Call for Evidence

Inquiry into Public Service Broadcasting

The Broadcasting Committee is undertaking an inquiry into public service broadcasting; and is calling for those with an interest or expertise in this area to submit written evidence.

Background

On 5 March 2008, the National Assembly for Wales established a Broadcasting Committee to investigate and report on:

• The future of public service broadcasting in Wales in the English and Welsh languages; and
• The impact of digital switchover and the creation of new delivery platforms, on the production and availability of programming and digital content from Wales and in Wales.

Key Issues

While the rapidly changing nature of the media market is providing consumers with an explosion of content choice, there are potentially challenging implications at the national and local level, not least in the way in which citizens might be enabled and encouraged to engage with the cultural, social and political issues of local importance.

While aware of some of the broader issues relating to changes in the media market, the Committee would like to hear how these changes are impacting on the broadcasting market in Wales, not only in terms of the problems faced by the evolution of the market, but also of the opportunities and expectations for the future.

While by no means limiting the scope of evidence that contributors might wish to provide, the Committee is particularly keen to consider how the changing market is impacting on citizen engagement in Wales, and the opportunities for protecting the essential elements of public service broadcasting across a number of platforms, in order to enable a healthy plural media market in Wales, that is able to engage fully with the people of Wales, and is accountable to the people of Wales.

Action Required

Interested parties are invited to submit written evidence to the committee clerk at the address below, to arrive no later than Friday 23 May 2008. If possible, please supply an electronic version by e-mail to the following address:
Community.Culture.Comm@Wales.gsi.gov.uk   

If you wish to discuss the work of the inquiry, please contact the committee clerk, Chris Reading (contact details given below), or the adviser to the committee, Aled Eirug at aled.eirug@wales.gov.uk

Please indicate whether you would be interested in presenting your views to the Committee in person.

Please Note

It is normal practice for the National Assembly to publish evidence provided to a committee. Consequently your response may appear in a report or in supplementary evidence to a report. You will, unless you request otherwise, be identified as the author of the evidence although the National Assembly will not publish any other information which it considers to be personal data.  You should be aware however that in the event of a request for information submitted under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, it may be necessary to disclose the information that you provide even though this has not been published.

If you are providing any information, other than personal data, which you feel is not suitable for public disclosure, or if you do not wish your identity, as author of the evidence, to be disclosed, this must be clearly identified, together with your reasons for wishing to withhold the material in question. The National Assembly will take this into account when publishing information or responding to requests for information.

The Committee will cease to exist on 18 July 2008.