Sir John Whittingdale
MP for Maldon · Conservative · United Kingdom
“I strongly welcome the Secretary of State’s confirmation of our continuing support for Ukraine. He has set out the sustained threat from Russia facing not just Ukraine, but this country and the whole of Europe, yet for too many people, it is still business as usual.”
“That is perhaps even more relevant to the second prong of the Government’s proposals, which is about social media. I will come to that point, but before I finish talking about local media, I want to mention that another of the Government’s flagship policies is devolution.”
“The hon. Member is completely right that this issue must be addressed before we proceed. There is also the question of cost, raised by my right hon. Friend the Member for Wetherby and Easingwold (Sir Alec Shelbrooke). There are people who probably do have access to broadband, if they choose to pay for it, but they cannot afford to do so.”
“I was the Minister responsible for the passage of the Media Act 2024, during the previous Parliament. It is a great delight to see some familiar faces with whom I have worked with in the past on the officials’ Bench.”
“Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart) that young people are turning more and more to social media, but I do not think that this policy is the answer, because it looks to me like a very dangerous extension of Government interference in the freedom of the press and the right to free speech.”
“My right hon. Friend asks a perfectly valid question, and I want to acknowledge that there are concerns. We had a debate in Westminster Hall not that long ago, and a number of my colleagues—particularly from Scotland—turned up to express concern about the fact that the quality of reception via broadband in their constituencies is very poo…”
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“Is the Secretary of State aware that today’s announcement that another £675 million has been taken from the lottery on top of the existing £1.5 billion will be greeted with dismay by arts and heritage organisations, charities and grass-roots sports? Will she accept that that makes it all the more imperative that those causes should not suffer a double hit with an announcement of a cut in direct grant funding as a result of the comprehensive spending review? Can she give the House an absolute guarantee that this is the final figure for the call on the lottery, and that if there are any further increases in costs beyond the figures announced today, they will not be taken from the lottery but met by the Treasury through central Government expenditure?”
“May I draw the Minister’s attention to the unanimous view of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee that Sport England’s ability to support sports clubs will suffer if there is any further diversion of funds from the national lottery? Given the Chancellor’s new-found enthusiasm for supporting sport for young people, will the Minister press him to protect the national lottery from any further raids?”
“How much do the Government intend to spend this year on the introduction of ID cards, and what is the latest estimate of the total cost of the scheme? Will the hon. Gentleman not accept even now that this enormously expensive and ineffectual scheme would be much better scrapped and the money spent on building prison places so that he does not have to go on releasing violent offenders to commit still more offences?”
“Is the Secretary of State aware of the view expressed by Professor Peter Collins— “convenience is the single greatest spur to increase problem gambling”— that led the Joint Scrutiny Committee to conclude that a regional casino should not be located “in close proximity to residential properties”? Is there therefore not a danger that choosing Manchester, rather than a resort destination, is likely to lead to an increase in problem gambling? Does the Secretary of State share my surprise that the report of the advisory panel states: “problem gambling is more a town planning consideration rather than one for us”?”
“That has been the subject of speculation and press comment for some time, but time is running out and, at the very least, uncertainty has been created. I hope that the Minister will be able to reassure us that an appointment will be made fairly soon.”
“We have great faith in his powers of persuasion at the Treasury, but it is desperately important, if we are to achieve half of the protection of heritage necessary, that we restore the finances of English Heritage and its ability to undertake its responsibilities. We hoped that English Heritage might enjoy a period of some stability. It has had to undergo three reorganisations in recent times, and we were slightly alarmed when, in the middle of our inquiry, we discovered that it was to be subjected to a further peer review. We understand that that will not lead to major change, which is welcome, but there is still a gaping hole to be filled, which is the matter of who will be the next chairman of English Heritage.”
“That recommendation will become all the more important, given the proposals for the improved heritage protection regime, in which English Heritage will be required to play a major part. I understand that the Minister will not be able to comment on the outcome of the CSR. I asked him on Tuesday whether he would like to comment on my pressing him to get more money for, or at least safeguard the resources available to museums, and he very honestly and frankly said, “No”. I suspect that his answer this afternoon may be the same. However, I urge him to press the case as hard as possible.”
