Terrestrial TV Channels (Rural Areas)
The final item of business is a members' business debate on motion S2M-544, in the name of John Farquhar Munro, on access to terrestrial TV channels in rural areas. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament notes that residents in parts of the Highlands and Islands do not receive independent terrestrial TV channels unless they purchase an encryption card from BSkyB on a regular basis; further notes with concern that access to terrestrial channels in those communities with analogue relay systems will be removed when the analogue signal is switched off in 2010; believes that TV licence payers should not have to pay more because of their geographical location, and considers that Her Majesty's Government should take action to ensure that all UK TV licence payers have unrestricted access to terrestrial TV channels.
The issue of social inclusion, rightly, occupies a large amount of the business that is dealt with in this chamber. Although the motion that I bring before the Parliament today is based on reserved matters, its implications impact dramatically on the social inclusion agenda.
Recent developments surrounding access to terrestrial television channels in remote areas of Scotland will have significant implications for the Executive's efforts to engender equality between communities, both rural and urban.
The main principle behind the motion is simple. I do not consider it fair for one community to have to pay a supplement for a service that is received free of charge by another. For years, many of my constituents had to contend with not only the fog and snow of the northern weather extremes, but the fog and snow of disrupted TV reception caused by a very weak analogue signal; the same could be said for much of rural Scotland.
With the advent of digital and satellite technology, an opportunity emerged for communities located in the interference shadow of mountains, glens and other geographical features to receive—free of charge—high-quality terrestrial TV reception through satellite dishes and digiboxes, with the aid of an encryption card known as Solus, which was provided by the BBC. That opportunity has now been withdrawn. In Gaelic, the word "solus" means light, but I do not see much light at the end of the tunnel.
Following the BBC's relocation of its free-to-air channels to the unencrypted Astra D2 satellite, the BBC signal is accessible without an encryption card, so it no longer needs to subsidise Solus.
As BSkyB replaces the old network of Solus cards, Highland viewers must now purchase a new card at a cost of approximately £23 to view ITV, Channel 4 or five. The card must be renewed every two years and, as yet, there have been no guarantees from BSkyB that the price of the cards will not increase dramatically on renewal.
Another consequence of the BBC's relocation of its free-to-air channels is that Highland viewers will now obtain BBC terrestrial through the United Kingdom-wide BBC digital network. That allows Scots all over the UK to choose to watch the Scottish regional opt-out—for example "Newsnight Scotland" or "Eorpa"—from wherever they are in the UK. However, there is a severe downside. The £16 million, 38-games-a-year contract with the Scottish Premier League has its copyright limited to broadcast in Scotland only. As the digital network goes out UK-wide, BBC digital is prohibited from broadcasting Scottish Premier League fixtures. Viewers in the Highlands and Islands are advised to attempt to view the match through the fuzz of analogue reception. I ask the Scottish Executive to make representations to the BBC to urge it to rectify what is tantamount to a restricted service.
Where a person chooses to live should not affect the services to which they are entitled. That is the key principle of social inclusion and of the motion. A resident in a remote part of my community such as Dundonnell or Applecross, who pays the licence fee, should get the same access to terrestrial channels as someone who lives in Inverness or Aberdeen, without restriction. The supplemental card charge represents a restriction on terrestrial viewing in the Highlands and Islands.
When we are working so very hard in the institutions of the Parliament to enhance the quality of life in our remote and rural communities and we are striving to encourage settlement in every corner of Scotland, the introduction of the charge sends out an opposing message to all the families and companies we seek to entice to the Highlands and Islands and could act as a catalyst for the depopulation of our remote communities.
I am sorry to say that that negative message was crystallised in the reprehensible comments of the Minister for Sport and Tourism, Richard Caborn, during the adjournment debate on this very subject at Westminster last month. When the minister was asked whether people aged over 75 could be exempted from having to pay for the new encryption card—an exemption that would give similar benefits to those that they enjoy for their television licence—he responded by saying:
"The difference between being 75 and over and living in a particular area is that of choice." —[Official Report, House of Commons, 21 October 2003; Vol 411, c 252WH.]
