§ Mr. Nicholas BennettTo ask the Lord President of the Council what representations he has received from commercial companies requesting a direct feed of the House proceedings subscriber service; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MacGregorI know of no such recent representations either to me or to my predecessor. Under196W the present arrangements, organisations wishing to take a clean feed from the Chamber must first approach House of Commons Broadcasting Unit Ltd., the company formed by the main broadcasters which has been licensed by the House to produce and distribute the signal. Those wishing to take coverage of Select or Standing Committees apply to Commons Committee Television, the company contracted for that purpose by the broadcasters. In either case the Select Committee on Broadcasting stands ready to arbitrate in any possible dispute over the terms on which access is granted to the signals. So far the Committee's intervention has not been required. If however, my hon. Friend has a particular case in mind, perhaps he would let me know.