“There have been delays in processing applications and a number of the other functions that English Heritage is required to undertake have suffered as a result. Almost all our witnesses highlighted the serious impact that that is now having. The Government’s response to our report was to say: “English Heritage is funded at a level which is sufficient for it to discharge its responsibilities and to deliver to a high standard.” I have to say that that is not believed by almost anyone throughout the whole heritage sector. For that reason, the Select Committee recommended that there should be an above-retail prices index increase in grant-in-aid to English Heritage.”
“It is perhaps a cause for celebration that museums, galleries and libraries have done relatively well in recent times, enjoying a 36 per cent. increase in funding. Funding for the Arts Council is up by 53 per cent. and that of Sport England is up by 98 per cent. We make no criticism of increases to those bodies, but they do draw a stark contrast with the failure to maintain funding, even at a pace level with inflation, that has been the fate of English Heritage. It has led many to believe that heritage is a low priority for the DCMS and that was the theme of the evidence given to us by a large number of our witnesses. The consequence of the decline in funding of English Heritage has been a steady fall in the level of grants payable.”
“Fears have been expressed that there may be some conflict between those roles which could be made worse by the fact that resources have fallen behind. Priorities have had to be set and certain areas may have had less attention paid to them than others. That situation is now becoming critical. Since 2000-01, the grant in aid given to English Heritage has fallen way behind inflation. Using the figures projected up to 2007-08, we calculated that there was a cumulative shortfall of £18 million. That is the amount by which the grant paid to English Heritage had declined in real terms by not keeping pace with inflation. It is also notable, as was pointed out to us vigorously by the sector, that English Heritage appears to have suffered much worse than other bodies funded by the DCMS.”
“We are obviously looking forward to the publication of the heritage White Paper, which has been awaited for some time. I hope that the Committee’s report will have some influence on all three of those matters, and perhaps this debate will, too. I begin by focusing on English Heritage, which plays a role as the Government’s main adviser on heritage matters. It also acts as a regulator through its responsibility for a large part of the heritage protection system, and it acts as a vehicle for support by giving grants and financial assistance to the maintenance of heritage properties. In recent times, the responsibilities given to English Heritage have increased. It has taken on the role of safeguarding maritime archaeology and it is due to play an even greater part in listed building administration and, in due course, designation.”
“The Committee published about 124 of those, held six evidence sessions in public, and visited Lincoln and Liverpool. I would particularly like to thank the Committee’s two expert advisers, Bob Kindred, who is a conservation officer with Ipswich borough council, and David Sekers, who is a trustee of Heritage Link. Both provided us with invaluable advice. There is no doubt that the debate is extremely timely. We are awaiting the outcome of a comprehensive spending review, which is keenly anticipated, if not feared, by those in the heritage sector. We also have concerns about the future funding of the Heritage Lottery Fund and are awaiting a decision from the Government about the financing of the Olympics, which may impact upon that.”
“The Government clearly have an important role in helping to protect, preserve and promote our heritage and that was explicitly recognised in 1992 with the creation of the Department of National Heritage, which has evolved into the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Despite its importance, I believe that too little attention is paid to heritage in this place. When my Select Committee decided to carry out an inquiry into heritage, it was the first time that it had been examined by the Committee for 12 years. Heritage debates are few and far between, which is perhaps reflected by the number of hon. Members who have chosen to come along this afternoon. It is an indication of how few opportunities there are to debate such matters. During the course of the inquiry, we received a huge number of submissions.”
“I am grateful for the opportunity to debate the report of the Select Committee on protecting and preserving our heritage. It is extremely gratifying to see the interest that the debate has generated among Members of the House and members of the public who have chosen to attend. That interest reflects the fact that our heritage in this country is perhaps one of our greatest assets: there is no question but that it is envied by many other countries and admired across the world. Our heritage is a wonderful demonstration of creativity in this country, in the work of our artists and architects, for example. It reminds us of our history, it has acted as a focus for regeneration and redevelopment, and it attracts thousands of visitors every year from within these islands and from abroad, which makes a major contribution to our economy.”
“The Department for Communities and Local Government, because of its responsibility for planning, has a major say and it is also a matter for the Treasury, because of funding and the tax regime, for the Department for Transport—particularly in relation to a national monument, Stonehenge, which I shall come on to—and for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which has a lot of responsibility for ancient monuments and so on.”
