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Following a full Public Value Test, the Trust has approved the service to launch now on cable, satellite and broadband, but not Freeview at this time. In order to ensure both value for money for licence fee payers, and that the service meets the needs of the target audience in the best way, the Trust has decided that the service will be subject to review before digital switchover commences in central and northern Scotland in 2010. The review will look at the actual performance of the service in achieving public value, including reaching a wider audience, and will consider launch on Freeview.

In order to protect access for current users the Trust has concluded that the Gaelic Zone on Â鶹Éç 2 will continue for the foreseeable future.

Jeremy Peat, Â鶹Éç National Trustee for Scotland, said:

"The Trust has given the go ahead for the GDS to launch, but with conditions and some changes to the original plans, to ensure the best possible value for licence fee payers.

"The Trust believes this service will offer public value and be culturally significant for both Gaelic speakers and Scotland as a whole. The channel, to be operated by Â鶹Éç Scotland and the Gaelic Media Service, must now seek to improve markedly the quality and quantity of broadcast support for the language, to extend the current audience for Gaelic programming and provide an exciting new service for licence fee payers across Scotland.

"The Trust acknowledges the importance for many stakeholders of the issue of carriage of the service on Freeview. However, the Trust feels it is too early to judge, in view of the extra cost involved and the needs of the audience, whether carriage on Freeview would be fully justified by the delivery of sufficient additional public value. Consequently carriage on Freeview will be one of the options considered in a performance review to be undertaken before switchover in the main Gaelic speaking regions of Scotland in 2010 and 2011. This review will ensure that the service is providing value for money for licence fee payers and delivering to the intended audience of the service in the best way."

The Â鶹Éç and GMS's joint proposal

The Â鶹Éç Executive applied to the Trust in July 2007 to launch a new tri-media Gaelic service in partnership with GMS. They proposed the service would consist of:

• A dedicated digital TV channel in Gaelic, broadcasting for up to 7 hours a day.
• Â鶹Éç Radio nan Gaidheal.
• Significantly enhanced Gaelic content for users of bbc.co.uk.

The service would be mixed-genre – including the daily news and weather in Gaelic. The television service would be available on satellite and broadband from launch and on digital cable later in 2008. The Â鶹Éç and GMS proposed that distribution on digital terrestrial television (Freeview) would commence region by region as digital switchover progressed through Scotland, beginning in the Borders region later this year. Existing provision of Gaelic on Â鶹Éç Two would be withdrawn once digital switchover completed in Scotland in 2010-11.

The Trust's final conclusions

When the Trust published its provisional conclusions in November 2007 it said that the service could deliver public value but asked the Â鶹Éç Executive to provide further evidence on how the service would deliver its educational strategy and how it would appeal to an audience beyond existing Gaelic speakers.

Having considered the additional evidence submitted by the Â鶹Éç Executive and GMS, alongside the consultation responses from stakeholders and members of the public, the Trust concluded that:

• The educational benefits of the service would in fact be greater than the Trust had originally anticipated in its provisional conclusions.
• The further evidence provided on reach was an improvement but did not clearly demonstrate the service would appeal to an audience beyond existing Gaelic speakers.
• It remains open-minded as to whether linear channels are necessarily the most appropriate way of serving smaller audiences. Broadband and on-demand may prove more effective methods of delivery; however, the Trust recognises the cultural significance attached to a linear channel.

Therefore in the interests of all licence fee payers the Trust has concluded that the service should, at present, launch on cable, satellite and broadband, but not on Freeview. This will reduce the projected annual investment of licence fee resources in the distribution of this service by approximately £4 million per year. In order to support the reach of the service in the short term, the Trust believes that the Gaelic Zone should remain on Â鶹Éç Two for the foreseeable future and this might continue beyond the completion of digital switchover in Scotland.

Without provision on Freeview, the Â鶹Éç's new contribution to the service will be approximately £3.5 million per year. The service will cost £20.8 million per year in total, of which GMS will contribute £10.1 million and the Â鶹Éç £10.7 million. The Â鶹Éç's total funding of £10.7 million will consist of £7.2 million already allocated to existing Gaelic services, £2.5 million for new content and related spend, and just over £1 million for distribution costs.

In order to ensure that sufficient public value is being created and to consider options for delivery the Trust will conduct a detailed review of the service by 2010, before switchover commences in central and northern Scotland.

Review by 2010

This review will look in detail at the extent to which the GDS is fulfilling its stated aims.

In particular the Trust will look closely at the service's educational strategy to ensure that enough emphasis is being placed on attracting new speakers to the Gaelic language and also whether the service is appealing to an audience beyond Gaelic speakers.

The review will consider which methods of distribution, including Freeview, and the ongoing provision of the Gaelic Zone on Â鶹Éç2, best serve the target audience.

The review will also examine whether the management structure of the GDS is working effectively on a day-to-day basis. In the Trust's provisional conclusions there were some reservations about management and governance structures for the service. This review will offer the opportunity for the Trust to satisfy itself that the partnership between the Â鶹Éç and GMS is working properly to deliver a quality service to audiences and value for money for licence fee payers throughout the UK.

Launch

The Trust's final conclusions document lists a number of specific conditions for the service to meet (paragraph 9.5) before it can launch. Subject to these being met, the Trust would expect the service to launch in early summer 2008.

Ends

Notes to editors

This is the Â鶹Éç Trust's third Public Value Test. Information about this process in general terms is available on the Tools we use page.

Timeline/Documentation

• Â鶹Éç Executive response to consultation
• Organisation responses in full
• Summary report on the public consultation

The Trust's consultation

During the consultation period the Trust received 249 responses from members of the public. The Trust also received 33 responses from industry stakeholders as well as a detailed response from the Â鶹Éç Executive, produced in collaboration with GMS. In addition to considering consultation submissions, the Trust conducted a series of interviews with stakeholders.