§ Mr. CarmichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has for expanding the coverage of Channel 5 to all areas of Great Britain. [17004]
§ Dr. HowellsThere are no such plans, because the provision of digital terrestrial television now has priority for the use of scarce spectrum. Channel 5 services are carried free-to-view on all digital platforms. The Government's aim is to make the main analogue channels universally available in digital across the UK, at least matching the existing analogue coverage of 99.4 per cent. of the population.