§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current coverage of Scotland by independent and BBC television; how many relay stations would be required to give Scotland full coverage; and what is the average cost of a relay station.
§ Mr. JohnResponsibility for the provision and extension of their services rests with the broadcasting authorities, the BBC and the IBA. The broadcasting authorities tell me that about 96 per cent. of the population of Scotland are now able to receive UHF 625 line services. It is not possible to say how many relay stations would be required to give full coverage, but when the extension of UHF services to communities of over 500 people is complete, by about the end of 1982, there will be a total of 12 main and over 100 relay stations in Scotland serving around 97.7 per cent. of the population. Typical costs of equipping relay stations range between £40,000 and £80,000 depending on the power of the transmitters. Site and access costs are additional and in remote areas these can be considerable.