Britain: An official handbook > 1956

BRITAIN: AN OFFICIAL HANDBOOK
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discussions on the pros and cons of an alternative system for television services
have frequently been held in Parliament, in the press and by the general public.
In the 1952 Memorandum no details were published of the terms and conditions
under which competitive television would operate; and although it was stated that
safeguards would be established against possible abuses and that a ‘controlling
body would be required for regulating the conduct of the new stations, for exercising
a general oversight of the programmes and for advising on appropriate matters’,
a considerable body of opinion feared that the introduction of private enterprise
into a sphere of activity hitherto controlled by a public corporation might lead to a
debasing of entertainment standards.
On the other hand, there were many people who welcomed the idea of competi¬
tion, agreeing with the Government that ‘as television has great and increasing
power in influencing men’s minds, its control should not remain in the hands of a
single authority, however excellent that authority may be’.
The proposals outlined by the Government in the Memorandum on Television
Policy (Cmd. 9005), published in November 1953, were designed to reconcile these
two opposing viewpoints by combining effective control with greater freedom; and,
at the same time, to reduce to a minimum the financial commitments of the State.
Most of these proposals were embodied in the Television Act, I954-
THE INDEPENDENT TELEVISION AUTHORITY
The Television Act, 1954, set up the Independent Television Authority consist¬
ing of a chairman, a deputy chairman and eight ordinary members (three ofwhom
have special responsibility for Scotland, Wales and Monmouthshire, and Northern
Ireland respectively). The Authority is appointed by the Postmaster-General and
is charged with the duty of providing television services additional to those pro¬
vided by the BBC for a period of ten years until 30th July 1964. The Authority
was established in August 1954.
The Act lays down that the programmes transmitted by the Authority are nor¬
mally to be provided by programme contractors who, on the one hand, receive
revenue from firms which advertise in the intervals of their programmes, and, on
the other, pay rent to the Authority for the use of the transmitters which are owned
and operated by it. Sponsored programmes, i.e. programmes the content of which
is provided or controlled by advertisers, are not allowed. The Authority’s finance
is drawn from the payments made to it by the programme contractors, but advances
may be made by the Postmaster-General with the consent of the Treasury for the
purpose of paying for initial expenses and capital expenditure and of providing the
Authority with working capital. The advances are limited to £1 million during
the first year of the Authority’s existence and to a total of £2 million in all during the
first five years. Any advances thus made will have to be repaid by the Authority out
of the money it receives from the contractors. There is also provision in the
Television Act for an annual Exchequer grant of up to £750,000 to be made to the
Authority.
The Act requires the Authority to ensure that the programmes do not offend
against good taste or decency, that they are balanced in their subject-matter and
that they maintain a high general standard of quality and due impartiality on
matters of public controversy, and that news is presented with accuracy and impar¬
tiality. The Authority must arrange for committees, representative of the organi¬
zations and persons concerned with these matters, to advise it as to the principles
to be followed on religious matters, on standards of advertising, and on the provi¬
sion of programmes for children. In June 1955 the Authority issued a statement