Communications Act 2003

207 Welsh Authority finances U.K.

(1) The Welsh Authority must not, whether directly or indirectly, impose charges on persons—

(a) in respect of their reception or use in Wales of any of the Authority’s public services;

(b) in respect of their reception in Wales of any service consisting in the provision of assistance for disabled people in relation to programmes included in any one or more of those services; or

(c) in respect of their reception in Wales of any service (other than one mentioned in paragraph (b)) which is an ancillary service in relation to any of the Authority’s public services provided in digital form.

(2) It shall be unlawful to impose a charge in contravention of subsection (1).

(3) The power of the Welsh Authority to do anything that appears to them to be conducive or incidental to the carrying out of their functions includes power, subject to subsection (4), to borrow money.

(4) The Welsh Authority are not to borrow money except with the approval of the Secretary of State.

(5) The consent of the Treasury is to be required for the giving of an approval for the purposes of subsection (4).

(6) The Welsh Authority are to be liable to pay OFCOM such sums in respect of the carrying out by OFCOM of their functions in relation to the Authority as may be—

(a) agreed from time to time between the Authority and OFCOM; or

(b) (in default of agreement) fixed by the Secretary of State.

(7) In section 61(4) of the 1990 Act (power of Secretary of State to increase amount of grant to the Welsh Authority), for “transmitting S4C and the service referred to in section 57(1A)(a), by order” there shall be substituted—

“(a) providing services that are public services of the Authority (within the meaning of section 207 of the Communications Act 2003), and

(b) arranging for the broadcasting or distribution of those services,

by order ”.

(8) In section 61A of the 1990 Act (the public service fund)—

(a) in subsection (2) (application of fund), for “their functions under section 57(1) or (1A)(a)” there shall be substituted “ their functions in relation to the provision of the services that are public services of the Authority (within the meaning of section 207 of the Communications Act 2003). ”; and

(b) in subsection (4) (programmes to be broadcast first on S4C or S4C Digital), for the words from “on S4C” onwards there shall be substituted “ on a television programme service that is one of their public services (within the meaning of section 207 of the Communications Act 2003) ”.

(9) In this section references to the Welsh Authority’s public services are references to the following—

(a) S4C;

(b) S4C Digital; and

(c) the services the provision of which by the Authority is authorised by or under section 205.

Commencement Information

I1 S. 207 in force at 29.12.2003 by S.I. 2003/3142, art. 3(1), Sch. 1 (with art. 11)