(1)The Secretary of State—
(a)may, for the financial year beginning with 1st April 1991, and
(b)shall, for each subsequent financial year,
pay to the Commission such amount as he may, with the approval of the Treasury, determine to be appropriate for the purposes of this section.
(2)Any amount received by the Commission under subsection (1) shall be carried by them to the credit of a fund established by them under this section, to be known as the [F1Gaelic Broadcasting Fund] (and any such amount shall accordingly not be regarded as forming part of the revenues of the Commission).
(3)The Fund shall be under the management of a body established for the purposes of this section, which shall be called [F2Comataidh Craolaidh Gaidhlig (the Gaelic Broadcasting Committee)] and shall consist of—
(a)a chairman appointed by the Commission; and
(b)such number of other members appointed by the Commission, not being less than four nor more than eight, as they may from time to time determine.
[F3(3A)Before making any appointment under subsection (3) the Commission shall consult the Radio Authority.]
(4)The Fund may be applied by the Committee—
(a)in the making of grants for the following purposes, namely—
(i)financing the making of television [F4and sound] programmes in Gaelic primarily with a view to the broadcasting of such programmes for reception in Scotland;
(ii)financing the training of persons employed or to be employed in connection with the making of such programmes; and
(iii)other purposes connected with or related to the making of such programmes; and
(b)in financing the undertaking of research into the types of television [F4and sound] programmes in Gaelic that members of the Gaelic-speaking community would like to be broadcast.
(5)When making any grant out of the Fund in pursuance of subsection (4) the Committee may impose such conditions as they think fit, including conditions requiring the grant to be repaid in specified circumstances.
(6)The Committee shall perform their functions under this section with respect to the making of grants out of the Fund in such manner as they consider will [F5—
(a)]secure that a wide range of high quality television programmes in Gaelic are broadcast for reception in Scotland;
[F6(b)widen the range and improve the quality of sound programmes in Gaelic that are broadcast for reception in Scotland;
but] nothing in this section shall be construed as authorising programmes to be commissioned by the Committee.
(7)The Commission shall so exercise their power under subsection (3) to appoint the members of the Committee as to secure that a majority of the members are persons who appear to them to represent the Gaelic-speaking community; and Schedule 19 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the Committee.
(8)Any sums required by the Secretary of State under subsection (1) shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament.
(9)In this section, section 184 and Schedule 19—
“the Commission” means the Independent Television Commission;
“the Committee” means the body established under subsection (3) above;
“Gaelic” means the Gaelic language as spoken in Scotland; and
“for reception in Scotland” means for reception wholly or mainly in Scotland.
Textual Amendments
F1Words in s. 183(2) substituted (1.4.1997) by 1996 c. 55, s. 95(2); S.I. 1997/1005, art. 4
F2Words in s. 183(3) substituted (1.4.1997) by 1996 c. 55, s. 95(3); S.I. 1997/1005, art. 4
F3S. 183(3A) inserted (1.4.1997) by 1996 c. 55, s. 95(4); S.I. 1997/1005, art. 4
F4Words in s. 183(4)(a)(i) and (b) inserted (1.4.1997) by 1996 c. 55, s. 95(5); S.I. 1997/1005, art. 4
F5Words in s. 183(6) renumbered (1.4.1997) as s. 183(6)(a) by 1996 c. 55, s. 95(6)(a); S.I. 1997/1005, art. 4
F6S. 183(6)(b) and word substituted for the word “but”(1.4.1997) by 1996 c. 55, s. 95(6)(b); S.I. 1997/1005, art. 4
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1S. 183: transfer of functions to the Scottish Ministers (1.7.1999) by S.I. 1999/1750, arts. 1, 2, Sch. 1; S.I. 1998/3178
(1)Section 16 shall have effect in relation to any service to which this section applies as if the following requirements were included among those specified in subsection (2) of that section, namely—
(a)that a suitable proportion of the programmes included in the service are programmes in Gaelic other than funded Gaelic productions;
(b)that the service includes funded Gaelic productions of which—
(i)a suitable proportion are of high quality, and
(ii)a suitable proportion are shown at peak viewing times; and
(c)that (taking the programmes included in the service in accordance with paragraphs (a) and (b) above as a whole) the service includes a wide range of programmes in Gaelic.
(2)In subsection (1) above “funded Gaelic productions” means programmes in Gaelic the making of which has been wholly or partly financed out of grants made in pursuance of section 183(4) to the person providing the service.
(3)The conditions which are, by virtue of section 33(1), to be included in a licence to provide a service to which this section applies accordingly include conditions imposed for the purpose of securing that the requirements specified in paragraphs (a) to (c) of subsection (1) above are complied with in relation to the service.
(4)This section applies—
(a)to any regional Channel 3 service that is to be provided for an area the whole of which is in Scotland; and
(b)if the Commission determine that it shall so apply, to any regional Channel 3 service that is to be provided for an area the greater part of which is in Scotland.
(5)In this section “licence” and “regional Channel 3 service” have the same meaning as in Part I of this Act; and subsection (9) of section 183 applies for the purposes of this section.