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11|03|05

Ofcom appoints new members to the Gaelic Media Service board

Ofcom today announced the appointment of two new members to the board of the Gaelic Media Service (GMS).

The appointments, which have the approval of the Secretary of State for Scotland, took effect from 1 February 2005 and will run for four years. This brings the number of GMS board members up to the full complement of 12 including the Chairman, Neil Fraser.

The two new members, who are both fluent Gaelic speakers, are as follows:

Donald Campbell (40) is currently Director of Taxation Services with Ernst and Young LLP with an advisory brief covering Scottish and UK FTSE 250 companies and UK wide public-private partnership projects. Previously he was tax adviser with Baker Tilly and financial adviser with Guardian Royal Exchange in Glasgow where he advised on UK and international tax and finance matters. Donald was born in South Uist and was formerly a Priest in the Diocese of Argyll and the Isles.

Donald MacKay (58) was born on North Uist and brought up on Skye. He is a chartered accountant and managing director of AUPEC Ltd, an independent firm of economic consultants that delivers economic products and services to companies and clients worldwide. He is a highly experienced director, manager and administrator with extensive economics, corporate finance and general management experience gained at an international level. Donald was part of the MacPherson Task Force which dealt with the arrangements and structure of public support for Gaelic organisations, and served on the Ministerial Advisory Group for Gaelic

The Gaelic Media Service (GMS) works with broadcasters to ensure the availability of high quality Gaelic programmes using both broadcast and new media services.

Notes for editors

1. Under the Communications Act 2003 Ofcom is required to ensure the board contains nominations from the BBC, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Bòrd na Gàidhlig. In addition Ofcom is charged to secure that the interests of the following are adequately represented in the membership: Channel 3 licence holders in Scotland; the independent television and radio production industries in Scotland; and other persons and bodies concerned with the promotion and use of Gaelic language, education in Gaelic and Gaelic culture. The appointments require the approval of the Secretary of State for Scotland.
2. The remit of the Gaelic Media Service is to secure that a wide and diverse range of high quality programmes in Gaelic are broadcast or otherwise transmitted so as to be available to persons in Scotland. GMS works with public service radio and television broadcasters to secure an appropriate level of Gaelic programming on their services, and is also empowered to provide its own services. To this end, it assumed the responsibilities of the Gaelic Broadcasting Committee (CCG) for administering the Gaelic broadcasting fund. The Chairman of the GMS serves on Ofcom’s Advisory Committee for Scotland.
3. All members of the GMS are Gaelic speakers.
4. Ofcom is the regulator for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications services. Ofcom exists to further the interests of citizen-consumers as the communications industries enter the digital age.

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