Preparations for Digital Switchover

Preparations for Digital Switchover PDF Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215521279
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 40

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Book Description
The Department for Culture, Media & Sport and the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform are jointly responsible for digital switchover, the programme to convert over 1,100 tv transmitters to ditigal and switch off analogue signals by 2012. The Departments have passed to the BBC responsibility for funding the public information campaign and delivering the help scheme, and set aside £803 million of licence fee money to pay for these activities. The BBC is accountable to the BBC Trust for the value for money with which it uses the licence fee, not the Departments. Therefore the Departments have no means of holding the BBC to account for this use of licence fee money. To data, take-up of the help scheme has been significantly lower than the Departments expected. If help scheme take-up rates experienced in Copeland, the first area to switch, were replicated across the country, there would be a £250 million surplus in the licence fee settlement. The Departments have not decided how any surplus would be handled and it is felt generally that the Departments have not taken effective action to protection consumer interests.

Preparations for Digital Switchover

Preparations for Digital Switchover PDF Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215521279
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 40

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Book Description
The Department for Culture, Media & Sport and the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform are jointly responsible for digital switchover, the programme to convert over 1,100 tv transmitters to ditigal and switch off analogue signals by 2012. The Departments have passed to the BBC responsibility for funding the public information campaign and delivering the help scheme, and set aside £803 million of licence fee money to pay for these activities. The BBC is accountable to the BBC Trust for the value for money with which it uses the licence fee, not the Departments. Therefore the Departments have no means of holding the BBC to account for this use of licence fee money. To data, take-up of the help scheme has been significantly lower than the Departments expected. If help scheme take-up rates experienced in Copeland, the first area to switch, were replicated across the country, there would be a £250 million surplus in the licence fee settlement. The Departments have not decided how any surplus would be handled and it is felt generally that the Departments have not taken effective action to protection consumer interests.

Preparations for digital switchover

Preparations for digital switchover PDF Author: Great Britain: National Audit Office
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780102953008
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 40

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Book Description
In September 2005 the Government, after consultation with the broadcasting industry and Ofcom, announced a programme to replace analogue television broadcasts with digital television, region by region, between 2008 and 2012 (digital switchover). This report considers how this objective is being pursued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (the Departments), who have joint responsibility for delivering the policy objective. Switchover involves the conversion of more than a thousand television transmitter sites in order to ensure public service broadcasting is available to some 25 million households in digital instead of analogue form. Unless households have at least one television set capable of receiving digital television signals they will lose access to broadcast television after switchover. The Departments estimate it will cost the UK economy £4.6 billion, mostly borne by consumers through the cost of acquiring and installing digital receiving equipment. The Departments estimate the cost will be outweighed by benefits to consumers and business totalling £6.3 billion. The programme is progressing well, with main set conversion at 85 per cent and a successful switchover in the flagship area of Copeland. The complexity of the non-contractual delivery and governance arrangements poses inherent risks to the objectives. Public awareness of the switchover is high, though not in some sections of the population. The programme's communications and help scheme activities are funded through ring-fenced amounts within the licence fee spent by the BBC, and the BBC has started to set performance measures for the £800 million ring-fenced for switchover activities. Evidence from Copeland suggests that take-up of the help scheme might be significantly lower than that anticipated by the Departments in their cost model.

Digital switchover of television and radio in the United Kingdom

Digital switchover of television and radio in the United Kingdom PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Lords: Select Committee on Communications
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780108459788
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 284

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Book Description
The Committee warns of a major public reaction against radio digital switchover, scheduled for 2015, unless the Government make the case for switchover and keep the public informed about its impact. There is 'public confusion and industry uncertainty' over radio switchover and concern that due to the lack of public information people are still buying analogue radios which will be out of date in a few years time. Retailers gave evidence stating that they are not getting adequate information on switchover plans so are unable to offer consumers accurate guidance when making purchases. The report also points out that car manufacturers are still fitting analogue radios in new cars and digital radios will not be fitted as standard in all cars until 2013.The radio switchover is contrasted with the television switchover programme, finding that the benefits of TV switchover were well understood, in contrast surveys show that the public are generally happy with the present FM radio system and with the range of programmes that are provided.The Committee recommends urgent steps on a range of actions including: providing a detailed plan for universal digital radio coverage including how it is to be funded; developing a policy for the long term use of FM; devising a help scheme for radio switchover financed by general taxation rather than the BBC licence fee; ensuring new digital car radios are fitted with a multi-standard chip to enable their use overseas; encouraging radio manufacturers and retailers to devise a sensible scrappage scheme for redundant analogue radios. It is also noted that the BBC and Government disagree over whether the cost of universal digital coverage of their national stations can be met under the current licence fee. The report says that it is essential that a 'firm and unambiguous' plan for funding the completion of build-out of the digital radio service is put in place as soon as possible. The report concludes reversing current policy would be unproductive given the amount of investment in digital radio already and while the switchover in 2015 is ambitious a change of target date is not favoured at this stage.

