BBC Alba
The next item of business is a debate on motion S3M-5720, in the name of Fiona Hyslop, on access to BBC Alba. If any member speaks in Gaelic and members wish to hear the interpretation, the headphones are available on members' desks. The interpretation is available on channel 1, which can be selected using the button to the right of the voting buttons on members' consoles.
Madainn mhath is fàilte. I am very pleased to lead this debate on BBC Alba. Since its launch in September 2008, the channel has provided an essential service in supporting Gaelic heritage, identity and culture. It has clearly demonstrated that it deserves to be available to a wider audience, and I hope that everyone in the chamber will join me in supporting that position.
The Scottish National Party Government wishes to advance three key messages. First, we value and recognise the importance of the Gaelic language and Gaelic media. Secondly, BBC Alba has achieved much over the past 17 months. Thirdly, BBC Alba should be available on Freeview, and the BBC trustees should take that decision sooner rather than later.
The Scottish Government recognises Gaelic as an integral part of Scotland's heritage and its current cultural life. Our aim is to create a secure and sustainable future for Gaelic in Scotland. We are at a critical point in our support for Gaelic. There have been a number of important campaigns over recent years, which have led to important structures being put in place. We now have a Gaelic education sector, a Gaelic bòrd, a Gaelic act—the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005—and much more. It is crucial that we use those structures effectively to increase the use and learning of Gaelic throughout Scotland.
Today, our focus is on an essential support for the Gaelic language: BBC Alba. The Scottish Government believes that Gaelic media, consisting of radio, on-line delivery and television, is of critical importance for the future of the Gaelic language. Gaelic media have access to the home. Gaelic broadcasting appeals to young people. Gaelic programmes have the potential to support Gaelic language learning at every level. A Gaelic media industry supports artistic and technical skills and creates opportunities for Gaelic to be used in those contexts. Those opportunities are vital for the future of the language.
The importance of Gaelic media explains why there was such a long campaign for a Gaelic television channel before BBC Alba's launch in September 2008. The service has undoubtedly been a success and it is a welcome addition to Scottish broadcasting. It now has an average weekly reach of more than 220,000 adults. In Scotland, it has a higher approval score than BBC 2, BBC 3 and BBC 4. It has clearly demonstrated its ability to attract a wide range of people in Scotland as viewers of Gaelic television. We understand that, for every Gaelic speaker, BBC Alba has, since its launch, attracted at least three non-Gaelic speakers.
It is Gaelic speakers, of course, who use the channel most intensively. Research surveys conducted by the Lèirsinn research centre show that 70 per cent of Gaelic-speaking viewers who are able to receive the channel do so, and that their average viewing time is about six hours per week.
MG Alba supports new talent. In Inverness last week, for example, it hosted the FilmG awards, its awards ceremony for Gaelic short films. The awards attracted 54 entries in total, 23 of which were from young people. The awards exemplify the talent, creativity and enthusiasm of many young Gaelic speakers.
BBC Alba plays a vital role within the Scottish broadcasting industry. It spends about 75 per cent of its content budget on independent production companies in Scotland. It has created business models to enable the sustainability of the independent Gaelic TV production sector.
BBC Alba's impact would be even greater if it were more widely available. The reason for holding this debate now is that the BBC trust has recently been reviewing BBC Alba and consulting on whether it should be made available on Freeview. We expect a final decision to be made in March. It is important that, at this critical time, the Parliament speaks with one voice regarding our wish that BBC Alba be made available on Freeview. The Scottish Government's long-standing view is that it should be available on Freeview and all other relevant platforms, including cable.
We acknowledge the wider point about access that is made in Pauline McNeill's amendment. We made that view very clear to the BBC trust in our response to its consultation. At present, only 43 per cent of Scottish viewers have access to satellite services. There are therefore significant numbers of people who are being denied access to BBC Alba.
I agree with a point that I know that Iain Smith will stress. The choice with which we have been presented is not the ideal solution. Under BBC management proposals, access to BBC Alba will be gained only at the expense of access to radio stations on the television. Although it is crucial for BBC Alba to be placed on Freeview as soon as possible, I urge the BBC to find a way to address the issues around the availability of radio stations.
Over the past 17 months, BBC Alba has clearly met the criteria that the BBC trust set in order to determine whether it should be available on Freeview.
What is the Scottish Government's preferred multiplex when it comes to the availability of BBC Alba on Freeview? In other words, would it be available only to people who receive from a main transmitter, or would it also be available to those who receive from a relay transmitter? There is nothing in the Government's submission on that.
On numerous occasions, we have made the point to the United Kingdom Government that the availability of broadcasting—not just BBC Alba but other channels—is unsatisfactory in certain parts of the country, including the member's constituency, and that resolving that issue must be part of the overall solution.
The Government has demonstrated that the appeal of BBC Alba extends beyond its core audience of Gaelic speakers and learners. We recognise that BBC Alba has significant potential to support learners of the Gaelic language, regardless of which stage they are at.
BBC Alba is an essential part of the range of initiatives and programmes that are in place to support and promote the Gaelic language in Scotland. It is also an essential part of the Scottish broadcasting industry and plays a vital role in supporting the independent production sector in Scotland. Ted Brocklebank's amendment rightly stresses the importance of BBC Alba to those companies, as well as to its own employees. However, BBC Alba will achieve its full impact only if it is available to viewers across Scotland, so I urge colleagues to support the motion. Mòran taing.
I move,
That the Parliament welcomes the contribution made by BBC Alba to Scottish culture and the promotion of the Gaelic language since its launch in September 2008; believes that this contribution would be even greater if BBC Alba was available on a wider variety of broadcasting platforms, and urges the BBC Trust to decide to make BBC Alba available on Freeview following its recent consultation on this issue.
We would all agree that by any standard or system of measurement, BBC Alba has been a phenomenal success since its launch a little over two years ago. Its success in securing audiences of more than 220,000 viewers a week is impressive, especially when we consider that the channel is available in only about a third of Scottish homes.
Labour has a strong interest in BBC Alba, given that we agreed to fund the channel in 2006, when we were in government, and we support the Scottish Government's motion, which seeks to persuade the BBC trust to extend the franchise to more viewers through Freeview.
I once said with great authority at a meeting about the Gaelic language that Partick in my constituency was home to the highest number of Gaels in Scotland and no one challenged me. Suffice it to say that that is not true, but I do have a local interest in the matter.
The situation has been wrong for some time. Given BBC Alba's importance as a Gaelic medium, it is unjust that thousands of people cannot access it on Freeview. BBC Alba is the only general entertainment channel to be wholly managed and broadcast from Scotland, and 95 per cent of its content is provided by Scotland-based companies. Its carriage on Freeview has been the dominant issue for discussion over the past few years.
In the most recent debate on the subject, I said that if the BBC trust uses audience figures as a measure of the channel's success, it is quite ludicrous to exclude the 150,000-plus viewers who cannot be counted because they cannot see the channel, and I repeat that assertion. As the minister said, we have the opportunity to extend coverage from 40 to 83 per cent of the population. If BBC Alba were provided on cable, that figure would rise by a further 15 per cent. In its consultation, the BBC trust has received an impressive 5,000 responses on the issue of Freeview carriage for BBC Alba, which represents one written response from every 1,000 people who live in Scotland. That is a significant figure.
