THe questions that have arisen since the abrupt departure of Iona Jones as Chief Executive of S4C are still coming thick and fast. More importantly people are starting to move on from asking why she went to look at the institution itself, its future and just how accountable it is.
I have written before about the seeming indifference of the Department of Culture Media and Sport to proper scrutiny of S4C’s budget and the consequent failure of Parliamentary Select Committees to fill the gap. The fact that none of the questions about this affair seems to be coming from these sources just underlines that problem and reinforces my previous conclusion:
Like many others I do not believe that the DCMS is doing this job effectively and that they cannot do so because they are based in London and do not fully understand the context in which the channel operates. Moving that responsibility to Cardiff might improve that situation.
What is particularly concerning is that the few checks and balances that are built into the S4C structure appear to have broken down. The BBC report that the channel will no longer be run with “due separation” between the authority and top management. In that case, who is carrying out scrutiny and who is asking the awkward questions? It is certainly not the DCMS or Parliament.
Whether there is a full devolution of broadcasting or not, the case for passing the budget and the responsibility for S4C to the Welsh Government must surely have been strengthened by these developments. Somebody has to quiz accounting officers as to how £120m of public money is being spent and how this important Welsh language service will be responding to the very severe challenges that face it over the next few years. Somebody needs to establish what their vision is for the channel.
It is the Welsh Assembly that is best placed to do that whilst the future of S4C is far more secure with Welsh Ministers than it is under the present set-up.
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I do agree with you Peter. There is something not right happening with S4C. I did hear of the excessiveness within the company for quite some time. Although they spent a fortune on the new branding, that was necessary. But this morning I read that they lease a Land Rover for Dai Jones, which cost £12,000 a year. That’s way out of order.
I did support the idea that DCMS would deal with S4C because I was worried what would happen if it went under Assembly control. Mainly micromanagement by the Assembly, and refusal of more money. I also wouldn’t trust Labour with anything when it comes to the Welsh Language.
But I would agree with you there is a greater need for accountability.