In effect, Richard Caborn was suggesting that, if people want to enjoy the benefits of modern-day living, they should move. It was an absurd comment to make.
The debate comes at a time when access to terrestrial TV in the Highlands is restricted by the introduction of the supplementary charge for digital viewers and when many rural communities across Scotland, who have depended for decades on self-help relay schemes, are facing televisual oblivion with the analogue switch-off that is scheduled for 2010. The self-help schemes relay a boosted analogue signal via cables to every home in the communities that they serve. Little provision has been made to upgrade the hardware in those systems to take the digital signal in 2010.
It is imperative that the Scottish Parliament recognise the significance of the restriction of service to rural communities. The supplement that is needed to pay for encryption cards in the first place; viewers' inability to pick up SPL fixtures and the BBC digital network; and the lack of provision to upgrade self-help relay schemes—they all represent fundamental steps backwards in the social inclusion agenda and hinder the efforts that are being made to enhance the quality of life in our rural communities.
The TV licence payer should not have to pay more as a result of their geographical location. I urge the Parliament to encourage Her Majesty's Government to take action to ensure that all UK TV licence payers have unrestricted access to terrestrial TV channels.
First, I want to draw attention to the curious way in which motions for debate are given titles; I presume that the chamber office does that, but I am not sure. The motion is entitled "Access to Terrestrial TV Channels in Rural Areas" and yet it talks only about the Highlands and Islands. That conveys a mindset that afflicts far too many people in Scotland, from those in Government downwards, who think that our rural areas are confined totally to the Highlands and Islands. We have to disabuse them all of that assumption. It is clear that the problems to which John Farquhar Munro referred in his motion and in his speech affect not only the Highlands and Islands but many other parts of rural Scotland, in particular the south-west and south of Scotland.
If members go to Dumfries and Galloway, they will find that there are places in the west of the region where people cannot receive Scottish Television or Border Television. People in those areas have to receive Ulster Television, which is often not very enlightening. Equally, if one goes to the east of the region, one will find many areas in which people cannot receive BBC 2 from a Scottish transmitter; they have to receive it from the English transmitter.
In my house in Crocketford, I have sometimes been able to receive BBC 2 Scotland and get the dubious benefits of its "Newsnight Scotland" programme by moving my aerial to point to the BBC 2 Scotland transmitter. The concomitant of that is that the reception on all my other channels is fairly punk. That is the extent to which I will go to watch the stars of the Scottish Parliament appearing on television at about 11 o'clock. Throughout much of Dumfries and Galloway nobody can receive channel 5, but that may be one of the benefits of living in the region.
One of the more modern alternatives—the BBC Freeview service—is almost totally unavailable in most parts of the region. That is not a very good sign given that we are only seven years away from the alleged switch-off of the analogue system. Given their past record, I do not really expect the authorities that are responsible for such matters to make tremendous progress in the seven years between now and the switch-over.
As a result of the very poor quality of reception or the unavailability of many TV channels, people have switched to satellite to receive transmissions. John Farquhar Munro referred to the Solus card system, so I do not need to go into it in much detail.
Channel 4, five and ITV have been very helpful in providing a new card system, which costs £20 plus a renewal fee the next time that BSkyB changes its set-up. Those channels did not cause the problems in the interim and they have done as much as they can to be helpful to viewers. However, that should not distract us from the fact that the inability of the Government and the BBC to reach an arrangement on this matter caused the problem in the first place. Given that owning a television makes one liable to pay a fairly hefty licence fee, one should be entitled to receive services from the one terrestrial provider that is wholly funded by revenue from that fee. In this day and age, the majority of people in any area of the country should be able to receive standard terrestrial television channels. It is a scandal that the matter has not been addressed before and I look forward to the minister's reply.
My problem with the debate is that I really do not understand the technology. I speak as someone who has not been able to get her new video to record anything. My old video is now in Edinburgh, but I cannot fix it into the television. I think that it is a cable television; in any case, it has too many wires and plugs for me to cope with.