BBC Alba is good value. For every Gaelic speaker that it has reached since its launch, it has attracted a further three non-Gaelic speakers. That is a great achievement, particularly as we know that the British and the Scottish public are not known for their love of subtitles. In my opinion, the channel's diversity is the secret of its success. It offers a fantastic choice of interesting programmes. The traditional music awards showcase the incredible musicianship of home-grown talent, which I do not think has had anywhere near the amount of exposure that it deserves. BBC Alba's coverage of the event has introduced non-Gaelic audiences to an amazing sector of our music industry. The channel has attracted a mainstream audience, and it should continue to do so. As I have said, if it were shown on Freeview, those benefits would extend to 83 per cent of the population, and the figure would be even higher if it were broadcast on cable.
The Gaelic content of BBC Alba, whether in its children's programmes, its documentaries or the fresh perspective that it has on the news, is unique and cannot be found anywhere else. However, the potential loss of access to digital and analogue radio stations through television is a concern to everyone, and I will address the Liberal Democrat amendment, which deals with that, later.
BBC Alba's purpose as a new channel is to help promote and sustain Gaelic language and culture as a key strand of Scotland's culture, which is an extension of what we agreed to in the Gaelic language plan. The channel makes one of the most notable and important contributions to that goal. Its approach to broadcasting has brought many economic benefits, as the minister said, including the continued growth of the Scottish broadcasting industry.
At Friday's broadcasting summit, which Fiona Hyslop chaired, we discussed the need to develop our capacity for production, given the economic benefits that flow from that. If we are to meet the BBC's target of producing 8 per cent of its programmes in Scotland—Channel 4 is lagging behind in that regard—BBC Alba will have a not insignificant role to play. At the summit, Anne Mensah, who looks after Scottish interests in London and who is passionate about commissioning programmes in Scotland, talked about the stiff competition that we face from elsewhere. BBC Alba's record is commendable. It has used 28 production companies, including four new ones, and has conducted training programmes and initiatives that have definitely contributed to the industry's overall capacity.
I am sure that, like me, many other members will have been written to by members of the Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television who are concerned about STV's application to change its status to that of an independent company. I hope that we all agree that any change in STV's status should not impact on the ability of Scotland's small independent sector to compete for a share of the increase in programming.
The Labour amendment addresses the dispute between the BBC and Virgin, which we hope will be resolved soon so that BBC Alba can be provided on cable. In my constituency in the west end of Glasgow, where it is not possible to get a satellite dish for conservation reasons, cable provision is extremely important. That is why we lodged our amendment, which I hope will be supported. We urge the minister to work with the Secretary of State for Scotland to help achieve that.
Radio coverage, which is the subject of the Liberal amendment, is probably an issue for future debate. Radio is often tagged on to broadcasting discussions, but it is an important medium—although I notice that the figures suggest that the proportion of people who listen to radio does not seem to be as high in Scotland as it is in England; I do not know why that is. We want an alternative arrangement to be found for the radio stations concerned, particularly Radio 6, Radio 5 Live and the BBC Asian Network, which, under the BBC's proposals, people will not be able to access if they do not have access to a digital radio. We need to identify the small number of listeners who would be affected. The BBC trust is duty bound to do that during the consultation. We do not want to break the consensus—we agree with the minister that we must move forward in a consensual way—but I want it to be confirmed that the Liberal Democrat amendment is not saying that we should not proceed with the extension of Freeview if the problem with radio cannot be resolved. I hope that the answer to that is in the affirmative.
The Labour Party supports the motion. I move amendment S3M-5720.2, to insert after "platforms":
"and therefore calls on the BBC management and Virgin Media to resolve the ongoing dispute regarding carrying BBC channels on the cable network to ensure the widest possible access to BBC Alba".
In recent weeks, I have watched two outstanding films on BBC Alba. One was about the Gaelic poet, Sorley MacLean; the other was about the Gaelic writer and comedian, Norman Maclean, and his lifelong battle with alcoholism. Both were beautifully crafted and bore comparison with anything that I have seen on BBC Scotland or STV over the same period.
Of course, not everyone wants to learn about Gaelic poets or alcoholic comedians, and BBC Alba now does its own gardening and cookery shows, and there is plenty of coverage of music, religion, sport, as well as in-depth interviews and kids' shows—in fact, all the things that one would find on a normal channel. We can all understand the shows because they are subtitled in English, but they have the advantage of being produced in the Gàidhealtachd and in Gaelic, which means that as well as being entertained and informed, those who do not speak Scotland's oldest language have a genuine opportunity to begin learning it.
There are around 60,000 Gaelic speakers left in Scotland and that is widely regarded to be the lowest level at which it is possible to sustain a language. The number of Maori speakers in New Zealand had dropped to half that figure—30,000—until a new Maori TV channel was made available to all. Now the number of fluent speakers of Maori has risen to about 136,000, and most of the country's 650,000 Maoris have a smattering of the language.
Of course BBC Alba should be available on Freeview, not only to secure an even wider viewership, but to give a sense of security to those who have worked so hard to make the new channel a success. Why should access to the channel be denied to all except people who can afford to subscribe to Sky? I cannot tell members how impressed I was with the quality of the personnel I met working for the company, both at its headquarters in Stornoway and at its studios at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in Skye.
As we have heard, 75 per cent of BBC Alba's programmes come from independent companies. It has now commissioned shows from some 30 production companies, which are mostly based in the heartlands. Those companies include four new starts. It was heartwarming for a former broadcaster to see young people with well-paid jobs producing excellent television from a part of the world that has sent many splendid broadcasters, including virtually all the current top brass at BBC Scotland, to the mainland over the years.
Conservatives have always supported Gaelic. Members do not have to take my word for that. The West Highland Free Press and its founder, Brian Wilson, are hardly natural Tory supporters, but that former Labour minister said in a recent editorial:
"The Tories have a pretty good record on support for Gaelic. George Younger gave crucial backing to Gaelic-medium schools and Malcolm Rifkind set up the Gaelic Broadcasting Fund."
Brian Wilson was responding to a somewhat ill-judged attack by Alasdair Allan, who had claimed that the Tories' Westminster broadcasting spokesman, Jeremy Hunt, was going to abolish BBC Alba. BBC Alba is largely funded by the Scottish Parliament, so it is difficult to see how Jeremy Hunt could have done that, even if he had wanted to. I am delighted to inform members that he does not want to do that.
As the current affairs chief who introduced Scotland's first Gaelic news bulletins on Grampian TV years ago, I hope that I am not being too immodest if I complete the quote from Brian Wilson's editorial. Referring to Alasdair Allan and the SNP, he wrote:
"When he and his crew have done as much for the status of Gaelic and Gaelic broadcasting as Younger, Rifkind and Brocklebank, then they too will win the approval of this column without regard to wider political differences."