“I can fully understand why my hon. Friend should say that. Obviously, we have to go by what we have read in the press but it has seemed a remarkably unseemly process. On the other hand, I do not think that we want to delay for too much longer and so whatever solution is arrived at I hope that the matter can be resolved relatively swiftly. I look forward to the Minister saying a few words about that later in the debate. I turn now to the specific responsibility of the Government. Clearly lead responsibility lies with the Minister’s Department, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. We found that in fact heritage is important across the whole of government.”
“James’s church in Dengie was financed by the HLF; and the Dawn Sailing Barge Trust, of which I am a patron, has received £675,000 towards restoration. I believe that that grant was made before I became Chairman of the Select Committee, in case there was any concern that I might have received preferential treatment.”
“In considering the bodies that have major responsibility in heritage, particularly for financing it, the other major contributor is the Heritage Lottery Fund. Originally, 20 per cent. of proceeds from the national lottery were to be put into heritage, and that figure fell to 16.6 per cent. I welcome the Government’s commitment that it will not fall further and that that proportion will remain for the time being. There is no question but that the Heritage Lottery Fund has made a fantastic difference. There is probably not a single constituency in the country that has not had some benefit from HLF funding. If I might be permitted, Sir John, I shall give three examples from my own area: Blue House farm in Fambridge was acquired by the Essex Wildlife Trust through the HLF; the excavation of Beeleigh abbey and the repair of St.”
“The Department’s key forthcoming heritage initiative will be the publication of the White Paper setting out the new proposals for heritage protection reform. It started life as a consultation back in 2003, and at that time it was envisaged that a White Paper would be published in 2005. When the Minister came to give evidence to the Committee, he said that there had been some delay and that he wanted to take account of the work that we were doing, which was a welcome commitment, and that the White Paper was likely to be published in autumn 2006. We are now in January 2007, so the first question that I want the Minister to answer is where the White Paper is and when we can expect it to be published.”
“Another issue that we considered, which was put to us by several people, was that heritage might do better if it were not in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport at all. [Interruption.] It was suggested that it might be moved to the Department for Communities and Local Government. A huge amount of heritage issues are associated with planning matters, and we would like to see more attention paid to heritage and closer working between the Departments. Despite the support for that idea, which I heard just now from my hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton), we did not agree and felt that heritage was in the right place in the DCMS and that, as long as it was given the priority that it needs, it should stay there.”
“It was of some concern to us when we saw that the letter from the Prime Minister to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which set out the priorities for her Department, did not mention heritage at all, although that was rectified in the response sent by the Department. We considered ways in which heritage might rise up the agenda across government. One suggestion was that green Ministers in each Department should also play a heritage role, and that was suggested in the Department’s paper, “A Force for Our Future”. I understand that that idea has not particularly found favour, but more attention clearly needs to be paid to heritage matters across government.”
“The hon. Gentleman is correct. I was going to touch on that matter in due course, since this issue provoked more submissions than any other specific matter in our inquiry. However, even though that subject is relevant to what I want to say next, before I move on to it I want to say that the fact that heritage affects a number of Departments across government makes it more important that there should be a strong voice—a champion—for heritage issues in government. That is clearly a role for the DCMS. One would hope that the Department would be at the forefront of trying to put pressure on the Treasury to address VAT.”
“Not all authorities employ conservation officers, and we are concerned that that position may deteriorate because, as the officers reach retirement age, they may not be replaced. Our first recommendation was that more information is needed about the number of authorities that have conservation expertise, and about the extent to which that can be expected to increase or diminish in coming years. That is particularly important given that the main thrust of the heritage protection review will be to place new responsibilities on local authorities.”
“That risks doing real damage to all of those other areas—the arts, sport outside of the Olympics, charities and particularly the area that we are debating today, the heritage. Again, I do not expect the Minister to give a commitment, but I hope that he will at least take on board our strong view that it is not appropriate for the lottery to fund any more of the Olympic games than is already proposed. I turn to the other big player in heritage matters, and perhaps the biggest—local authorities. They are doubtless at the sharp end in delivering heritage protection, and they have the key responsibilities. There is a huge variation between authorities in the degree of expertise that is available to them, the resources that they can put into heritage matters and the priority that they can give to it.”
