HC Deb 26 July 1989 vol 157 cc704-5W
Sir Charles Morrison

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to ensure that the Independent Television Commission will have adequate representation of deaf people.

Mr. Renton

The Independent Television Commission will be a regulatory body rather than a representative one. Members will be chosen to cover a wide range of experience and knowledge, but we do not believe it would be right to appoint a member specifically to serve the needs of the deaf.

Sir Charles Morrison

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he intends to lay down regulations that oblige the television broadcasters to ensure that whenever there is an emergency or urgent news flashes, the programme is broadcast so that deaf viewers can fully understand the message;

(2) whether the proposed requirements for Channels 3 and 5 with regard to subtitling for the deaf will be applied to the BBC channels, Channel 4, cable and satellite channels; what reasonable target for the amount of subtitles in future years will be set by the Independent Television Commission; whether the proposed 10 per cent. increase in Teletest subtitles will be a minimum requirement; whether the proposal will include a requirement to provide a diverse service across all programming; and whether he is considering any inclusion in the proposal for sign language services and open-in-vision subtitles.

Mr. Hurd

As I announced on 13 June, at column 715, we are proposing that Channel 3 and Channel 5 licensees should, in the first year of the new licences provide 10 per cent. more hours of subtitling than had been achieved on average by the ITV companies in the previous year. The licensees would, of course, be free to provide more hours than this if they so wished. The ITC would take this and other matters into account In judging a suitable target for future years. We envisage that the choice of which programmes should be subtitled should be left to the licence holder. The BBC and Channel 4 will continue to be bound by public service commitments and so can be expected to continue to provide subtitling.

It will be for the broadcasters to determine how information is presented, beyond the requirement to be impartial and accurate in news reporting. Live subtitling is complex, and in some instances would be difficult to provide.

With regard to the additional television channels, which are becoming available, we have always made it clear that we intend to impose on these channels a number of consumer protection requirements to safeguard the public on matters of taste and decency. Beyond that their success or failure will be determined by their ability to attract and retain viewers with their programme service.

Services for the deaf should generally be provided by teletext, although by virtue of their public service obligations the BBC and Channel 4 can be expected to provide specialist services for those viewers without access to a teletext television set.