I know that there are many members from all parties in the Parliament whose support for Gaelic and BBC Alba runs deep—I include the minister and Alasdair Allan among them—but the simple fact is that BBC Alba would not have happened if the Tories had not pioneered and then fought to safeguard the Gaelic broadcasting fund in the 1980s. That money has now matured into the £12 million that the Government annually contributes to BBC Alba's budget. I look forward to the channel winning its rightful place on Freeview and going from strength to strength.
The Conservative party supports the Government motion and the Labour and Liberal Democrat amendments, and commends the amendment in my name. Mòran taing.
I move amendment S3M-5720.1, to insert after "2008":
"; believes that BBC Alba's growing viewership, along with the direct employees and the independent broadcasters working for the channel, requires assurances about its long-term economic and cultural future".
I am pleased to contribute to this short debate on the future of BBC Alba.
There is no question but that BBC Alba has exceeded all expectations since it was launched in September 2008. It is already making an extremely valuable contribution to the development and sustainability of independent producers in rural Scotland in particular, increasing the diversity of that important sector of the Scottish economy. Despite its availability being limited to Sky and Freesat, it has attracted a weekly reach of up to 5 per cent of Scottish viewers, helped in no small part by its shrewd decision to broadcast live football and other sports. Some may criticise that emphasis on sports broadcasting rather than on pure Gaelic programmes, but it is clearly an effective way of drawing in a non-Gaelic speaking audience. We should not forget the role that Bob the Builder—not Mr Ewing, I hasten to add—played in the success of S4C. In any event, BBC Alba's Gaelic programmes, not least its news, current affairs and community information programmes, have a weekly audience of more than 70 per cent of the Gaelic speakers and learners who are able to receive the channel.
The debate is about who is able to receive the channel. There is and always has been cross-party support in the chamber for BBC Alba being available on digital terrestrial television, or Freeview, at the earliest opportunity. It is simply not acceptable that the channel is available only to those who have access to satellite-based platforms. That is not the case for S4C in Wales, and it will not be the case for the Irish language channel TG4, which will be available on Freeview in Northern Ireland following the digital switchover. Scots Gaelic should be on an equal footing with Irish Gaelic and Welsh, and BBC Alba, as the primary Gaelic language channel, should be available as a main channel on Freeview in Scotland.
I welcome the BBC trust's consultation on the issue, but the options that it offered in its consultation paper were unacceptable. I simply do not accept that the only way to provide BBC Alba on Freeview is to take down another BBC service. That has not happened for S4C in Wales, and it will not happen for TG4 in Northern Ireland, so why is it necessary for BBC Alba in Scotland? Providing three unacceptable options involving red button services, BBC Parliament or BBC Radio and asking us to accept the least worst of those options is simply not good enough.
The Liberal Democrat amendment is fine in principle, and I agree with it, but it would require the purchase of space on another spectrum at colossal cost. Is there not a risk that that huge cost could be used as an excuse not to extend BBC Alba on to Freeview?
I do not accept that argument. That has not happened in Wales and it will not happen in Northern Ireland. There is space on the spectrum for BBC Alba; it is simply a case of making that space available.
As a point of principle, wherever they are in the United Kingdom, licence payers should be entitled to the same access to the BBC services that they fund. Why is the BBC proposing a form of digital apartheid? Why should listeners in Scotland be denied access to BBC radio stations via Freeview? For many people, there is no other way to access digital-only radio services such as the Asian Network, 1Xtra, 5 Live Sports Extra and Radio 6 and Radio 7, as they have no DAB radio signal and have limited broadband speeds. After analogue radio is switched off in 2015, they will also be denied access to Radio 1 to Radio 4, Radio Scotland and even Radio nan Gaidheal.
Digital exclusion does not affect only people in the most remote communities; it even affects fairly large towns and villages in the central belt. In my constituency, DAB signals are limited, broadband speed is restricted, and many will receive Freeview lite after switchover. That will deny them access to many of the services that are available to others, despite their paying the same licence fee and the digital levy. I am sure that my colleague Jeremy Purvis will speak more about that later.
It is time for the buck passing to stop. The UK Government must step up to the mark and tell all those responsible for digital switchover that they must upgrade all relay transmitters to provide a full Freeview service. There are other ways to provide BBC Alba on Freeview now without excluding residents of Scotland from BBC services that they pay for. The answer may lie with our old friend the seventh mux. Whatever the solution is, the BBC trust must be told to find it.
I move amendment S3M-5720.3, to insert at end:
"however the removal of existing BBC radio stations from the digital terrestrial TV platform in Scotland should not have to be a consideration in that decision; further believes that all Scottish residents should have access to the full range of broadcasting following digital switchover, and calls on the UK Government to require that all relay transmitters in Scotland are capable of transmitting the full range of Freeview channels by the 2010 and 2011 launch dates."
Thairis air na pàrtaidhean, agus ann an Alba air fad, bha daoine a' toirt fàilte air BBC Alba nuair a thòisich e o chionn bliadhna gu leth. A-nis, tha e inntinneach fhaicinn dè cho dìleas ‘s a tha na daoine a tha a' coimhead air BBC Alba a' fàs. Tha clann a-nis a' fàs cleachdte ris an smuain gu bheil e àbhaisteach cartùnaichean a chluinntinn anns a' Ghàidhlig. Tha daoine gun fhacal Gàidhlig a' fàs cleachdte ris an smuain gu bheil e àbhaisteach a bhith a' coimhead air ball-coise anns a' Ghàidhlig no air prògraman mu nàdar ann an Afraga no ge b' e càite. Ma tha sinn ag iarraidh aon rud ann an saoghal na Gàidhlig, ‘s e normalisation, mar a chanas iad, den t-seòrsa sin. Tha cànan sam bith gun telebhisean mì-àbhaisteach, agus cha bhi ùidh sam bith aig na daoine òga ann an cànan mì-àbhaisteach, ge b' e cho innteannach ‘s a bhios i dha na h-anthropologists.
Trì fichead bliadhna air ais, bha cuid ann an Israel ag ràdh gun robh cànan nan sgriobtar ro naomh airson prògraman còcaireachd air an rèidio agus a leithid. Anns an aon seòrsa dòigh, tha sinn air rathad fada a shiubhal bho na làithean nuair a bhiodh daoine a' sgrìobhadh a-steach dha na pàipearan a ghearan gun robh Gàidhlig mìorbhaileach math aig a' Mhòd ach nach robh i freagarrach airson prògraman còcaireachd. Gus a' phuing sin a dhearbhadh, bidh BBC Alba a' bruidhinn rium fhèin an ath mhìos mu na recipes as fheàrr leam. Coimhead a-mach airson na fish fingers agus an Creamola Foam.
