TNAG-1695-FCO40-2351-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-1987 — Page 128

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iii)

iv)

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"Focus on Africa" an extra 15-minute a day programme as part of the World Service African Alternative programmes to concentrate on developments in Southern Africa and to begin when the new Lesotho transmitter extension started operating in December 1987 (estimated annual cost £60,000);

Hungarian - an extra 15-minutes a week at prime Sunday listening time from 1215-1230 local time (estimated annual cost a marginal £2,000).

3.

The Committee had in mind to propose that the cost of these increases should be found by economies/reductions in the following relatively large and expensive services:

i) Russian (output 46 hours a week, annual direct cost £1.66m) - this did not reflect any reduction in the importance attached to these broadcasts, but, now that jamming had stopped, it was not so necessary to bombard the USSR with hours of broadcasting in order that some of it might be heard. The Committee therefore considered it right to explore the possibility of finding some savings (estimated annual savings of some £100,000 from a reduction in output of 1 hour a day to 39 hours a week);

ii)

M

French for Europe (output 12.15 hours a week, annual direct cost about £350,000) the Committee had not been convinced of the effectiveness of these broadcasts and considered there was scope for savings from a modest reduction in output (estimated annual savings of some £60,000 from a reduction in output of 30 minutes a day to 8.45 hours a week);

iii) German (output 21 hours a week, annual cost £925,000)

the Committee had acknowledged the importance of this service in relation to the GDR, but the proportion of resources devoted to this costly service was considered excessive (estimated annual savings of some £60,000 from a reduction in output of 30 minutes a day to 17.30 hours a week);

iv)

v)

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Spanish for Latin America (output 31.30 hours a week, annual cost £950,000) - the Committee had expressed doubts about the effectiveness of this service in relation to the resources devoted to it and had considered there was scope for modest savings (estimated annual savings of some £70,000 from a reduction in output of 30 minutes a day to 28 hours a week);

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Arabic Service (output 63 hours a week annual cost about £4m) traditionally the largest and most expensive vernacular service, the Committee did not question its importance, but had considered there

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