Preparing for the Digital Television Transition

Preparing for the Digital Television Transition PDF Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Special Committee on Aging
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 172

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Book Description


Preparing to Deliver the 14-19 Education Reforms in England

Preparing to Deliver the 14-19 Education Reforms in England PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215523648
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description
The 14-19 education reform programme aims to increase young people's participation in education and training beyond age 16 and raise their educational attainment. Central to the programme are new Diploma qualifications, being introduced between September 2008 and 2013, in 14 different occupational areas that offer a blend of academic and vocational learning. This report examines: giving all young people access to Diplomas; reducing complexity and communicating simply; and having the capability to deliver the reforms. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (the Department) has involved universities and employers in designing the Diplomas and developing their content. As new qualifications, there is still much work to be done to convince parents, employers and universities that Diplomas are a credible alternative to existing qualifications. To help make the qualifications more understandable, the Department and its partners need to demonstrate clearly how Diplomas will help young people progress into further learning and employment. By 2013, the Department is aiming for all young people in England to have access to all 14 Diplomas at three different skill levels. The Department has spent £590 million on the programme. It has not yet established cost estimates built up from the local level for delivering Diplomas, and has only just begun surveying local authorities to assess their capital requirements.

Analogue Switch-off

Analogue Switch-off PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215028129
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
Analogue Switch-off : A signal change in television, second report of session 2005-06, Vol. 2: Oral and written Evidence

Preparations for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games

Preparations for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215522160
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 40

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Book Description
Within Central Government, preparations for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are being led by the Government Olympic Executive, which is part of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The Excutive is responsible for co-ordinating the activities of a wide range of organisations, including the Olympic Delivery Authority, whichis responsible for the construction of venues and associated infrastructure. Whilst individual organisations have their own programme management arrangements, the Governmetn Olympic Executive has not hyet developed a plan for the programme as a whole, or finalised arrangements for identifying and managing risks across the programme. On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (HC 490, session 2007-08, ISBN 97801102954197) the Committee took evidence from DCMS and the Olympic Delivery Authority onthe progress made in preparing for the London 2012 Olympc and Paralympic Games

A Progress Update in Resolving the Difficulties in Administering the Single Payment Scheme in England

A Progress Update in Resolving the Difficulties in Administering the Single Payment Scheme in England PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215521842
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description
The Single Payment Scheme replaced previous European Union production-based agricultural subsidy schemes from 2005. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, through the Rural Payments Agency, had chosen to implement the most complex option for reform in the shortest possible timescale, and the Agency had badly underestimated the scale of the task. This led to delays in making payments to farmers, erroneous payments and additional project and administrative costs, as reported in the Committee's earlier report (55th report session 2006-07, HC 893, ISBN 9780215036179). The Agency has estimated that there were £20 million of overpayments for the 2005 Scheme, and £17.4 million for the 2006 Scheme. The Agency has taken little action to recover the identified overpayments, with the risk that farmers may have unknowingly spent the money in the interim. Of 19 overpayments in excess of £50,000 paid in August 2006, the Agency had started the recovery process with only two of the farmers affected. Major changes made to the Agency's IT systems have enabled most farmers to receive payments earlier under the 2006 Scheme than for the 2005 Scheme. There has been a substantial impact on the costs of the business change programme to improve the Agency's efficiency, and the total project cost is now likely to exceed £300 million. In mid 2007, staff numbers in the Agency peaked at 4,600 and are not expected to reduce to 3,500 until 2010. The Agency is still not able to offer adequate advice to farmers on the progress of their claim. It was reluctant to specify targets by when such information would be available and when payments would be made under the 2008 Scheme.

Making Grants Efficiently in the Culture, Media and Sport Sector

Making Grants Efficiently in the Culture, Media and Sport Sector PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215524430
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description
This inquiry took evidence from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (the Department), Arts Council England, Big Lottery Fund, English Heritage and Sport England on assessing the cost-efficiency of making grants; on supporting grant applicants; on sharing services and information; and on making applications on-line. In 2006-07, the nine principal grant-makers sponsored by the Department awarded grants of £1.8 billion, and spent £200 million on administering the grants and related activities. The grants ranged in size from £200 to many millions of pounds. The bodies held little information on the costs of their individual grant programmes and how these costs compare with others. The average cost of awarding £1 of grant across a sample of open application programmes in the sector ranged from three pence to 35 pence. Much of the variance in cost can be explained by the different objectives of the programmes and the needs of applicants. Grant-makers often receive applications which are incomplete or inaccurate. One way they could reduce the burden on grant applicants would be through inviting applications on-line. This would also help reduce the costs to grant-makers by reducing the amount of paper applications they have to process and the number of incomplete and ineligible applications. In the past, the Committee has recommended that the Department should take the lead in identifying the scope for savings by encouraging the organisations it funds to share accommodation and services. Little progress appears to be have made in this area. The Department has also done little to encourage benchmarking and the sharing of good practice across the sector.

Up in the Air?

Up in the Air? PDF Author: Tarik Jusić
Publisher: Central European University Press
ISBN: 963386402X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
The agenda for transition after the demise of communism in the Western Balkans made the conversion of state radio and television into public service broadcasters a priority, converting mouthpieces of the regime into public forums in which various interests and standpoints could be shared and deliberated. There is general agreement that this endeavor has not been a success. Formally, the countries adopted the legal and institutional requirements of public service media according to European standards. The ruling political elites, however, retained their control over the public media by various means. Can this trend be reversed? Instead of being marginalized or totally manipulated, can public service media become vehicles of genuine democratization? A comparison of public service media in seven countries (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia) addresses these important questions.