Mar a bha Ted Brocklebank a' dèanamh soilleir, tha BBC Alba a' tuigsinn gu bheil e fìor chudromach gu bheil e a' craoladh a h-uile seòrsa prògram, agus gu bheil iad tarraingeach dhan a h-uile seòrsa neach-coimhead. Ach bhiodh an obair sin tòrr na b' fhasa nam biodh BBC Alba ri fhaicinn air Freeview. Chan eil mi a' cantainn sin dìreach air sgàth ‘s nach b' urrainn dhòmhsa BBC Alba fhaicinn ann an Leòdhas airson sia mìosan—bha mi a' feitheamh ri Sky dish agus bha sreath a' feitheamh còmhla rium. Chan eil mi eadhon a' gearan dìreach air sgàth ‘s nach urrainn dhomh fhathast an t-sianal fhaicinn anns a' Phàrlamaid, a tha a' cleachdadh càbal; ach is sin sgeul eile, ged a bha Pauline NicNèill a' bruidhinn mu dheidhinn anns an òraid aice. Nam biodh BBC Alba ri fhaicinn saor is an-asgaidh leis na sianalan Freeview eile, bhiodh sin a' toirt misneachd mhòr gu craoladh tro mheadhan na Gàidhlig. Mar sin, bhiodh barrachd taighean ann far am biodh daoine ag èisteachd ris, ag ionnsachadh agus a' fàs eòlach air a' Ghàidhlig. Bhiodh beagan fois aig Urras a' BhBC cuideachd.
Nach eil e neònach gur ann le Westminster fhathast a tha an smachd air craoladh na Gàidhlig? Ach sin mar a tha cùisean fhathast.
Bidh 220,000 neach a' coimhead air BBC Alba gach seachdain mar-thà. Cia mheud eile a bhiodh a' coimhead air, nam biodh e ri fhaotainn air Freeview? Ma bhios an t-urras a' gearradh sianalan rèidio a-mach à Freeview airson beàrn a dhèanamh airson BBC Alba, tha mi an dòchas gum bi e a' mìneachadh carson, agus nach bi an t-urras a' leigeil le sabaid gun phuing a bhith a' fàs anns an Daily Mail mun ghnothach.
Tha mi a' tuigsinn a' phuing a bha Iain Mac a' Ghobhainn a' dèanamh mu dheidhinn a' chuspair seo, ach tha e cudromach aig an aon àm a bhith a' mìneachadh gum biodh na sianalan eile sin ri fhaotainn fhathast air-loidhne agus air an rèidio fhèin. Chan fhaodadh mòran ge-tà—air a' Ghàidhealtachd co-dhiù—prògraman fhaicinn air loidhne.
People welcomed BBC Alba across party lines and throughout Scotland when it began to broadcast a year and a half ago. It is interesting to see the growth in loyalty of BBC Alba viewers. Children are now accustomed to the view that it is normal to hear cartoons in Gaelic, and people who are without a word of Gaelic are getting accustomed to the view that it is normal to see football or nature programmes about Africa or other areas in Gaelic. If there is anything that we in the Gaelic world want, it is normalisation of that kind. Any language without television is unusual. Youths have no interest in an unusual language, no matter how interesting it may be to anthropologists.
Sixty years ago, some people in Israel said that the language of scripture was too sacred to be used for cookery programmes on the radio and the like. We have travelled down a long road since the days when people used to write to the newspapers to complain that, although wonderfully good Gaelic could be heard at the Mod, it was not suitable for use in cookery programmes. In order to prove that point, BBC Alba will speak to me next month about my favourite recipes. Members should look out for fish fingers and Creamola Foam.
As Ted Brocklebank said, BBC Alba appreciates that it is vital for it to broadcast every kind of programme and for its programmes to be attractive to all viewers. However, its work would be much easier if it could be seen on Freeview. I am not saying that simply because I could not access BBC Alba in Lewis for six months. I was waiting for a Sky dish; several others were also waiting. I am not even complaining because I cannot access the channel in Parliament, which uses cable television, to which Pauline McNeill referred. If BBC Alba could be viewed at no cost with other Freeview channels, that would give tremendous encouragement to broadcasting through the medium of Gaelic. If that were the case, there would be more homes in which people could listen to, learn and become familiar with Gaelic, and the BBC trust would get a bit of peace.
Is it not strange that Westminster still has control of Gaelic broadcasting? However, that situation remains.
Already, 220,000 people watch BBC Alba every week, but how many more could watch it if it were available on Freeview? If the trust plans to remove radio channels from Freeview in order to make space for BBC Alba, I hope that it will explain why and that it will not let a needless fight about the issue arise in the Daily Mail.
I understand the point that Iain Smith made, but it is important to explain that those channels will still be available online and on the radio. Not many, especially in the Highlands, are able to view television programmes online.
I made the point that many people do not get the required broadband speeds or a DAB signal, so they will not be able to receive those channels. Some people do not get a good analogue signal, either, so those radio channels are available to them only on Freeview.
Chan eil mi ag argumaid an-aghaidh a' phuing sin no an-aghaidh an leasachaidh aig Iain Mac a' Ghobhainn. Tha mi direach ag ràdh gum biodh e feumail nam biodh an deasbad mu dheidhinn a' chuspair reusanta agus gum bu chòir fios a bhith aig daoine gu bheil na sianalan sin ri fhaotainn air loidhne cuideachd.
Tha BBC Alba a' dèanamh a h-uile rud a bha Urras a' BhBC ag iarraidh. Tha ceum eile ri ghabhail a dhearbhadh ann an saoghal craolaidh gur e cànan àbhaisteach a tha anns a' Ghàidhlig ge-tà, agus ‘s e sin Freeview. Tha mi a' cantainn ri Urras a' BhBC, "Siuthadaibh, ma-thà."
I am not arguing against the point that Iain Smith makes; I am just pointing out that it would be useful if the debate were reasonable and people knew that those channels are also available online.
BBC Alba is doing everything that the trust has asked it to do. There is another step to be taken in order to prove in the broadcasting world that Gaelic is a normal language: Freeview. I say to the BBC trust, "Go for it."
I am pleased to take part in the debate. For me, it is unfinished business. When I was the minister with responsibility for Gaelic, I had some responsibility for the discussions and negotiations, and responsibility for some of the funding, in securing BBC Alba in the first place. At that time, Patricia Ferguson was the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, and she played the biggest part by concluding the discussions on whether to establish a channel. I am pleased that we secured the channel, as it is making a big contribution to strengthening the normalisation of Gaelic in our society. The points that Alasdair Allan made about normalisation are extremely pertinent and important: normalisation is part of the function of the channel.
At peak, BBC Alba has had more than 600,000 viewers, although the average is about 220,000—5 per cent of the Scottish population. Its reach into the Highlands and Islands is something like 11 per cent, which is very impressive indeed. So viewing is not confined solely to Gaelic speakers, and the channel is not a Gaelic ghetto—a point that Ted Brocklebank ably made—but an active bridge between Gaelic and the many other cultures of our country. The fact that the viewing numbers are far greater than the current number of Gaelic speakers shows that non-Gaelic speakers are viewing and encountering Gaelic influences. I hope that their interest in the language and their support for this important part of our culture increase. Through BBC Alba, Gaelic is reaching out into English-speaking communities in an important way. That is happening because the channel is not parochial or introspective but reflects the culture of our Gaels, who are outward-looking, internationalist and multicultural in their perspectives.
