Public bodies bill: Writers' Guild to hold public meeting over inclusion of S4C

The Writers' Guild is to hold a public meeting in Westminster tomorrow in an effort to lobby parliament to remove Welsh-language channel S4C from the public bodies bill, which in its current form would give ministers power to modify its funding arrangements.

The meeting will take place two days after an attempt to limit the scope of the bill in relation to the channel was defeated in the House of Lords.

In October last year culture secretary Jeremy Hunt announced he would be reforming the funding mechanism for S4C by "removing the link to the Retail Price Index", to be achieved through a new public bodies bill, which currently places S4C within Schedule 4.

Last year S4C's chief executive Arwel Ellis Owen said the formula, which means S4C receives an inflation-linked increase in funding each year, had meant a continuity of funding that allowed for long-term planning.

"Whilst such a one-line amendment concerning a minority language television service may be of marginal interest to journalists and news operations in the UK, they should pause and reflect on the implications of this crucial principle of independence to public service broadcasting across the UK," he said.

Speaking to Journalism.co.uk about tomorrow's meeting, Roger Williams, deputy chair of the Writers' Guild, argued that the bill is not "the right and proper" way for the issue to be dealt with.

"We feel that it's been included in order to simply cut the funding that S4C receives annually from the government and that not enough consideration has been given to the implications of the changes that the minister is proposing.

"Currently S4C's budget is protected in statute and it is guaranteed a long term future. By including the channel in this particular piece of legislation there is no guarantee for the channel beyond 2015."

He added that the Guild is also unhappy at the scale of the cuts to the S4C's funding by 2015, reported to be around 25 per cent. New funding arrangements for the channel through the BBC are due to take effect in 2013.

"It is an extreme cut which is going to have implications on the work the channel is able to do, the status of the channel and also we're concerned about what impact that will have on the development of the Welsh language," he said.

In the House of Lords yesterday an amendment to the bill from Lord Wigley, who said he wanted S4C "to be taken lock, stock and barrel out of the bill", was defeated by 197 votes to 162, according to BBC News.

"All the amendments deal with one simple matter. S4C should never have been in this bill, the independence of S4C will be critically undermined as it will be beholden to the BBC Trust for the bulk of its funding, which the Government, without prior consultation, have moved to the licence fee," Lord Wigley argued.

An amendment by Lord Roberts of Conwy, which he said would allow for the creation of "an appropriate and effective management structure put in place after wide consultation", was reportedly accepted by the government.

The bill, currently in report stage, is due to face the House of Lords again on 4 April.

Image by Nigel Chadwick. Some rights reserved.

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