Mr. Caplin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will ensure that future cable television licensingagreements require the provision of high quality local programming by franchise operators and that that provision be monitored bythe ITC. [43109]Mr. Fisher: The award and regulation of cable television licences is, by statute, a matter for the Independent Television Commission(ITC). The terms of the Broadcasting Act 1990 require that licences awarded by the ITC under that Act contain no positiverequirements for specific programming categories or quality. The ITC will however continue to monitor conditions relating to localprogramming in cable licences issued by the Cable Authority under the Cable and Broadcasting Act 1984, for which the Commission isnow responsible.