The promising start that BBC Alba has made needs to be strengthened, however. People will testify that many Gaels living in their own communities cannot get the service for technical reasons. If the channel were provided through Freeview, the BBC estimates that that would attract a further 150,000 to 180,000 viewers—a significant number. Such a move would be important for the channel's development in the future. That would not just empower Gaelic speakers to view programmes in their own language and through the roots of their own culture, but enable non-Gaels to access that rich and important dimension to our national life. Without BBC Alba being available through Freeview and cable, there is a real danger of people continuing to be disfranchised in that way. The very communities that BBC Alba was primarily intended to reach would not be fully reached without that development, which we are all arguing for today.
I support the thrust of the Government's motion and our important amendment. I also support the Tory amendment. However, it is still unclear to me whether the Liberal Democrats are saying that Freeview should not be used to extend the reach of BBC Alba until the question of the radio channels is resolved. Perhaps they could clarify that.
We are saying that the Parliament should send a clear message to the BBC trust that its present proposals are not what we want to see happen and that it needs to get its act together and come up with an alternative option, as soon as possible, to ensure that people in Scotland are not denied BBC services.
The Liberal Democrat position is still not 100 per cent clear to me. If they are saying—as I hope that they are—that they do not want to hold back BBC Alba until an answer is received on the radio channels but that they want to get that answer, I share that view. I, too, want an answer on that issue.
I trust that the BBC will accede to the application that has been made and the strong support for that application. However, as we have touched on, that will not happen without some difficulty. The spectrum that would be allocated—to which Iain Smith and others have referred—could mean that some people would lose their radio service. The reasons for that are technical, and there are normally technical answers to technical questions. I hope that the BBC can find those answers; I encourage the minister to work closely with the BBC and encourage it to find those answers, so that nobody is disfranchised in any respect because of this important development.
Gaelic remains in a very fragile state. The development of BBC Alba is just one way in which we can strengthen and normalise a culture that, for so long, has been disadvantaged by a variety of mechanisms in our society. I strongly support the thrust of the debate and hope that we will quickly see the developments that we all want to see and that more people will be able to access this very important channel.
Tapadh leibhse, Oifigeir Riaghlaidh. Tha mi gu math toilichte pàirt a ghabhail anns an deasbad seo. Tha Freeview glè chudromach airson BBC Alba.
Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am very happy to take part in the debate. Freeview is very important for BBC Alba.
I welcome this debate on access to BBC Alba, not least because I do not subscribe to satellite television and rely on Freeview for my TV viewing. That means that I have never seen BBC Alba, despite the fact that I am a keen Gaelic student who would like to watch it and whose Gaelic would benefit greatly from access to it. In that, I suppose, I must declare an interest.
BBC Alba is a great success, but at present it is available only to the 40 per cent of Scottish households that receive satellite TV. Freeview would make it available to nearly all others. Its current weekly reach is 4 to 5 per cent of viewers throughout Scotland and 11 per cent in the Highlands and Islands. It also has a high approval rating. Its availability on Freeview would probably double those figures and give the channel a huge boost.
Gaelic is an important part of Scotland's culture, heritage and identity, and it was once widely used all over Scotland. It has been discriminated against for a long time, however, and it has only relatively recently started to receive fair treatment. As Ted Brocklebank said—dare I say it, too?—the Tories at Westminster were instrumental in getting that going with the promotion of Gaelic-medium education in the 1980s, for which we must thank them. That continued with the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005, the bill for which was ably promoted by Peter Peacock, who has done a lot for Gaelic. It is all the more sad, therefore, that, at a time when the confidence of Gaelic speakers is beginning to grow, some people choose to attack and vilify Gaelic under the pretexts of disproportionate spending on a minority and the need for savings. Some councillors in the Highland region, of all places, have jumped on that misinformed populist bandwagon. Councillor Crawford, of Inverness, and Councillor Rosie, of Caithness, spring to mind. That is despite the fact that Highland Council spends only a quarter of 1 per cent of its annual budget on Gaelic—well below what would be proportionate given the number of Gaelic speakers in its area.
The latest populist to jump on the bandwagon is Labour Councillor Deirdre Mackay, of East Sutherland and Edderton, who, as it happens, is the daughter of Councillor Rosie. She has obviously seen her dad hitting the headlines and wants some of the action. At a recent meeting, the Labour councillor criticised Government support for Gaelic and labelled the council's efforts to develop Gaelic education elitist. Bizarrely, she went on to say that she supported bilingual education, which could involve Spanish, Urdu or Chinese but not Gaelic. Are those languages cheaper? She also criticised the plans that were introduced by the previous Labour-Liberal Democrat Scottish Executive to support the promotion of the Gaelic language, despite the fact that she works for Peter Peacock, who, as I said, has done a lot for Gaelic and promoted the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Bill.
Mr Thompson is taking a rather unfortunate line when we want to adopt a united position in the Parliament. If he is going to raise such points, I ask him when the SNP is, finally, going to deliver on its manifesto pledge to make Gaelic-medium education available to parents on demand.
Mr Macintosh talks about unity, but he should ensure that there is unity within his own party before he criticises others.
Peter Peacock must be very embarrassed about the situation. I hope that he and the Highland Council Labour group will give serious consideration to Councillor Mackay's position.
I conclude on a more positive note. I also attended the MG Alba awards in Eden Court theatre last Friday—what a wonderful showcase of Gaelic-speaking talent, young and old. The films were all fantastic and were a testimony to the richness of Gaelic Scottish culture and the benefits of bilingualism, which improves brain development and cognitive abilities. If the last sentence was too difficult for members to understand, they are probably monoglots and should get along to Gaelic classes right away. If they do, they too will be able to benefit from BBC Alba when it moves to Freeview in the near future.
I spoke in support of an Executive motion on the Gaelic language 10 years ago in an historic debate that happened to fall on my daughter Iona's second birthday. I mentioned how pleased her forebears would have been to know that the Gaelic language was being debated and celebrated in the first year of a devolved Scottish Parliament. I looked forward then to the new opportunities that her generation would have to enjoy Gaelic language and culture to the full, thanks to the positive support of central Government in Westminster and Holyrood and of local government in Aberdeen and elsewhere.
Ten years on, much of that optimism has proved to be justified. My daughter and many of her age group have enjoyed Gaelic-medium education at pre-school, nursery and primary levels, and in Scotland's cities and in the Gàidhealtachd itself there are opportunities to extend that through secondary education, too, even if not always to the fullest extent. The Gaelic college at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig has continued to thrive, and the commitment of my party in government, and other parties too, has put in place a Gaelic-medium broadcasting sector such as previous generations could hardly have imagined.
BBC Alba is at the heart of that, but it is not alone. We should celebrate BBC Alba, but we should support also the broadcast of Gaelic programming on BBC 2 and on STV, all of which contributes to the health and strength of the language and culture. For young people of school age such as my daughter Iona, there is no better platform for their talents and no better source of information and education than "Dè a-nis?". Long may that programme continue to provide such a vibrant forum for Gaelic-speaking children and young people.
BBC Alba takes matters to a new plane. The provision of a dedicated channel for Gaelic-language broadcasting is a recognition that culture in the 21st century is as much about what people see on screen as it is about what they read in books or hear in their daily lives. It is also a powerful tool for regeneration, not only of Gaelic language and culture but of those parts of Scotland where Gaelic has its deepest roots.
