Requirement
The Broadcasting Act 1990 (Section 36), for the first time, put Party Political Broadcasts (PPBs) on a statutory basis for Channels 3, 4 and 5 but not for cable and satellite services. The ITC sets the ground rules for the allocation, frequency, transmission time and length of PPBs and Party Election Broadcasts (PEBs) (Section 4.1 of the Programme Code). It is the responsibility of licensees to draw up an allocation within those rules. Unresolved disputes between the political parties and the licensees must be referred to the ITC.
Rules
The allocation of party political and election broadcasts is determined mainly on the basis of the parties’ electoral strength and the number of seats they are contesting. The rules were revised in 1998, following a public consultation in conjunction with the BBC, S4C and Radio Authority, and again in 1999. Full details of the revisions, and the history of political broadcasting in the UK, are contained in the Consultation Paper on the Reform of Party Political Broadcasting (January 1998) and in the BBC/ITC news release 28 June 1999.
The BBC v Pro-Life Alliance, House of Lords Appeal Case, highlighted an important ruling on taste and decency considerations in PEBs. The ProLife Alliance v BBC: ProLife, a registered political party and campaigner for respect of human life, took legal action against the BBC, for refusing to transmit pictures of a foetus being aborted, contained in a ProLife PEB, on the basis that the pictures offended good taste and decency and were therefore in breach of the Agreement between the BBC and the Secretary of State. Although ProLife were successful in the Court of Appeal which held that the protection of free expression in political debate was at its highest in an election and should not be interfered with except on the most pressing grounds, that decision was overturned on appeal by the BBC to the House of Lords, which held that whilst the broadcaster may reach different judgements on taste and decency depending on the context, PEBs were not a special case. The broadcaster's right to decide, in all the circumstances, not to transmit PEB material on taste and decency grounds was therefore confirmed."
The revisions in 1998 (interim measures for broadcasts transmitted in 1999) and those announced in 1999 were intended to shift the focus of Party broadcasts to key times in the political calendar, such as election times, the budget and party conferences, when they would be of most relevance and interest to viewers.
A schedule of broadcasts, both Party Political Broadcasts and Party Election Broadcasts, was published in conjunction with the BBC in 1999.
¨ The majority of broadcasts will be in election time, for instance local elections in England; Scottish and Welsh elections in 2003; European elections in 2004. All of these must be carried on ITV, with European broadcasts also on Channel 5. General Election broadcasts (as in 2001) are carried on channels 3, 4 and 5.
¨ The informal system of ‘Campaign Broadcasts’ for parties standing in Northern Ireland has been replaced by party election broadcasts.
¨ The threshold for minor parties qualifying for election broadcasts is one sixth of the seats contested in each election, modified as necessary for proportional representation systems.
¨ There will be additional broadcasts available to the major parties (Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat, and SNP and Plaid Cymru in Scotland and Wales only) on occasions such as the Party Conferences, Queen’s Speech and Budget.
¨ Parties may choose a length of broadcast of 2’40”, 3’40”or 4’ 40”
¨ A new scheduling requirement states that PEBs must normally be broadcast between 1730 and 2330 (the BBC has a similar policy). Election broadcasts by the major parties must be transmitted in peak-time (6pm-10.30pm).
¨ Channel 4 is continuing its Political Slot programmes, which are allowed to various parties, but are not part of the formal PPB system.
Appearances by Candidates at the time of elections
Section 93 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 has been repealed. Section 4.3 of the ITC Programme Code includes detailed guidance on appearances by candidates and other issues at the time of elections.
Further References
ITC Publications
* ITC Library bibliography: Politics and broadcasting
ITC note: Televising Parliament (20)
PERKINS, Steve. What about representing the viewer? in Spectrum. 1996: Summer, 14-15
Consultation paper on the reform of party political broadcasting (BBC, ITC, Radio Authority and S4C), 1998.
Joint news releases from BBC, ITC, Radio Authority and S4C ( 20/1, 18/9 1998, 28 June 1999)
PERKINS, Steve. Regulations, the media and the 1997 Election: the ITC perspective in Political communications: why Labour won the general election of 1997, edited by Ivor Crewe, Brian Gosschalk, and John Bartle. London: Frank Cass, 1998.