“When we published our report, we said specifically that the Government should undertake that no more should be taken away from the original good causes to fund a possible increase in costs of the Olympics. Since the report was published, we have had a second inquiry into the Olympics and we know, because the Secretary of State came and told us, that costs have already gone up by £900 million. We are awaiting a decision from the Government on how that money will be found. The Secretary of State gave us a strong steer in our session that she was looking to the lottery to make a big contribution, if not to meet the entire overspend. That is a matter of concern to us. There is no doubt that if the lottery has to go on giving more and more to meet the costs of the Olympics, its ability to fund other good causes will be severely affected.”
“My hon. Friend is entirely right. That is the exact subject that I want to come on to and the Committee has some strong views on that. The concern is about future funding. We already know that the funds available to the HLF will decline significantly. The establishment of an Olympic game will, we believe, cost the HLF some £75 million and the additional amount which it has been announced will be taken out of the main lottery will remove £68 million over four years from lottery funds. The HLF’s ability to fund projects in future will be considerably affected by that. The fund has made it clear to us that in the main large grants are likely to be cut. That is a matter of some concern.”
“We are concerned that some authorities will not give priority to the heritage, and we believe that a case can be made for it becoming a statutory responsibility in some areas, as it may be the only way to ensure that they are properly resourced. Without doubt, the new responsibilities will bring significant extra costs. The Minister told us of the compact that exists whereby, if the Government place extra burdens on local authorities, resources will be provided to meet them. If the heritage review is to work, it will need to be properly financed. I should be grateful if the Minister could assure us that local authorities will receive the funding necessary to meet their new responsibilities.”
“In return, I pay tribute to my hon. Friend, who was assiduous in drawing our attention to the particular challenges faced by those authorities that have world heritage sites within their boundaries. It clearly is a difficulty. He is right to say that we believe that regional development agencies could help shoulder the burden. It is a wonderful thing to have a world heritage site close by, but it brings with it considerable costs and responsibilities. It seems unfair that a small authority should be expected to meet them all. The general requirements on local authorities include maintaining historic environment records and establishing heritage partnership agreements with English Heritage.”
“They are much more knowledgeable than I am. It is the case that 45 per cent. of grade I listed buildings are churches. The future cost of repairs is an enormous challenge for many of them. A strong case can be made for extra funding to be made available through English Heritage to try to maintain the 14,000 listed buildings that are places of worship.”
“However, the problem will not go away. Many private owners are struggling to maintain historic properties and keep them alive by making them their homes. One that we visited, Doddington Hall, is a wonderful example. Such places would not have anything like the same appeal or attraction if they were monuments rather than living homes, yet those people face major bills. For instance, we were shown the cracks in the walls, but those people do not have access to any help. We believe that a case can be made for limited relief being given to private owners, perhaps to be set against income for repairs. Places of worship, too, are tremendously important. I am delighted to see the right hon. Members for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith) and for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) here. I have no doubt that they will wish to say a few words on the subject.”
“The fact that VAT is chargeable on repairs but not on new build distorts priorities and creates perverse incentives for owners to neglect buildings and allow them to fall down. It is the completely wrong priority. An opportunity arose to put it right; the Government had the chance to use a time window and tell the European Union that we wished to have the opportunity at some point to take advantage of a reduced rate for VAT on labour input for repairs. We were extremely disappointed that the Treasury did not take up that opportunity. Indeed, we were somewhat disappointed that the Minister was not able to tell us that he had lobbied hard for the Treasury to do so. That window has now closed, but VAT remains a major problem. We would like to see it addressed, if not by a reduction perhaps by giving grants to those who have pay the tax.”
“Friend the Member for Shipley (Philip Davies) has already mentioned world heritage sites. I shall not repeat what he said, but I thoroughly agree with him. One such site—I suspect that my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (Robert Key) may wish to speak about it if he catches your eye, Sir John—is Stonehenge. Thirteen years ago it was described as a national disgrace. If anything, it is worse now. We have the chance to address the problem and the sooner we put it right the better. It would end a shameful episode for our country. We have responsibility for what clearly is a major monument of world importance, and we are not giving it the attention that it deserves. VAT was mentioned by the hon. Member for Edinburgh, North and Leith (Mark Lazarowicz) and the subject was raised repeatedly during our inquiry.”
“Thank you, Sir John. I concur with my hon. Friend. Local authorities have the job of delivering at the cutting edge, but the Government must stand behind them. I want to mention a few specific concerns. We feel that the question of existing controls in conservation areas needs to be addressed. We were particularly concerned that the Shimizu decision, which caused consternation across the heritage sector, has allowed the demolition of parts of unlisted buildings in conservation areas. That was acknowledged to be a serious problem, and the Government have indicated that they wish to correct it. We are slightly alarmed at the suggestion now being made by the Government that it is not a priority. Many do see it as a priority, and the sooner that loophole can be closed the better. My hon.”