We should, in that context, recognise the effective leadership and judgment of MG Alba and BBC Alba in bringing this new medium to market. Many of my constituents with satellite access first take an interest in BBC Alba when they tune in to watch an as-live Scottish Premier League game with Gaelic commentary—for example, many will have watched last night's rousing encounter between Aberdeen and Hibernian when they got home. Football is as much part of Highland sporting culture as shinty is, and the platform that BBC Alba provides for football, shinty and rugby matches is appreciated by Gaels and other viewers alike. It also advertises to the population in general that Gaelic is not only a literary language for poets and singers, important though that is, but a medium for day-to-day life of people with the same interests and enthusiasms as the rest of the population.
I am glad we have the opportunity to express our collective view, and I hope that Parliament will, at the end of today, speak once again with one voice in support of giving everyone in Alba access to BBC Alba. That should be the first priority of the BBC trust when it makes its decision. Providing BBC Alba with the platform that it deserves, through carriage on Freeview and on cable, will be another significant step for the BBC trust—which has been supportive of the Gaelic language—to take in support of the indigenous cultures of these islands, and I very much look forward to a clear, positive and early decision.
Mòran taing.
I am happy to speak in support of the motion that BBC Alba should appear on Freeview as soon as possible. It is interesting to have to focus on a language, as such, because language is a medium for expressing all the things that we do in life. At a recent meeting of the cross-party group on co-operatives, co-operative members talked about what their main focus was and said that the bottom line was that their businesses were made a success because they were co-operatives. The fact is that, for Gaels and others throughout this country, life is made more of a success by having the medium of Gaelic through which to view all the things that we do every day.
The high approval ratings for BBC Alba so far in the areas of news, current affairs, community information, music, lifestyle and entertainment show that people are looking at the normal things in life through the medium of another of this country's great languages. It is essential that the normalisation of Gaelic, which has been mentioned by a number of people today and was discussed by Arthur Cormack in his submission for the debate, is seen as the way forward. In communities in which there is resistance to such normalisation, we need to argue for a live-and-let-live approach. We also have to point out that the model of a local television system that we now have, which breaks the mould of the system whereby programmes are delivered to our television screens by a large, centralised body from afar, provides an excellent model for other kinds of local television that should develop in our country so that we have a multitude of choices. That choice is obviously there nowadays on platforms such as Freeview, which I have benefited from in my home in Easter Ross. I have had free satellite television in Edinburgh, but I think that that is only because I inherited a dish—there is no way that I would be buying one from Mr Murdoch.
The fact is that programming has to be made available to people on their own terms. They have a right to that access.
It is interesting to see the reach that BBC Alba already has. At the Sutherland summit that took place last August, there was a discussion about the role of Gaelic in that area. One of the points that was made was that German tourists who had seen BBC Alba were interested in coming to Sutherland and the Highlands to see what the places where Gaelic is spoken were like. That is an exact example of how the reach of BBC Alba helps our attempts for Scotland to be recognised further afield. There is evidence of continental interest in the Gaelic language, and I hope that the people of Sutherland will take that interest in that spirit.
The summit identified the geopark in the north-west as one of the principal features that make Sutherland unique. Alongside the geopark and the range of internationally important natural heritage features were Gaelic culture and place names, local food and crofting, all of which could be better developed to sustain the economy.
BBC Alba can play a part in helping to sustain the economy of fragile areas and can expose viewers to a wider range of entertainment than the big centralised channels carry. Who could have seen some of the lower divisions of football, rugby and other sports if BBC Alba had not gone for that gap in the market? Well done. Let us get it on to Freeview.
I am sure that a few colleagues will remember "Tutti Frutti", that great BBC television series of the 1980s, which starred Robbie Coltrane, Emma Thompson, Richard Wilson and others. One of the most memorable moments in the series came when the band had difficulty prying one of its members away from the television. The guitarist, who was a telly addict, was watching "Postman Pat", and the joke was that he was watching it in Gaelic, which meant that, in theory, he could not understand a word. I always liked that scene. It was a very warm moment. I mention it now because it captures one of the most important arguments for making Gaelic television available to all: Gaelic is part of our shared culture; it is there for all Scots, not just a small and diminishing enclave. We must actively ensure that it is available to all, accessible for us to enjoy or ignore as we see fit.
It would be easy for us to appease our liberal consciences—those of us who have liberal consciences—with gestures of support for Gaelic: a little funding here, a few projects there. However, if we are serious about saving and revitalising the language, we need to share it with one another. We all need access to Gaelic in our everyday lives, not just on our Hebridean summer holidays. Several submissions to the BBC trust's consultation on BBC Alba and colleagues such as Alasdair Allan who have spoken in the debate this morning have referred to that as "normalisation". I would like to know which word Alasdair Allan used, as I do not know what the Gaelic for "normalisation" is—it is an odd word in English. If Gaelic-medium education is the key to growing the language again, access through television is the key to normalising Gaelic for all of us in Scotland.
As is the case in many consensual debates, members are preaching to the converted in the chamber today. I doubt that many of us here need to be convinced that the launch of BBC Alba has been a great success, and all those who are associated with the channel should be congratulated. The figures for audience reach are hugely impressive, when there was every chance that the output could have been simply worthy but dull, and therefore unwatchable.
As has been mentioned, BBC Alba has a core audience of more than 200,000, which is very impressive. Crucially, one in three of those people is a non-Gaelic speaker. The key statistics that we have received from BBC Alba show that the channel is currently available to only just over 40 per cent of Scottish households, so it is very important that we widen that access.
The Labour amendment is crucial in that regard, as it refers to Virgin Media. The access issue concerns not only Freeview; it is important that Virgin makes the channel available on cable too, because around 15 per cent of viewers will not have access to it if Virgin does not resolve its difficulties with the BBC.
Nonetheless, Freeview is the key. Those audience figures, which were gained despite the channel's limited availability, show the success and the impact of BBC Alba, and that is the key reason why we need to make it available on Freeview. Another reason is that the channel has proved to be an important economic driver in the Gaelic community. Members of the Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture Committee visited the BBC at Pacific Quay earlier this week; I was certainly envious of the new technology that was on display for use by my former colleagues. The main Gaelic news programme, "An Là", is broadcast from Inverness and Stornoway, but we saw the transmission gallery more than 100 miles away in Glasgow. The new technology that the BBC has employed allows the high-end, high-quality top production jobs to remain in the Hebrides, and the Highlands and Islands in general, which attracts young, ambitious and successful graduates to stay in their communities.
I ask the Lib Dems to clarify their amendment; I believe that we are close to unity on the matter, but I have one problem. Let us assume for a moment that the BBC trust does not come back with an alternative. Would the Lib Dems support BBC Alba going on Freeview if it meant that Radios 1 to 5 would be taken off? Those radio stations would not become unavailable—they would just be unavailable on television. I cannot believe that the BBC would want to keep a high production value television channel off a medium that is specifically designed for it, for the sake of enabling people to listen to a blank screen. The worst that would happen is that the audience would have to listen to radio on a radio.
I am pleased that members of the Parliament are almost as one on this matter, and I hope that—in English or Gaelic, on radio or television—the BBC trust is listening.
