Having discovered that ITV was in the process of disbanding its political unit Dai Davies MP for Blaenau Gwent MP wrote to OFCOM - the TV public watchdog body - warning that, along with other staff cuts, 'ITV .. one step from walking away from coverage of Wales' (as the Western Mail characterised Dai's warning). 

In his letter to the TV-Watchdog Body for Wales he called on OFCOM to force ITV to “meet its responsibilities, and its contract with the people of Wales, to provide a wide-range of  Welsh-issue programmes”.

Mr. Davies, MP for Blaenau Gwent, said that ITV had ‘broken its contract’ to the viewers of Wales to provide ‘distinctive and specific Welsh programming’.   He said he feared “ITV is one step from walking away from any coverage of Wales, its issues, its political and democratic processes, and the cultural formation which good television programming can help to create in a small country like ours”.   

And he called on OFCOM – the TV Watchdog for Wales – to take strong action to force ITV to meet its commitments to the viewers of Wales. 

Dai Davies was asked for his views on ITV’s announcement that it was slashing its news and other programming.

“The reduction of Welsh news to just half-an-hour per evening during weekdays is, to say the least, a minimal service.

“The reduction of all other programming from four-and-a-half hours a week to just one-and-a-half is much worse”, the Independent MP said.

 He is seriously concerned that despite the fact that ITV are still supposed to be ‘consulting’ on their proposals, seventeen ITV Wales staff have already been told they will lose their jobs.

 And he called on OFCOM Wales Director Rhodri Williams to take action.

 “ITV was awarded its franchise contract to provide distinctive and specific Welsh programming, yet the proposal you appear to have accepted allows ITV to renege on that commitment. That, effectively, adds up to reneging on legal contract”, Mr. Davies told OFCOM Wales.

 In a ‘consultative’ letter sent to OFCOM today he reminds its Director that

“OFCOM’s role is to protect such programming, and to ensure that commitments made are kept”.

 “I am sure that I don’t need to remind you that as the Regulator of the Welsh Communications Industry your ‘principal duty’ as stated, clearly, in the OFCOM’s Statutory Duties (under the Communications Act 2002; 3 a and 3b) …. is to further the interests of citizens in relation to communication matters’ and ‘to further the interests of consumers … by promoting competition’.”    

“In fact”, Dai Davies states what OFCOM Wales is “agreeing to contravenes both elements of your principal duties.

“The citizens of Wales are being denied a full and proper communications coverage service, they are being fed a diet of game-shows while coverage of Westminster,  the Welsh Assembly, and other news is being dramatically reduced; and – as the public watchdog – you are effectively agreeing to a serious reduction ‘in promoting competition’ “.  

On coverage of politics, in particular, Mr. Davies warns that there was already “concern expressed across the political spectrum about the lack of coverage of the debates, the issues and decisions affecting millions of people and billions of pounds by Westminster and the Welsh Assembly.

“The concern, which is entirely, genuine, is that without full and proper scrutiny and coverage by a wide range of media the people of Wales are effectively being dis-enfranchised.

“I had serious concerns about the lack of coverage, and its effect on the flow of information to the people of Wales of what is happening at Westminster and in this new democratic Assembly, before ITV announced that it was further reducing its news and other programming.

“This follows cut-back after cut-back by newspapers in Wales of specialist political journalists based in the National Assembly, the loss of the Welsh Daily Mirror, and the almost complete lack of coverage of democratic decision-making and debate by any other national newspaper. Commercial Radio is now owned by Ulster Television and is also reducing its coverage of areas like the south Wales valleys.

“This adds up to a very serious democratic deficit”, MP Davies said.

He says he is seriously concerned about reported comments attributed to the OFCOM Wales Director Mr. Rhodri Williams.

“OFCOM appear to have buckled under pressure from ITV”, Mr. Davies said.

“I share the concerns expressed by my colleague Trish Law (Assembly Member for Blaenau Gwent) when she calls the OFCOM consultation a sham because while this so-called ‘consultation’ is still underway, and within days of publication of OFCOM’ws Second Public Service Broadcasting Review,  ITV  announced that 17 posts are to be cut in Wales.

Mr. Davies is calling for answers from OFCOM Wales asking “how  to the following questions: “ 

"How vigorously have you held ITV to account on its contractual commitment to provide full and proper programming? The way you have been quoted since the announcement was made gives the impression that ITV effectively said ‘take these cutbacks or we will pull out of Wales altogether’.

"I am sure that I don’t need to remind you that as the Regulator that the citizens of Wales are being denied a full and proper communications coverage service, they are being fed a diet of game-shows while coverage of Westminster,  the Welsh Assembly, and other news is being dramatically reduced; and – as the public watchdog – you are effectively agreeing to a serious reduction ‘in promoting competition’.  

"I say ‘what you are agreeing to’ advisedly. I share the concerns expressed by my colleague Trish Law (Assembly Member for Blaenau Gwent) when she calls the OFCOM consultation a sham because while this so-called ‘consultation’ is still underway, and within days of publication of OFCOM’ws Second Public Service Broadcasting Review,  ITV  announced that 17 posts are to be cut in Wales. 

"In allowing that to happen, and in agreeing to what looks like an ITV ultimatum, you have also seriously undermined OFCOM and its duty to ‘promote competition’.

"We are one step away from having no competition in the English language in television terms.

"The next step will be for ITV to pull out of its commitment to Wales altogether.   That would leave the BBC with a monopoly propped up by public funding.

"This is profoundly undermining democracy, and a competitive edge and balance where the coverage of news, politics, current affairs, contemporary, arts, cultural and historical programming are concerned.

"I urge you to re-consider your position. I urge you, too, to re-enter discussions with ITV to press them to fulfil their contractual obligations – and if they fail to do that for you to seek to find an alternative supplier and/ or to explore the idea of a media company to be formed internally (within Wales) consisting of the considerable television talent which has been lost from broadcasting progressively since the 1980s, along with the talent still in Wales which was once employed by the many independent programme making companies.   

"Welsh language programming is under-pinned by considerable amounts of public subsidy, I and my colleague Trish Law will be more than happy to press the case for a similar public under-pinning of English-language television in Wales both at Westminster, and in the Assembly.

"I would appreciate a full response, from you as the official public watchdog in Wales, to all of the questions and  points that I have raised, above, and you may look upon this as my formal response to the ‘Consultation’ process which OFCOM should publish.

“If ITV fail to do this then OFCOM has the capacity to re-open the franchise process and seek an alternative news and programming provider. Have you considered this alternative?”, he asks OFCOM.

 UPDATE:

Dai's forecast comes true - as ITV Wales disappears into a 'Super-Region' dominated by the North West and Midlands of England.

19 May 2009