BBC Trust

In November 2007 the Trust provisionally concluded that the service proposal could deliver public value. However, it also found that the evidence presented to date was not sufficient to conclude that the likely level of public value would justify the proposed level of investment. The Trust therefore sought further evidence from the BBC Executive as well as the views of the licence fee payers via a public consultation.

For more details please read the Trust's provisional conclusions in full.

At its meeting on 30 July 2007 the BBC Trust’s Public Value Test Steering Group used its delegated authority to apply a Public Value Test (PVT) to the BBC Executive's proposals for a Gaelic Digital Service (GDS).

Public Value Assessment

On 12 November the Trust published its Public Value Assessment (PVA) on the proposed GDS:

On 12 November Ofcom also published its Market Impact Assessment (MIA) into the proposed GDS.

The Trust will consider both the PVA and the MIA in drawing its provisional conclusions. These will be published here, and will be subject to a period of public consultation. The consultation will open on 21 November and will close on 19 December 2007.

The BBC Trust and Ofcom have prepared a short description of the proposal. This specifies the scope of the PVT.

Information on the MIA, including the terms of reference and details on representations are available from Ofcom's Gaelic Digital Service MIA web page.

The BBC Executive's application for a Gaelic Digital Service is available below. The application should be read in conjunction with the Gaelic Digital Service description.

Timetable for the GDS PVT

Date Event

16 Aug 2007 PVT commences. Public Value Assessment (PVA) and Market Impact Assessment (MIA) representations open. Joint Trust/Ofcom stakeholder briefing.

7 Sept 2007 PVA and MIA representations close.

12 Nov 2007 Publication of PVA and MIA.

21 Nov 2007 Publication of Trust's provisional conclusions. Consultation on the Trust's provisional conclusions opens.

19 Dec 2007 Consultation on the Trust's provisional conclusions closes.

28 Jan 2008 Latest date for publication of the Trust's final decision.

The following documents were submitted as supporting evidence to the BBC Executive's application.

In line with our duties on transparency and openness, we have made every effort to publish as much as possible of the evidence supporting evidence the BBC Executive's application. We have made the minimum necessary redactions of confidential and commercially sensitive material.