I wish to do two things in my short contribution: to represent my constituents, who are already disfranchised with regard to broadcasting; and to address helpfully Ken Macintosh's question, if not his liberal conscience.
I brought a debate on digital broadcasting to the chamber on the day before the switchover in the Borders took place, when at midnight the Selkirk transmitter became the first in Scotland to move to digital. In the debate, the Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture said:
"Please be assured that, as far as I am concerned, the move forward with digitalisation is a joint initiative and Scotland's case will always be pressed by this Government."—[Official Report, 5 November 2008; c 12074.]
That was reassuring. However, almost 18 months on, many of my constituents continue to be disfranchised in relation to the provision of digital broadcasting. Nothing that any member has said today with regard to the hope that BBC Alba will be provided on a digital terrestrial television platform will change that. The Government does not seem to know whether anyone who receives signals from a relay transmitter would get BBC Alba if it was provided on Freeview.
Will the member give way?
I give way to the former Minister for Culture, External Affairs and the Constitution.
I apologise for intervening, as I am only here for the closing speeches, but, as someone who represents the South of Scotland, I recognise what Jeremy Purvis says. How viewers in the South of Scotland are treated is appalling. However, is it helpful to disfranchise one group because another group is disfranchised? Perhaps we should help both groups.
That is entirely the point of the Liberal Democrat amendment, and I will address it specifically. I had hoped that the Government's submission to the BBC trust would say that but, regrettably, it did not. The Government had an opportunity to raise that point in its submission, but its response to question 8 in part 2 of the consultation document—"Any other comments?"—was, "Nil". I had hoped that the case would be stressed on behalf of constituents in the Borders and elsewhere in the South of Scotland, and those in the Highlands and other parts of Scotland, who will receive signals through relay transmitters.
It is not an academic point. Half of all viewers in my constituency in the Borders will receive the reduced Freeview service. The Government does not know whether—even if it gets its way on the provision of BBC Alba—that service will be provided in the area. BBC management say that if it is, it will result in the provision of a reduced service elsewhere.
I turn to the specific point that Labour members have made. The BBC trust has issued a consultation, to which I hope we in the Parliament are responding to say that it is simply not good enough for the BBC to present an either/or option. I am sure that all the Labour members have seen, among the options that BBC management have presented, the option of buying commercial space. That seems to have happened with S4C in Wales.
The efficiency outturn figures that the Government presented in November showed that there has been an £8 million efficiency saving in Gaelic broadcasting this year. We are told by the Government that that money should be put back into Gaelic media, and that the saving was a result of changes to the procurement of independent commissioning for BBC Gaelic services. If that is the case—I have no reason to doubt it—the Government has resource, which it would presumably wish to use to move forward with the Scottish digital channel, which is a stated Government policy.
I am not sure which channel would take precedence. If the Government says that it wants to move towards provision for a Scottish digital channel on Freeview, the same principle should presumably apply to BBC Alba, for which the Government provides the lion's share of the funding. If considerable efficiency savings of £8 million have been gained in Gaelic broadcasting, what is the Government doing with that money?
If we want—as the Liberal Democrats do—BBC Alba to be available to all, we must consider those viewers in Tweeddale who are likely not to have any digital radio broadcasting, as well as the prospect that Radio Scotland will be moved to a digital-only service. If the Government does not take action on the provision of BBC Alba and respond aggressively to the BBC trust, we will end up disfranchising more listeners and viewers.
As a Highlands and Islands MSP, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak in today's short but important—and very timely—debate.
As my friend Ted Brocklebank said, the Scottish Conservatives are proud that we have been consistent supporters of BBC Alba since its inception, and we have consistently argued that it should be available on Freeview. I made that point very strongly to the then Minister for Culture, External Affairs and the Constitution, Mike Russell, at question time in the chamber just after the BBC trust announced its review of BBC Alba in late October last year.
The Scottish Conservatives' wider record on support for Gaelic has been steadfast and meaningful, and has included support for the establishment of the Gaelic broadcasting fund. I thank Dave Thompson for his recognition of that—members should look at what it has led to. Conservatives in Government delivered tangible benefits for the Gaelic language and Gaelic speakers, and I expect that the next Conservative Government will do the same.
BBC Alba's availability on Freeview is important for many reasons. At the basic level, there is the issue of fairness. Many of my constituents in the Highlands and Islands do not want to or cannot afford to pay hundreds of pounds to access the Gaelic channel through satellite television. Given that Irish people can watch the Irish Gaelic channel for free and that people in Wales can watch the Welsh channel for free, surely it is logical that people in Scotland should be able to access BBC Alba for free. In turn, developing and maintaining a critical mass of viewers for BBC Alba require it to be available on Freeview. I want to dispel any concerns that we might lose our access to BBC network radio stations if BBC Alba is added to Freeview in place of some radio stations. Even if that does happen, radio listeners would still be able to access their stations on Freeview when BBC Alba is not on air. They would also be able to access it at any time on FM, AM, DAB, satellite, cable and online. I share Jeremy Purvis's concerns about people who cannot get coverage under the new digital network. I hope that that will be dealt with at some point.
There is also a wider argument, of which I am wholly convinced, that BBC Alba has a vital role in sustaining and expanding the Gaelic language. If members on all sides of the chamber are unanimous that we need to reach out to Gaelic speakers and, crucially, to encourage greater awareness of the language and a greater number of people to become involved in learning it, BBC Alba will be a much more powerful tool in achieving those ends if it is available on Freeview.
The medium of TV is critical in reflecting and supporting Gaelic culture, identity and heritage, and that medium must be widely and easily available. BBC Alba has been a success story, with some excellent programming. Everyone should have the opportunity to watch it, which would allow the channel to fulfil its role in assisting the sustenance and future development of the Gaelic language. I, too, watched a fine film on the exceptional comedian Norman Maclean, which prompted me to buy his book, "The Leper's Bell", a sharp and poignant reflection of life in Glasgow and the islands—I recommend it as an excellent read.
I hope that today's debate will help to inform further the BBC trust as it prepares to respond to the consultation that it has undertaken—a consultation that I am confident demonstrated a widespread support for the availability of BBC Alba on Freeview. I support the amendment in the name of my friend Ted Brocklebank.
It is clear that there is at least a consensus about the success of BBC Alba. Its primary purpose is to give Gaelic speakers and learners access to television programmes in Gaelic that did not previously exist. Without it, there would be a significant loss to the Gaelic community and those who want to learn Gaelic. The gain is significant, and not to extend it would have a marked impact on those who now rely on the channel and those who want to rely on it. It is the diversity of the channel that makes it the success that it is. I would not have such strong support for it if I did not recognise that its diversity has attracted a non-Gaelic audience. I listened carefully to Ted Brocklebank's pleas about the Conservatives' staunch support for Gaelic. I am pleased that he has had an opportunity to make those pleas this morning.
Lewis Macdonald talked about his family and his daughter Iona, one of many young people for whom BBC Alba provides opportunities that did not exist before. Rob Gibson made the same point. Anyone who watches BBC Alba will see that many new and young presenters are getting a chance to present in Gaelic that did not exist previously. There is a lot at stake.
