087W both the capital cost of equipment, for which the latest estimate is £400,000 in total, and the annual running costs for originating and editing the signal, estimated at £275.000. If the BBC proposals were accepted, the independent broadcasting companies would also incur capital and running costs of a smaller order. The IBA has, however, proposed that Parliament should itself set up a central sound production unit, in which case the independent broadcasting companies and the BBC would meet costs only of the editorial and broadcasting work.