§ Mr. MacdonaldTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has as to(a) how many hours of television will be produced for regional consumption by BBC Scotland, STV, Grampian and Border Television in 1988, (b) how many hours of television in Gaelic are expected to be broadcast by BBC Scotland, STV, Grampian and Border Television in 1988 and (c) what were the equivalent figures for 1987.
§ Mr. RentonI understand from the BBC and the IBA that the information sought is as follows:
Table 1 Regional programme production
Programme hours produced per year 1987 1988 BBC Scotland 863 1863 STV 507 496 Grampian 370 364 Border Television 235 2260
Table 2 Gaelic Programmes
Programme hours transmitted per year 1987 1988 BBC Scotland 52 52 STV 21 345 Grampian 34.5 439.5 Border Television — — 1 This is a forecast figure based on analogy with previous years. 2 Border Television's transmission area covers the Isle of Man, northern England and southern Scotland. This figure represents the total output for the region. 3 This figure includes material made by Grampian Television and an independent production company, and broadcast by STV. 4 This figure represents Grampian Television programmes only. Grampian anticipates obtaining additional Gaelic programming from STV for transmission during 1988.
§ Mr. MacdonaldTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information he has as to how many hours of television will be broadcast as a whole by BBC Scotland, STV, Grampian and Border Television in 1988.
§ Mr. RentonI understand that BBC Scotland and the three ITV companies expect to transmit the following numbers of hours of programming during 1988:
Television programme hours to be transmitted in 1988 Number BBC Scotland—BBC 1 5,905 BBC 2 4,335 STV 7,686 Grampian 5,512 Border Television 16,010 1This figure includes extra programming during the night hours which is expected to begin later in the year.