§ Mr. GryllsTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will make a statement about future activities of the Television Licensing Organisation (TVLO).
§ Mr. NewtonI have given my consent under section 61(2) of the British Telecommunications Act 1981, to a subsidiary of the Post Office, Barton House Services Ltd., contracting to provide subscription management and monitoring services on behalf of the Post Office's TV licensing organisation to organisations providing satellite TV services. This will enable the Post Office to complement its current TV licensing activities and to use TVLO's expertise and resources in taking advantage of the new opportunities offered by the Government's framework for broadcasting which was set out in the White Paper "Broadcasting in the 90s: Competition, Choice and Quality," CM 517, November 1988. Any service provided by TVLO in this respect will be on a strictly commercial contractual basis and without any cross-subsidy from the services it performs for Government in respect of TV licensing itself.