§ Mr. WyattTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture. Media and Sport (1) what discussions she has had with the BBC on the delay in announcing its outline plan for the digital curriculum; [131526]
(2) if she will make a statement on the timetable for the BBC's (a) announcement of an outline plan regarding and (b) launch of the digital curriculum; [131527]
(3) what discussions she has had with the BBC on the content of its outline plan for the digital curriculum, with particular reference to the commissioning of content from the independent production sector. [131528]
§ Estelle MorrisThe conditions on the approval of the Digital Curriculum require the BBC to publish a five-year commissioning plan, no less than 15 months before the launch of the service. The European Commission announced on 1 October 2003 that the Digital Curriculum was compatible with European state aid rules. The BBC is therefore now able to pursue its work on the service, and has announced that it intends to launch the full service in 2006, following a series of pilot projects. In accordance with the conditions, half of all content will be commissioned from external producers.