I think that I have analogue television at home. I know that I can receive channels 1 to 4 on the south side of my house and only channel 5 on the north side. I do not know the difference between analogue and digital and do not really care about it, except for the fact that we will soon have to shift from an analogue to a digital system. That move will disadvantage people who live in rural areas, because they will not receive the services that they should receive when they pay their licence fee. However, following on from Alasdair Morgan's comments, I should say that Bristow Muldoon, the member for Livingston, has told me that some people in his constituency will not receive the service because they live in the shadow of a hill. The problem is not confined to rural areas, but probably affects every part of Scotland.
To inform and enlighten myself a little better, I read the House of Commons debate to which John Farquhar Munro referred. My eye lit on a particular paragraph, which says:
"The third factor is the sheer inefficiency of analogue broadcasts in spectrum terms. Digital transmission uses a fraction of the capacity of analogue broadcasts while increasing choice, giving access to interactivity and driving electronic programme guides to help viewers in a multi-channel environment. Switching off will allow us to work the spectrum much harder."——[Official Report, House of Commons, 21 October 2003; Vol 411, c 251WH.]
I do not have a clue what that means. However, I realise that it will severely disadvantage people in the more remote areas. We have to find a solution before we switch over to digital and should not simply accept the fact that people—particularly, as John Farquhar Munro pointed out, old-age pensioners—will just have to pay £23 every couple of years for a card to enable them to access something that they can currently access free of charge.
I am sure that Maureen Macmillan, with her knowledge of the Highlands, will agree that the community of Achfary in Sutherland is a classic example of a very remote community that is losing out very badly on this front.
Yes. That is one of the affected communities. I am also aware that members of Parliament for areas in the Highlands and for other areas—including David Stewart, who is the MP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber—have been active in promoting the issue and trying to obtain a solution to it.
I ask the minister to make representations to the UK Government and the BBC to see whether we can fix the problem, because it is a social inclusion issue, as John Farquhar Munro said. It is another example of the problem in the Highlands that remoteness means that people lose out on services. The problem is capable of a solution and I hope that a solution will be found.
I add my congratulations to John Farquhar Munro on gaining parliamentary time to raise an issue that is important not only to his constituents in the Highlands and Islands but to my constituents in the south. The Presiding Officer is achieving a north-south balance in the debate that is to be welcomed.
I have received many complaints from constituents who are frustrated about the lack of reliable analogue reception for terrestrial telly and about the lack of alternatives, which goes to the nub of the issue. Much of the subject is reserved to Westminster and I have worked closely with my Westminster colleague Michael Moore to press broadcasters and the Government on the importance of ensuring real free-to-air services from the BBC and ITV to the areas that can receive them only through satellite broadcasting.
In correspondence with Michael Moore, Greg Dyke—the BBC's director-general—argued that since moving its digital services to a new satellite in July this year, the BBC has saved £85 million. He told Mr Moore:
"In the interests of all licence payers, the funds released will pay for the production of new programmes, and also enable viewers to see all BBC regional services by satellite wherever they live in the UK."
The concern of those in the Highlands is that because many viewers have been left high and dry by Sky Television's recent decision to replace all existing encryption cards and because the BBC no longer has an obligation to subsidise the provision of the Solus card, people in some of Scotland's remotest areas are discriminated against. I draw attention to Mr Dyke's inability to provide what he terms services to all BBC licence holders.
People in many parts of my constituency who cannot receive digital terrestrial television, and thus cannot use the set-top digital box technology that would complicate Maureen Macmillan's front room even more, have been caught over a barrel. In Roxburgh and Berwickshire, my colleague Euan Robson conducted a survey of viewers who lived to the south and south-west of Hawick that found that a third of respondents had extremely poor reception of BBC 2, as Alasdair Morgan said. Furthermore, only a third of respondents could receive channel 5 and therefore receive the free-to-air digital Freeview service.
To make the founding principle that the licence fee should be universal for universal services a reality for the affected viewers in my constituency and others, the UK Government must bang heads together. The Government has acted to work with broadcasters to try to alleviate problems. The self-help relay scheme to which John Farquhar Munro referred is an example of that, but such schemes suffer because of the number of people who have opted for BSkyB services, for which they pay. Many constituents do not wish to choose the Murdoch BSkyB option.
