New Clause 1 - Digital television
Office of Communications Bill [Lords]
5:45 pm
Mr Michael Fabricant (Lichfield, Conservative)
I welcome that intervention, and I suspect that I shall have an interesting discussion on that subject with my hon. Friend outside this Committee Room. Of course, they were consenting adults working for consenting companies, but the bottom line is that the Treasury was effective in ensuring that it gained the maximum amount of money from the auction. Whether that will benefit the industry in the long term is a moot point.
There is a sad and major omission from the Bill of any discussion about analogue switch-off. I cannot recall the complexion of the Government who took the bull by the horns and made the brave decision that
there would have to be a switch-off from VHF television—bands 1 and 3—to enable UHF television, which has 625 lines, to go ahead. Perhaps it was a Labour Government. This Government must also make a decision sooner or later. If they leave it too long, a Conservative Government will make it in three, four or five years; possibly sooner, depending on industrial action.
The Government are going to have to address the question of analogue switch-off, which is a major omission that has not yet been addressed. I am now tired; I have spoken at length and shall now be seated.