TELEVISING PARLIAMENT
Background
House of Lords. Initially, the House of Lords showed more enthusiasm for televising its proceedings than the House of Commons. In 1966, the Lords voted in favour of a motion for the public televising of some of its proceedings for an experimental period. This led to the appointment of a Select Committee on Televising of the Proceedings of the House of Lords. A closed-circuit experiment took place in 1968 but it was not until 1985 that proceedings were fully televised, initially for a six-month experimental period. The experiment was pronounced a success, and formal approval by the Lords ensured continuance on a permanent basis.
House of Commons. The question of televising the proceedings of the House of Commons was debated on numerous occasions from 1965, with a majority of MPs rejecting the proposal. In 1988, however, members of the House of Commons voted in favour for an experiment in televising their proceedings. A Parliamentary Select Committee was set up to consider implementation of the vote. The Select Committee, in 1989, recommended that broadcasters should form the House of Commons Broadcasting Unit Ltd which would award a contract to an independent operator, selected by tender, to televise the proceedings according to strict rules of coverage. Televising the proceedings began with the State Opening of Parliament on 21 November 1989. Initially this was on an experimental basis until the end of July 1990. The Select Committee judged the experiment a success and their recommendation for it to continue on a permanent basis was approved by a full House of Commons vote in 1990.
Sound Broadcasting. The first regular sound broadcasting of parliamentary proceedings began in 1978 when the BBC and Independent Radio News (IRN) started broadcasting debates.
Organisation
Parliamentary control is retained through the Supervisor of Broadcasting who is answerable to a Select Committee of Broadcasting in each House. The administrative and financial arrangements for the televising are made by a subsidiary company, the Parliamentary Broadcasting Unit Ltd, which was formed jointly in 1991. The directors are drawn from both Houses (three each) plus the Supervisor of Broadcasting and seven from the broadcasters. The chairman is appointed by the Speaker. The company’s function is to finance the staff and equipment for the television coverage of both Houses on the basis of the shareholdings taken by the participating broadcasting organisations and any revenue from the sale of the signal.
Coverage
A dedicated Parliamentary Channel was launched in January 1992 and was run as a non-profit venture on behalf of its owners, a group of cable operators. In 1998, the channel was taken over by the BBC and is now known as BBC Parliament. It transmits continuous coverage of daily proceedings in Parliament, with live coverage of the Commons, and highlights of the Lords from Monday to Friday. There is no commentary or editing; but detailed captions explain who is speaking and give further background.
Television coverage of Parliamentary proceedings provides material for all television news and current affairs programmes.
Archives
A Parliamentary Sound Archive was established in 1978 to allow members of both Houses of Parliament to listen to sound recordings of current or past proceedings of each House, including those of Committees. An arrangement with the National Sound Archive (part of the British Library) will enable public access to the older material transferred to the NSA.
For television recordings of the sittings of the Chambers of both Houses of Parliament, the master videotapes of all proceedings, including those Committee proceedings which are chosen by the broadcasters for recording, are transferred to the Parliament Recordings Unit (PRU), where they can be viewed by MPs, Peers and bona fide individuals or organisations, or copies purchased for non-broadcasting purposes. The tapes are retained by the PRU until the end of the Parliamentary Session following the date of origination, after which they are transferred to the National Film and Television Archive. The NFTVA is responsible for the cataloguing and storage of tapes in controlled conditions, for which it receives an annual management fee from Parliament, and for enabling public access to the collection.
Other Parliaments and Assemblies
Broadcasters use continuous feeds of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales.
Further References
ITC Publications
* ITC Library bibliographies: Parliamentary broadcasting; Politics and television
External Publications
Broadcasting proceedings of the House of Commons, (Factsheet No 40). London: House of Commons, Public Information Office, 1992
MACDONALD, Barrie. Broadcasting in the United Kingdom: a guide to information sources. London: Mansell, revised 2nd edition, 1994. (Full details are given on reports of Select Committees on the broadcasting of Parliament).
Useful Addresses
Public Information Office, House of Commons, 1 Derby Gate, London, SW1A 2DG
(Tel. 0171 219 4272)
Parliamentary Recordings Unit (PRU), Westminster House, 7 Millbank, London, SW1P 3JA
(Tel. 0171 219 5511)
National Film and Television Archive (NFTVA), 21 Stephen Street, London, W1P 1PL
(Tel. 0171 255 1444)
National Sound Archive (NSA), 29 Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2AS (Tel 0171 412 7430)
BBC Parliament, Ground Floor, 4 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA (Tel 0171 973 6189)
The New Northern Ireland Assembly, Parliament Buildings, Stormont, Belfast BT4 3XX
(Tel 01232 521333).
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