§ Mr. Harry GreenwayTo ask the Lord President of the Council what progress has been made towards the selection of an independent parliamentary televising operator for the five-year period from 1 August. [19078]
§ Mr. NewtonThe Broadcasting Committees of both Houses have accepted the recommendation of a tender board, following a public tender process, that CCT Productions Ltd., the current operator, should be awarded the parliamentary televising contract for a further five-year period from 1 August 1996. The contract is formally between CCT Productions Ltd. and Parliamentary Broadcasting Unit Ltd.—PARBUL—and is subject to the successful negotiation of detailed terms by the parties. A copy of the tender submitted by CCT Productions Ltd. will be placed in the Library shortly, after the removal of any commercially sensitive information. The two Select Committees have also agreed106W the terms of new copyright licences required by PARBUL under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to cover the same five-year period as the operating contract with CCT Productions Ltd. The decision of the House of Commons Broadcasting Committee is in the form of a recommendation to Madam Speaker who, under the terms of the Act, exercises the House's function as owner of the copyright in its televised proceedings.