I commend the Government for choosing to debate this subject. Although there is not much between the Government and Labour in our support for BBC Alba, Dave Thompson's approach was completely out of tune with that of every other member. As Labour spokesperson on the issue, I will put it on the record for Dave Thompson's benefit that the Labour Party's record in the Scottish Parliament is a good one with regard to BBC Alba. We have shown our party's commitment to the channel. Make no mistake: our support for BBC Alba will be influential. I would like to have heard a more consensual approach from Dave Thompson.
I accept that Labour's record is good, which is why it was more with sadness than with anger that I raised the point. A growing number of people are vilifying Gaelic, and if we do not nip that in the bud, it could spread, to the great detriment of Gaelic and the confidence of Gaelic speakers. The member really needs to consider that it was a Labour councillor who made those comments.
The member further compounds the issue by rising to his feet. That is an argument for another day. Glasgow City Council, which is a Labour-led authority, has a fantastic record—there is a new Gaelic school in my constituency. However, I am sure that the member takes the point in the spirit in which it was intended.
Alasdair Allan, Ken Macintosh and others tackled the normalisation of Gaelic. To watch telly programmes in one's own language is the kind of normal thing that people want to do, which is why it is a significant issue for someone who is a Gaelic speaker and for whom Gaelic is their choice of language.
I assure the Liberal Democrats that Labour wants to achieve a consensus on this issue. The Lib Dem amendment raises crucial issues about the digital switchover. Lib Dem members have spoken out strongly for their communities and we have supported them in that. However, we might have difficulty supporting the Lib Dem amendment this evening if we are not clear about what it means. There are 4 per cent of listeners who use this service. If we discount people who can get access to radio stations by analogue—FM, AM—and online, there is a small number of people who do not get a digital signal at all. I do not know how many they are; the Government is duty-bound to find out. They are the ones who would be affected. I am advised that such listeners will be concentrated in the Highlands—in fact, some of them would probably prefer to have this choice, if a choice had to be made
The Liberals are right to say that it should not be an either/or option. I was surprised that the consultation was based on that option. However, we must be honest here and say that there might have to be a choice in the short term. I am no technician—I think Jeremy Purvis knows a lot more about this than me, so I ask him not to challenge me on it—but I feel certain that there is a technical solution; we must ask for such a solution. However, if the Lib Dem position is to delay the extension of Freeview until a solution can be found, it would make it difficult for us to support the Lib Dem amendment this evening. I therefore seek clarification.
We are trying to say that Parliament should send a message to the BBC trust that we do not think that radio should be removed from Scottish listeners—there are people who will lose services completely as a result of the proposal. There are other options, such as what happens in Wales. In Cardiff, although it is not possible to get E4, it is possible to get E4+1, which means that Wales can get S4C and S4C's news channel. Such solutions may cost a bit of extra money—not a huge amount—but they are possible and the BBC trust should investigate them fully. They can be implemented pretty quickly.
We would support the Government in pursuing that, although, if the cost of buying commercial spectrum would result in any delay—the member has to concede that it might; he has not really addressed that point—we would have some difficulty in doing so. This is a TV platform, for television stations. It would be with regret if we could not support the Lib Dem amendment this evening, but there is a significant cost in buying additional spectrum. I am running out of time but would be happy to discuss the issue with the member. We are trying hard to get a consensus. I fear that what the Liberal Democrats are asking for might delay the extension of Freeview.
I am grateful to colleagues for their comments and their support for the motion. We have had much reflection on the journey that we have travelled, and there has been support for the Gaelic language from various parties. This is a short but important debate. I am especially grateful for the constructive spirit in which most members have approached the debate. Interesting and informative points have been made—not least, we have had an insight into Alasdair Allan's eating habits.
First, I will respond to some points that have been made in the debate and, in particular, the amendments that have been lodged. On Iain Smith's amendment, I agree that the decision to place BBC Alba on Freeview should not be made at the expense of access to digital radio stations. The Scottish Government's response to the BBC trust's consultation made it very clear that we want a better solution and I am happy to re-emphasise the point. However, I share the perspective of Pauline McNeill and Peter Peacock on this matter. Indeed, when Pauline McNeill said that this should not be an either/or option, I noted that Iain Smith was nodding in agreement. Perhaps that shows that we can reach consensus in this area.
Iain Smith pointed out that, even after digital switchover, not everyone will be able to access all Freeview channels. Indeed, approximately 15 per cent of the population, almost half of whom live in the Scottish Borders, receive only the public service channels instead of the full range of more than 40 channels. The Scottish Government has already made representations to the UK Government on that matter and I am happy to do so again. However, because broadcasting is reserved to the UK Government, our ability to change the present state of affairs is greatly limited.
The Scottish Government welcomes the BBC trust's support for Gaelic media and the current interest in detailed matters relating to the operation and availability of BBC Alba, and the trust's review of the channel and its consultation on Freeview access are also welcome. We have recently emphasised the urgent need to increase the number of Gaelic speakers in order to secure the language's future and have recognised BBC Alba's vital role in that respect. We are encouraged by the channel's current performance and are strongly in favour of its being made widely available.
Given that digital switchover in Scotland will be completed by June 2011 and that Freeview is now regarded as normal telly, the BBC must ensure that Gaelic has a place. Welsh is present through S4C; Irish will also be available; and we are now asking the BBC trust to ensure that Gaelic is included in what we all regard as normal telly.
The evidence shows that BBC Alba not only provides a good service to Gaelic speakers and those who are learning the language, but has an appeal beyond the Gaelic speech community and contributes to the education strategy for the language. Indeed, Lewis Macdonald made a good speech on that very matter. Of course, its educational and cultural contribution would be even greater if more people were able to see it. That means that it has to be available on cable as well as Freeview and, in that respect, I support Pauline McNeill's call for the BBC and Virgin Media to resolve their differences and ensure that cable viewers have full access to the channel.
As Ted Brocklebank's amendment rightly points out, BBC Alba has played a crucial role in supporting Scotland's independent production sector. Last year, almost three quarters of its content budget was allocated to the 27 companies outwith the BBC from which it commissioned programmes.
Over the past 17 months, BBC Alba has established itself as a crucial element in the Scottish broadcasting industry and in Gaelic as well as Scottish culture. However, its long-term success relies on its being available to as many people as possible in Scotland and, for that reason, I urge all members to support the motion as amended.
Does the Government agree that the BBC trust's indication that it remains open to the proposal to carry out another public value test on the removal of radio services, including Radio Scotland, from Freeview provides an opportunity to explore other areas and ensure that we do not have an either/or option? If so, there should be no obstacle to supporting the Liberal Democrat amendment.
We agree with the suggestion in Iain Smith's amendment that there should not be an either/or option, but I acknowledge and agree with the Labour Party's argument that there should be no delay in this matter. Of course, that will not stop us making it imperative that the BBC trust come up with alternative solutions. Indeed, I believe that the chamber can come together on that very point.
I urge all members to reach a consensus on this matter, support the motion as amended at decision time and ensure that the Scottish Parliament speaks with one voice.
That concludes the debate on access to BBC Alba.
We are a few seconds early for general question time but, as the key players are in place, we will go straight to the first question.