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Gaelic Broadcasting Task Force Report

TASK FORCE

Chairman
Alasdair Milne Director-General, BBC, 1982-87

Members
Mary Campbell Director, British Linen Advisers
Bob Collins Director-General, Radio Telefís Éireann
Dr Finlay MacLeod Independent Producer
R.J. MacLeod Advocate
Clare Mulholland Deputy Chief Executive, ITC, 1991-97
Alwyn Roberts BBC National Governor for Wales, 1979-86 and S4C, 1981-86
Assessor Neil Fraser Broadcast Consultant

1 CHAIRMAN’S FOREWORD

We were appointed to review Gaelic broadcasting and "to examine from the standpoint of technical feasibility, finance and programming the practicability of establishing a dedicated Gaelic television channel". In view of the rapid technological advances being made in the communications industry since the task force was established, we have taken the opportunity to consider the additional benefits that the converging world of broadcast media, internet and telecommunications can bring to a Gaelic service.

Gaelic is one of the key indigenous languages of the United Kingdom. For 1700 years it has been part of our culture – our place names, our surnames, our songs, our music. We have sought in our report to normalise Gaelic broadcasting at long last without deprivation for the majority of viewers. It is desirable and in the national interest, on grounds of social justice and cultural diversity, that the Gaelic-speaking audience should be served by a broadcasting system appropriate to the 21^st century. This principle was acknowledged by the establishment through the 1990 Broadcasting Act of the Gaelic Television Fund and, in response to the parallel obligation to the Welsh-speaking audience, by the earlier creation of S4C. During the course of our deliberations, the Government has reinforced its commitment to the indigenous minority languages by becoming a signatory to the Council of Europe Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Our task is therefore to reinforce the rationale for a Gaelic broadcasting service and to recommend how that commitment can be delivered in a way that is both meaningful and sustainable.

We are absolutely clear that maintenance of the status quo is not an option. In terms of funding, beyond the contribution of the BBC and the Scottish ITV companies, the current system is based on the award of a block grant to Comataidh Craolaidh Gaidhlig. There is no agreed programme strategy between the CCG and the broadcasters and no potential for growth. In terms of scheduling the current system is largely dependent for its operation upon the goodwill of the broadcasters. This was perceived to exist at the time of the establishment of the Gaelic Television Fund. The BBC, with support from the CCG, continues to underpin a long-standing commitment to Gaelic broadcasting. However, it has now been put to us with brutal clarity by the commercial broadcasters that Gaelic broadcasting is an encumbrance which they have to support because of ITC enforcement but which they now regard with no interest or enthusiasm. That is not the basis on which to build future planning of any service.

The present provision of Gaelic broadcasting, and television in particular, has long been recognised as inadequate. The provision is fragmented, marginalised and, within current constraints, is incapable of expansion to a level acceptable to the population interested in accessing a diverse range of Gaelic broadcast material. Notwithstanding the franchise obligations imposed by the ITC, a significant proportion of the material reluctantly carried by the Scottish ITV companies is now transmitted in the middle of the night.

In short, broadcasting in the Gaelic language, as at present configured and delivered, is anomalous. Those who speak Gaelic encompass and reflect all the preferences, needs and expectations of the United Kingdom as a whole. Similarly, they are analogous to the audiences for Welsh and, in Ireland, for Irish language television services. Yet Gaelic television is treated differently in terms of legislative provision, funding, regulation and delivery. Since these differences are almost always to its disadvantage, the starting point and guiding principle have to be the normalisation of Gaelic language provision within the statutory framework of UK broadcasting. That is a matter of logic, common sense and justice. Accordingly, the principle of normalisation informs this report throughout.

The Task Force believes that the creation of a dedicated Gaelic television channel (which would also have the potential to carry other material) is both feasible and desirable. We believe that it would – as in Wales and Ireland – unlock creative talent and make a major contribution towards the future well-being of the language and culture. It would create significant employment opportunities and therefore contribute towards the government’s economic objectives, particularly in the more peripheral parts of Scotland. Equally if experience is anything to go by, such programmes would on occasions garner a significantly larger audience than simply the Gaelic-speaking community. In short, it would be an unmitigated good which, we believe, would be widely appreciated and enjoyed in Scotland and beyond.

The cost of the dedicated Gaelic service as proposed in this report will be in the order of £44 million per annum to be funded from a range of sources, of which £33.4 million would be new money. This is a tiny part of the £4.7 billion expenditure on public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom which is divided between the licence fee revenue to the BBC and advertising revenue which finances Channels 3, 4 and 5. We believe that the principle long-accepted in respect of S4C is morally correct and politically consistent; that the minority languages of the United Kingdom are an asset belonging to the whole of the United Kingdom and should not be seen as the responsibility solely of that part of the United Kingdom in which they originate.

While the proposed cost is significantly in excess of the current block grant allocation to the Gaelic Broadcasting Committee, the more appropriate points of comparison are with the comparable services provided for the Welsh-speaking audience and, in Ireland, for Teilifis na Gaeilge.

Our report identifies the need for specific allocation of broadcasting spectrum; for a guaranteed funding formula to encompass the delivery of a modern, quality service under the supervision of a Gaelic Broadcasting Authority; and for arrangements to be secured in law through the new broadcasting legislation. Our detailed proposals for the means of funding and distribution are contained in the main body of the report.

We have held nine meetings, mostly in Edinburgh but one in London where both Chris Smith, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and Brian Wilson, Minister of State at the Scotland Office, were in attendance. We have consulted all the interested bodies – the CCG, BBC Scotland, SMG, PACT, the ITC, S4C, SDN, TG4 and other non-broadcast organisations and individuals listed in the Consultation Roll. We have been supported by officials of the Scottish Executive, the Scotland Office and the DCMS.

I am personally grateful to members of the Task Force and to all who are involved.

ALASDAIR MILNE

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