Protector

Things are not always what they seem. Here's a joyous Culture Secretary, Whittingdale J., after George Osborne's Autumn Statement.

Great news that arts, culture & sports budgets are protected #spendingreview. As CX says, one of the best investments we can make

— John Whittingdale (@JWhittingdale) November 25, 2015

Within that 'protection', BBC Alba is quietly down £1m in the year ahead. For each of the two previous years (was there a referendum ?) the DCMS had boosted the Gaelic channel with a little extra - equivalent to 5% of its total funding. Alba management had been tipped off that London was stopping this line, but said they would  "continue to engage with DCMS as we seek other ways for the UK Government to support Gaelic broadcasting”.