“Unless we act, heritage monuments will be lost and gone for ever, and future generations would not forgive us if we allowed that to happen.”
“I am grateful to my hon. Friend. That would be extremely helpful. I hope that the Minister will give a positive response. There are several other areas. For instance, my hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham may wish to talk about archaeology, as he is more knowledgeable on the subject than I am. I am afraid that an awful lot of the Committee’s recommendations boil down to asking for more money. Clearly, we recognise that this is a difficult time because there are competing priorities and the Minister has to make his case against the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Skills. However, there is a strong and desperate need for resourcing, because heritage has lost out in recent years, and a crisis is approaching.”
“Will the Secretary of State confirm that although the licence fee may not be increasing in real terms, the total amount of money available to the BBC is likely to do so because of household growth? Will she give the House any estimates that she has of the BBC’s future total income? Will she also answer the question that my hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr. Swire) asked about whether the money that licence fee payers have to contribute towards the non-BBC costs of digital switchover will be separately identified on the licence fee bill?”
“Does the Secretary of State agree that under the new governance arrangements the BBC Trust is to be independent of the Executive and will oversee the BBC’s work and adjudicate on any possible complaints? Will she join me in wishing Michael Grade every success in his new job, which will certainly be challenging? Does she accept, however, that if the trust is to remain credible, its next chairman should be a critical judge of the BBC, not a cheerleader for it?”
“I am most grateful to the Secretary of State. She says that she has to balance the need to provide assistance to the people who require it with keeping down the cost to the licence fee payer. Can she say how much the targeted assistance scheme will cost?”
“I welcome the fact that she has essentially told it that it is going to move, like it or not. However, she rightly said that although the BBC will pay the switchover costs—as I say, I do not agree with that, but I accept that it is the Government’s decision—that funding will be fully transparent and will be ring-fenced. That ring-fencing will mean that the BBC will be given the necessary money, and so cannot say, “Switchover prevents us from doing other things, because we’ve not had our full settlement.” I hope that when people pay their licence fee, it will clearly be identified that a particular element of it is to be used to meet the switchover cost.”
“The fact that the Government have decided to put the cost on to the BBC has led to what I suspect the Minister will privately agree has been a rather unedifying spectacle—that of the BBC using digital switchover almost as a bargaining chip in the negotiations on the licence fee settlement. It gave rise to the director-general saying in a recent speech: “We can’t rob existing core services to pay for switchover. In the event of a low settlement, the BBC Trust will face some difficult choices around delivering the broad mission”. To some that read almost like blackmail. It sounded as though the BBC was saying, “Unless we get the sum we’ve asked for, we’re not going to give you switchover.” The Secretary of State earlier was very robust in the other area where the BBC had made threatening noises—the proposed move to Manchester.”
“That is a considerable sum. It represents about a fifth of the proceeds of the licence fee in one year, although obviously it will be spread over several years. In my view that sum should not be met from the licence fee. Although I commend the Government for wishing to give assistance to people on low incomes, I believe that it is, as has been said, a social policy decision—a welfare decision. One can argue that the BBC should meet the broadcasting costs of switchover—the conversion of transmitters and the provision of information through Digital UK—but providing assistance is clearly a welfare cost. Indeed, that has already been recognised by the Government, who pay a subsidy to the BBC for their decision to make free licences available to those aged over 75.”
“They will be required to pay more to subsidise the people who take out subscriptions. In some cases, the poorer tenants will be subsidising the richer ones. Understandably, that has caused some resentment and is seen to be unfair. I will take advantage of my position on the Opposition Benches and say that I do not have a solution to that problem, but it is just one example of the resentments that will be caused by this process. We have learned a little more detail this afternoon about the assistance package. The Government are correct: clearly it is necessary to provide assistance to those people who will struggle to afford the new equipment required as a result of switchover. The Government have now finally given us an estimate of the likely cost of that package. The Secretary of State said that it would be £600 million.”