I appeal to the minister to work closely with Westminster colleagues. If there were ever an issue on which the reference to proactive working in the concordat between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Executive could be used for the benefit of some of our constituents—whether mine in Midlothian or those in the deepest Borders—this matter is it. I hope that the minister will agree to meet me and other members to make progress on the subject.
I welcome the debate and congratulate John Farquhar Munro on securing it. As others have said, the issue affects not only the Highlands but the south of Scotland. It affects the south-west of Scotland particularly, for the issues on which Alasdair Morgan touched, because of the difficulties that we have in receiving ordinary BBC signals. Those come about because of the technical issues that have been talked about—the Isle of Man, Northern Ireland and the north of England all being within a relatively small spectrum and the difficulty of getting the signal through. It is extremely difficult in Dumfries and Galloway to get BBC 2 Scotland because it is right at the end of the spectrum. That means that people in communities there do not have the same access to information about what is going on in Scotland as they otherwise would. I do not have people queuing up to say that they missed First Minister's question time, but I do have people queuing up to say that they do not get "The Beechgrove Garden", which is an important issue to many viewers.
Is Mr Mundell trying to draw any correlation between that fact and the election results?
Well, the one party that is growing in Galloway and Upper Nithsdale is the Conservative party, is it not?
It is clear that heads need to be banged together on the issue. I have raised it repeatedly with John McCormick, who has an excellent guy called Noble MacPherson who will speak to individual constituents about how they might adjust their aerials.
The basic problem is that people pay a licence fee but do not get the services for which they pay. Freeview, the BBC's new service, is being paid for out of those licence moneys. I recently had the pleasure of being with party colleagues in Blackpool, where I heard an impassioned plea from Gavyn Davies, the chairman of the BBC, for the retention of the licence fee as a method of funding the BBC. However, the minister and others need to make it clear to the BBC that, if its services are not going to be available to everyone, the argument for a universal licence fee is undermined.
The same group of people appears to be excluded from all forms of technology: our constituents who cannot receive ordinary television are exactly the same people who do not have access to broadband technology, which would be an alternative way to receive information, and who are not going to receive the new generation of internet and video mobile phones. We are creating a category of person who will be excluded from the entertainment and educational benefits of technology as well as from simply being part of the communal social experience. Access to football, as I am sure that the minister appreciates, is part of that communal experience, and it is ridiculous that, under the new arrangement for access to BBC services on satellite, football coverage is blanked out.
There are Westminster issues. I commend the work of my Westminster colleague Peter Duncan MP, who is petitioning the Westminster Parliament on the roll-out of digital television and the need for it to be available throughout rural areas. It would be a great pity if, when the benefits of digital television come, they are not available to rural dwellers.
It strikes me as ironic that David Torrance's excellent programme, which we see on Grampian Television on Thursday night and which will undoubtedly cover this debate, is least likely to be seen in rural areas of Scotland, particularly in the Highlands and Islands, where coverage is extremely patchy, unless people are prepared to pay Sky Television for the privilege of seeing it.
As parliamentarians, we are privy to, and indulge in, certain privileges, sad people that we sometimes are. Last night—down here, of course—I watched on digital television the adjournment debate in another place 400 miles south of here, on the subject of fishing, which David Mundell's colleague Ann Winterton initiated. On the other hand, I suppose that my constituents and others were spared watching the incompetent response of Ben Bradshaw, who masquerades as a fisheries minister in that other place.
The issue is not only about paying for satellite coverage, because there are certain places in Scotland where satellite coverage is not possible. In the village of Pennan in my constituency, which is a conservation village, satellite dishes are not permitted. In Gamrie, as in Pennan, there is an additional technical problem: the cliff to the south rises too steeply to allow for the 43° declination. I say that to add further confusion for Maureen Macmillan. What the problem boils down to is that they cannae see the satellite because of the cliff.
Will the member also explain the term "spectrum" to me?
