§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what consultations he had with the Independent Broadcasting Authority before deciding to remove the ban on the supply of land lines for broadcasting to overseas broadcasting companies; and what was the response of the Independent Broadcasting Authority to his decision;
207W(2) what consultations he had with the Association of Independent Radio Contractors before deciding to remove the ban on the direct broadcasting of services by foreign companies; and if he will make a statement;
(3) why he has decided to remove the ban on the supply of land lines by British Telecom to overseas broadcasting companies including Radio Luxembourg;
(4) if overseas broadcasting companies provided with land lines by British Telecom and thereby enabled to broadcast direct to British listeners will be subject to the controls, levies and restrictions at present borne by independent radio stations operating licences awarded by the Independent Broadcasting Authority; and if he will make a statement;
(5) if foreign broadcasting companies providing radio programmes to British listeners by means of land lines will have their programme content subject to the supervision and control of the Independent Broadcasting Authority.
§ Mr. HurdRestrictions on the provision of telecommunications facilities from this country to foreign broadcasting organisations seeking to transmit from their own territory to this country were first imposed many years ago, in a very different climate of broadcasting and telecommunications regulation, at a time when the Postmaster General was the Minister responsible both for matters of broadcasting policy and for the provision of telecommunications facilities within this country. Since 1969 the restrictions have been implemented by the Post Office (now British Telecommunications) but the policy has been the responsibility for the Minister responsible for broadcasting matters. My right hon. and learned Friend has recently reviewed the need for the restrictions, both in response to a request from Radio Luxembourg and against the background of the new telecommunications environment in which British Telecommunications will cease to be a public corporation and in which international links will also be provided by Mercury. It became clear that the continued operation of the restrictions under the new regulatory framework established by the Telecommunications Act 1984 would make it necessary to confer specific statutory powers on the Secretary of State enabling him to direct licensed telecommunications operators not to provide facilities for certain potential customers, contrary to the general thrust of policy regarding provision of telecommunication facilities which is embodied in the Telecommunications Act. His preliminary conclusion, which was communicated to the directors general of the BBC and IBA on 22 February, was that the restrictions would be increasingly difficult to operate in practice for technological reasons, that there would be considerable difficulties in framing the new legislative provisions and that they were in any case no longer justified on their merits, having regard in particular to the Government's commitment to the free flow of information between countries and the continued development of international telecommunications services.
The BBC and IBA have now offered their comments, and representations have also been received from the Association of Independent Radio Contractors, which was informed of the position by the IBA. The Home Secretary has carefully considered what has been said, but is satisfied that the restrictions should be lifted. Overseas broadcasting companies have always been free to broadcast to this country on frequencies allocated by 208W international agreement, and the content of what they put out is a matter for the appropriate national authorities which authorise the transmissions. In addition, they have always been able to make programmes, sell advertising time and conduct business generally in this country without restriction. Restrictions on direct telecommunications links have always therefore had only a limited impact on the content of the services.
The one area in which we consider some continuing safeguards to be needed concerns the coverage of those sporting and other events which are dealt with in clause 14 of the Cable and Broadcasting Bill. It would clearly be wrong if the protection which BBC and IBA services are to enjoy against the siphoning off of these events by cable were to be circumvented by the activities of overseas broadcasting companies. The BBC and IBA were informed on 22 February that amendments to the Bill to safeguard these events for British television would be prepared for the Committee Stage in this House