“The problem, of course, is that, as Camden itself says, the cost of installing these integrated reception systems in all its properties runs to several million pounds. It proposes to pay for them by imposing on tenants a service charge of about £1 a week. Leaseholders in the borough will have to pay a £300 installation cost and then a maintenance charge. I understand, or at least Camden understands, that for those on low incomes, the service charge will be met by housing benefit, but that is something I would like confirmed. Even those who are not on low incomes, or at least not eligible to receive housing benefit, are being asked to pay over £50 a year in extra costs. As was pointed out to me, some of them may not want to subscribe to Sky or take advantage of the most sophisticated systems; they may just want basic freeview.”
“My attention was drawn to proposals by the London borough of Camden, which has helpfully published on the net a report setting out how it intends to replace existing communal TV aerials with an integrated reception system. This is an all-singing, all-dancing system that will provide Camden’s housing tenants with choice. They will be able to enjoy freeview or have satellite, all within one system. To some extent, I applaud Camden for taking account of the need to provide their tenants with choice. The system is platform-neutral, which I also regard as important. Camden has also tried to take account of the future development of new services, to ensure that its tenants will be able to enjoy them. All those things are to be welcomed.”
“It is a major concern, not only for those who live in rented housing, but obviously for those in buildings that accommodate large numbers, such as hospitals, prisons and hostels. Elderly persons’ homes, in particular, need to be thought about well ahead of switchover. It appears that in privately rented housing there will be no obligation on the landlord to install an updated communal aerial system. Nor has any consideration been given to the requirements for passing on costs. That has been mentioned already and it needs to be thought about. There are also big questions for those living in social housing. That has thrown up new queries.”
“I will be interested to hear from the Minister whether the Government intend to try to encourage people to test their aerial if they have any doubt about it; what arrangements will be put in place for testing aerials; and, for instance, whether installers might carry out a test for free in the hope that if an aerial failed the test, they might be employed to fit a new one. Reference has already been made to the danger of cowboys, and we need to know whether such matters will be taken into account by the accreditation scheme being operated by the Confederation of Aerial Installers. The Minister will be aware that I have in the past expressed concern about the consequences for those people who live in multiple dwelling units and have access to communal television aerial systems. That, too, has been mentioned in the debate.”
“That means that if people are to take action ahead of switchover, they will have to go out and do something about it. They will have to get hold of an aerial signal strength meter, plug it in and test their aerial. They may have an inkling already, depending on the quality of the picture that they are now getting. If someone has a very fuzzy picture, the chances are that they will not be able to get freeview. It is possible, however, that people will sit there, having turned on their television in hope, believing all that they have been told—that freeview will suddenly appear on their screens the day after switchover—to find that they get nothing at all. That is a considerable risk for the Government because people will not be very pleased if that is the outcome.”
“They will have been told that all they need to do is buy a freeview box, but actually they may have inferior aerials, and it may require more investment, and the replacement of an aerial and all the attached cabling, before they have access to digital terrestrial television. When we examined the issue in the Select Committee we were told that there was to be a crafty device whereby broadcasters would transmit a signal that would tell people whether their aerial was good enough. A warning light would show to say, “You have a poor aerial. You need to go out and buy a new one.” That would at least forewarn them and enable them to take action in advance of switchover. Unfortunately, I am now told, it has not been possible to develop such a signal.”
“For that reason it was sensible of the Minister to bring forward to 2007 the switch-off in a specific location, Whitehaven, so that some of the difficulties will be flagged up and we will have time to address them. Whitehaven is served by one transmitter and comprises about 25,000 households. It is a brave choice by the Minister because it is in that part of the country that does not get freeview now, so these are households that are in precisely the category that I described. They will be told that they have to prepare for an event—that they must go out and get their freeview box and be ready for when the switch is turned. But they will not know whether the freeview box will work until switch-off occurs. There are some for whom freeview may not work.”
“Kemp) flagged up the fact that a specific disadvantage of switchover is that families will no longer be able to use video cassette recorders to record one programme while they are watching another following the move to digital. More advanced technology will be required to do such a thing. Other devices, such as personal video recorders, allow one to do so at present, to an extent. The project will require people to take something of a leap of faith. Households that cannot get freeview at the moment will be told that when switch-off occurs—I share the preference of the right hon. Member for Cardiff, South and Penarth for using the description “switch-off”, rather than “switchover”—they will suddenly find that they will have access to it. It is very difficult for them to know for certain before switch-off takes place.”