Twenty years ago, it was a computer, but nowadays it is where the signal comes through the ether. Just as we have the different colours in the spectrum of the rainbow, we have different notches in the radio spectrum.
In the north, we are further away from the satellites because they are over the equator, which means that our reception is diminished. The signal is also affected by the weather. Wet weather, which is not uncommon in the north, means that our signal quality declines. The technology used for digital television transmission and Freeview was designed for metropolitan transmission, which is one reason why ITV's ONdigital service was a flop. The content was pretty poor, but there were also technological problems. As David Mundell said, broadband could solve the problem, but it ain't going to.
I am sorry. Unless the Presiding Officer says otherwise, I am running out of time.
We would need up to eight times the speed of the ADSL technology before broadband could deliver broadcast quality television. Although that speed is being rolled out in some cities and towns, rural areas are least likely to get it.
My constituency is remote—it covers eight communities with schools that fall within the Scottish Executive's definition of remote rural communities, which is a town with a population of fewer than 10,000 people that is more than 30 minutes' drive from a town with a population of more than 10,000 people. The issue covers the whole of Scotland.
One little ironic ray of hope is that Freeview digital television does not actually work very well in the south-east of England. That will energise people elsewhere to consider the issues of technology and of equity. Let us hope that the technology continues to exercise the minds of people in the south and that that gives the minister the opportunity to persuade the south that the north should be treated equitably. As technical solutions are developed to solve problems in the south, let us have investment to solve our problems. Equity is the name of the game. We subsidise health in Glasgow; let us be prepared to subsidise television in rural areas.
I add my congratulations to John Farquhar Munro on bringing the matter to the chamber. During my summer tour with my colleague Alan Reid, the issue was one of the most frequently raised matters, certainly among the reserved issues that my colleague covers. Many constituents came to our surgeries in the more remote and rural areas of Argyll, complaining bitterly about the changes that had resulted in their purchasing a Sky card to allow them to access the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and channel 5. Those people had paid their licence fee to the BBC and bought their digibox, but the threat that Sky could switch off the Solus card at any time convinced many of them to buy access to Mr Murdoch's BSkyB, at a cost of around £12.50 per month, on top of the money that they had already spent. In anyone's language, that is an outrageous proposition. The anger that is felt by many of my constituents about the situation is extreme.
The announcement by Richard Caborn during the recent debate at Westminster—which was initiated by my colleague Alan Reid—that viewers will be able to continue to access ITV, Channel 4 and channel 5 by purchasing a replacement Solus viewing card for the sum of £20 plus VAT, over the next two years, is a welcome step in the right direction. However, it is unfair that people will have to pay that extra charge for the privilege of watching terrestrial TV channels. There is also no certainty that that will be the charge for the foreseeable future: the charge may go up over time.
There are two other concerns, which John Farquhar Munro and other members have referred to. The first is the fact that viewers in the Highlands and Islands who receive BBC channels digitally cannot watch Scottish Premier League matches because of the BBC's move to the new Astra satellite. Depending on whether one talks to the lady or the gentleman of the house, that is viewed as a good or a bad thing. However, it highlights the fact that viewers in rural areas are treated as second-class citizens when it comes to TV reception.
The other concern is that of small, remote communities such as Cairndow, Ford and Glendaruel, in my constituency, which cannot access terrestrial TV without the help of a relay station, built on a hill with a cable coming back down into the village. Such systems were originally established with the help of Government and local authority grants to the communities, enabling them to build the relay stations and put in the cabling. Technical assistance in that process was provided by BBC and ITV technicians. With the analogue switch-off due to take place in 2010, there is no commitment from either local authorities or the Government to give such communities any assistance in upgrading their relay stations to digital capability. Additionally, as more and more viewers in those communities buy BSkyB satellite services, they are unwilling to contribute to the maintenance and upgrading of the relay systems. That is a double whammy, and the big worry is that those systems will fail and break down, as there is no way in which the money can be raised to upgrade them to digital capability.
