§ Mr. WelshTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to require the extension of coverage of Channel 5 in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. 99656]
§ Janet AndersonResponsibility for the transmission of Channel 5 services rests with Channel 5 under the terms of its licence, regulated by the Independent Television Commission and subject to constraints on the available spectrum. Channel 5 has enhanced its coverage across the UK by offering analogue services free-to-air on satellite and also on cable where it is available. Channel 5 services are also carried free-to-air on all digital platforms.
The provision of digital terrestrial television now has higher priority than the potential extension of analogue terrestrial Channel 5 coverage. The Government have no plans to require Channel 5 to extend analogue terrestrial services to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland or other areas of the UK. However in due course digital television 216W coverage will be universally available across the UK, at least matching the existing analogue coverage of 99.4 per cent. of the UK population.