§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many submissions he received during his consultation on the future funding of the BBC which were(a) in favour of and (b) opposed to a digital television licence fee, indicating the organisations and individuals in each case. [102409]
§ Mr. Chris Smith[holding answer 13 December 1999]: Over 2,000 responses to the public consultation were received by the end of November. Of the 543 which commented on the independent review panel's recommendation for a digital licence supplement, (a) 14 were in favour and (b) 529 were opposed to the proposal. I will publish a summary of responses when I announce my decisions on the Davies panel's recommendations in January.