The issues are equality and inclusion, as has been said. The present system seems to be chaotic and penalises people who live in remote and rural communities. It is a reserved matter, but it has a disproportionate effect on rural Scotland. Therefore, I ask the minister—with his deep knowledge of rural issues and his background in the rural communities—to take the issue up with his Westminster colleagues and the BBC, as a matter of urgency, and to press them to find an equitable solution for everyone who lives in rural Scotland.
Like other members, I congratulate John Farquhar Munro on having brought the matter to the chamber. I share Alasdair Morgan's point of view. He spoke about people often thinking that rural Scotland refers only to the Highlands and Islands. During the election campaign, I was pretty much convinced that John Farquhar Munro thought exactly the same. Once, during that campaign, when I rounded the corner into Gatehouse of Fleet, in the very heart of Galloway and Upper Nithsdale, I came upon a signpost urging me to vote for John Farquhar Munro. I am glad that, just as his election campaign travelled successfully into the south-west of Scotland, the Presiding Officers have seen fit to allow his motion to succeed likewise.
The motion addresses an issue that, as members have said, affects every part of rural Scotland. It is important and is often raised on the doorsteps. The reason for that is quite simple. As John Farquhar Munro rightly pointed out, TV services and the reception that people get should not depend on where they live—especially as everyone pays the same licence fee. We have a standard licence fee; therefore, we have a right to expect a standard reception.
Most of the practical points have been covered, and there is nothing to be gained in repeating them. One of the things that disturbs me is the reception that one gets—if members will forgive the pun—from the BBC when one raises the issue with it. I have found the BBC's attitude to be rather arrogant.
Recently, I was told that the development of coverage by the addition of more transmitter sites is politically and technically complex. I agree with Stewart Stevenson that there will always be places in which, for geological or geographical reasons, there will never be adequate reception, but it is rather insulting simply to be told that development would be politically and technically complex. I presume that the political difficulty concerns people's inherent dislike of masts. However, given the forest of masts throughout most of rural Scotland nowadays, I do not believe that such development is as impossible or as difficult as has been made out.
Will the member take an intervention?
, I will always bow to Stewart Stevenson on technical matters.
Perhaps the member is not aware that the signal strength of digital transmissions is normally approximately one five hundredth of the strength of analogue transmissions and that it is therefore technically possible to put transmitting antennae on much smaller masts and perhaps even to use some mobile phone masts that already exist.
I am grateful to the member. He is correct—I was not aware of that. What he says backs up and confirms what I am saying. I do not accept that the matter is as politically difficult or technically complex as the BBC would have us believe. We live in a technical age and I do not believe that the technical problems to which the BBC refers are as difficult as it would have us believe. Frankly, the BBC is rather arrogant in that respect. Just because people live in rural areas, that does not necessarily mean that they deserve political or technical ignorance.
That is all that I want to say. George Lyon talked about unfairness. There is unfairness. I could go further than that and say that there is almost discrimination towards those of us who live in Scotland's most rural areas.
The member has one minute.
I do not need any more time, Presiding Officer. The issue is simple. I do not like the arrogant response that one receives when one asks questions. I look forward to what the minister will say.
I thank John Farquhar Munro for securing the debate.
I should always begin discussing such matters by saying that the issue is primarily dealt with by the Westminster Parliament. Liberal Democrat colleagues have already raised the matter in discussion with the relevant ministers at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. However, the issue is important for Scotland as a result of its geography and the adverse reaction of people if they do not have access to Scottish Premier League games other than old firm matches. There is a challenge for many folk and members hear about such concerns as they go round the country.
Members have legitimately discussed historic problems with reception throughout our country, and the changeover's economic impact on individuals who have been asked to make contributions in situations in which reception was previously guaranteed. Problems with the quality of reception have also been mentioned.
The First Minister has raised the matter verbally with Tessa Jowell, so I assure members that it is on the Executive's horizon. Following the debate in the House of Commons, we will take up the issue with DCMS ministers and try to find ways in which to resolve matters. It is not only the issue that we are discussing that is important; David Mundell alluded to other aspects of technology. It might be better to try to pull those aspects together, knowing that we are moving forward with a variety of different approaches, in order to address technological developments. We want everyone to be involved in that.
