S4C: Welsh language broadcaster

The Welsh Affairs Committee has decided to hold an inquiry into S4C, the Welsh language broadcaster. The Committee invites written submissions and requests observations on the following issues:

• The extent to which S4C is fulfilling its remit;

• What impact recent and potential future spending cuts will have on S4C and what level of public subsidy for S4C is appropriate and sustainable over the longer term;

• The cultural and economic benefit to Wales from the investment of over £100 m per annum of public funds into S4C;

• Whether S4C is maximising the use of its financial and other resources to achieve value for money, to optimise the quality of its output, and to reach as wide an audience as possible;

• The potential for further collaboration between S4C, the BBC and independent broadcasters in Wales in order to reduce duplication and to achieve economies of scale; and

• Whether the finance and accountability of S4C, currently the responsibility of the Department of Culture Media and Sport, should remain in Whitehall or become a devolved matter.

 The Committee will also examine other areas of interest that are raised during the course of its inquiry. The Committee asks for written submissions on this issue in accordance with the guidelines stated below. The deadline for written submissions is Monday 15 November 2010. Evidence sessions for this inquiry will begin in November. Witnesses will be announced in due course.

Please note

Each submission should:

• begin with a short summary in bullet point form;

• have numbered paragraphs; and

• be in Word format or a rich text format with as little use of colour or logos as possible. Please do not send your submission as a PDF document.

A copy of the submission should be sent by e-mail to welshcom@parliament.uk and marked "S4C".

An additional paper copy should be sent to:

Welsh Affairs Committee
House of Commons
7 Millbank
London
SW1P 3JA. I

t would be helpful, for Data Protection purposes, if individuals submitting written evidence send their contact details separately in a covering letter. You should be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Please supply a postal address so a copy of the Committee’s report can be sent to you upon publication.

A guide for written submissions to Select Committees may be found on the parliamentary website at http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/witnessguide.pdf

Please also note that:

• Material already published elsewhere should not form the basis of a submission, but may be referred to within a proposed memorandum, in which case a hard copy of the published work should be included.

• Memoranda submitted must be kept confidential until published by the Committee, unless publication by the person or organisation submitting it is specifically authorised.

• Once submitted, evidence is the property of the Committee. The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to make public the written evidence it receives, by publishing it on the internet (where it will be searchable), by printing it or by making it available through the Parliamentary Archives. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure. The Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence.

• Select Committees are unable to investigate individual cases.