Media: S4C

Lord Roberts of Conwy Excerpts

Wednesday 5th October 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Rawlings]

My Lords, I can confirm that the BBC will not have a majority on either the S4C board or the S4C executive, and the relationship between S4C and the BBC will be on the basis of a partnership and not of a BBC subsidiary. The partnership will start, as the noble Lord knows, from April 2013. I know how important this is to several noble Lords.

[Lord Roberts of Conwy]

My Lords, is the noble Baroness aware that the BBC appears to have been flexing its financial muscle in these recent negotiations? It is of course seeking to exercise domination over the governance of S4C, which might end up with a BBC satellite service as opposed to the independent service that we all want and have agreed upon. Will the same kind of behaviour on the part of the BBC be allowed to happen to the local television stations that are also to be financed from licence fee sources?

[Baroness Rawlings]

My Lords, I understand my noble friend Lord Roberts’ concern about S4C, as he was its original founder, but I should like to reassure him that the amended BBC agreement which has been laid in Parliament states that there will be new governance arrangements. This will happen only when they have been agreed by S4C, the BBC and DCMS. Naturally, there will be a balance and it will not be dominated by the BBC.