The minister mentioned discussions with Westminster colleagues. Will he extend discussions to the BBC? The BBC has estimated that there will be savings of £85 million. An element of those savings could be used to offset costs to constituents who have no choice but to receive digital television by buying the new £20 card. That would put some of that money to good use. Could the minister appeal to the BBC?
I would be happy to discuss with colleagues and MSPs how to raise and discuss such issues. Obviously, I cannot give the member any guarantees about how the DCMS will respond, but I am happy to take up such issues on behalf of members and to find out whether progress can be made.
We must acknowledge, as many members have tonight, that there has been some movement, although at a cost of £20 plus VAT for a card. I hope that that figure will remain stable irrespective of what happens in the next two or three years. The fact that there have been debates in the House of Commons and the Scottish Parliament should concentrate the minds of politicians on ensuring that that is the case. I recognise that there is an element of unfairness in a situation in which some people who pay the licence fee do not have the full benefit of that spending, as people in urban Scotland do.
There have been discussions about the cost that have resulted in welcome developments. The UK Government's position is that subsidising the cost of obtaining a Solus viewing card is a separate issue from that of the licence fee. The viewing card is an element of equipment that is necessary for satellite television consumers who purchased the system in order to enable them to receive the free-to-air channels. The Government has never subsidised the cost of purchasing TV equipment and does not intend to do so. Although that is the stated position of the UK Government, I think that we should still be able to raise certain issues and I will be happy to do so.
Listening to Maureen Macmillan's speech, I wondered whether "Confessions of a Technophobe" might make a good television programme.
Will the minister take an intervention?
I will, but I cannot guarantee that I will give you as erudite an answer as Stewart Stevenson often does. He is the kind of individual whom other pupils must have hated to sit beside in school.
May I demonstrate that I have expertise in some areas by pointing out that in the business bulletin the word "licence" is twice misspelled in the motion?
I share Maureen Macmillan's passion for sorting out grammatical mistakes. Maureen Macmillan has many other talents and I am sure that she will develop a technological talent in years to come. Indeed, I look forward to her taking up her post as the sound person in the new Scottish Parliament building.
A number of members have asked how we can ensure that the concerns of more isolated communities are considered in relation to broader developments in the BBC and other programme providers. We have to use the opportunity that is presented by the UK Government's intended switch to digital television to iron out the practical problems that have emerged because of recent developments. Obviously, the establishment of the Office of Communications—Ofcom—gives us an opportunity to have such issues addressed in the reports that it will produce by March 2004 on developments in the digital market. We need to consider ways in which we can influence the debate that will take place in the DCMS.
I acknowledge what George Lyon said about my deep knowledge of the issues that face rural communities in Scotland. I confess that, when I was a child, our impoverished family took an annual trip to Hoggenfield loch. That has stood me in great stead as I have addressed this issue today.
We need to ensure that the companies that are involved engage in dialogue among themselves so that they recognise that a decision by the BBC to change over to digital will also have an impact on the commercial broadcasters. Through the intervention of the UK Government, some of those issues have been addressed.
This evening, there has been acknowledgement that there are differences throughout the UK, but that those differences are accentuated by Scottish geography and topography. There are fundamental issues involved. I am not an expert in those matters, but I think that we should be able to pull together some of the ideas that have been raised and discuss them with colleagues in the DCMS and with representatives of the broadcasting companies to ensure that they are addressed more effectively.
There is a great incentive to try to ensure that the Scottish public can view the activities of the Scottish Parliament. There is no point in our having a Scottish Parliament if the key issues that we deal with are not accessible by the public. I hope that that will enhance the work of Parliament.
I am not too convinced about David Mundell's metaphor involving "The Beechgrove Garden" and what is produced in the Parliament—I will leave others to imagine the punch line to that—but we need to ensure that there are effective ways in which people can access television programmes from throughout the range of BBC channels, through the licence fee.
I would be happy to meet members to discuss some of the issues that have been raised this evening and thereafter to summarise those points and raise them directly with DCMS ministers, thereby opening up areas of the debate for the future. I thank members for the time that they have taken to attend this evening's debate.
Meeting closed at 17:50.