What Delyth Evans said that convinced MPs she was the right person to chair S4C

Martin Shipton

MPs have endorsed former Labour Assembly Member Delyth Evans as the UK Government’s preferred candidate to chair Welsh language broadcaster S4C.

The endorsement came after members of the Commons’ Welsh Affairs Committee questioned Ms Evans on her likely priorities if appointed, the relevance of her previous experience and her plans to respond to the challenges facing S4C.

In its report on Ms Evans’ appointment, the committee says it was “impressed by Delyth Evans’ approach and understanding,” and that she had demonstrated she was a suitable candidate to chair S4C.

The committee added that it would invite Ms Evans to update them at the end of her first six months in post on “her progress in embedding a new organisational culture of trust and transparency, driving forward improvements in governance, and securing S4C’s long-term funding beyond 2028.”

Tumultuous

The broadcaster has had a tumultuous two years, with its former chief executive Sian Doyle sacked for presiding over a culture of toxic bullying and its chief content officer Llinos Griffin-Williams dismissed following a drunken rant in which she abused programme makers during the Rugby World Cup in France.

The committee has published the answers given by Ms Evans to questions she answered when she applied for the post:

Q What motivated you to apply for this role, and what specific experiences would you bring to it?

A S4C is a vital part of the media ecosystem in Wales, an important driver of the creative economy, and a critical tool in supporting the Welsh language. It is therefore essential that S4C continues to operate as a commissioner of high quality Welsh-language media content and to do so as a well-run, highly respected and creative organisation. I decided to apply for the role because I believe I have the necessary skills and experience to lead the organisation effectively at a critical time and to rebuild trust both internally and within the wider sector.

I have the necessary experience to lead the organisation in three important areas: first, I have extensive experience of governance as a board member of a number of organisations, including chairing committees; second, I have a deep personal commitment to the Welsh language and in-depth knowledge of the challenges facing the language in many of our communities, as well as a clear understanding of the media’s role in supporting the language and securing its future; finally I have first hand experience of working in the independent television sector in Wales as a journalist at HTV Wales working on programmes for S4C at the start of my journalistic career.

Q If appointed, are there specific areas within your new responsibilities where you will need to acquire new skills or knowledge?

A I am comfortable with all of the key areas of responsibility in relation to governance and leadership, as well as my knowledge of the wider media sector and the Welsh language. An area in which I will need to acquire new skills is in understanding the opportunities presented by AI and how it will transform the media and content creation in the years ahead. The issue of sports rights is another area where I will need to gain new knowledge, as sport programming is a very important part of S4C’s output. I will seek to harness the considerable expertise within the executive team to assist me in these areas.

Q How were you recruited? Were you encouraged to apply, and if so, by whom?

A I was recruited via a direct email approach from DCMS [The UK Government’s Department of Culture Media and Sport]. I was encouraged to apply by friends and colleagues who knew of my media and governance background and shared my concern for the future of S4C.

Q Do you currently or potentially have any business, financial or other non-pecuniary interests or commitments, that might give rise to the perception of a conflict of interest if you are appointed? How do you intend to resolve any potential conflicts of interests if you are appointed?

A I have no interests or commitments that might give rise to the perception of a conflict of interest. I am a member of four other boards in the sport, education and charity sectors, and I do not believe that any of these would represent a conflict with the S4C role. If there was a potential conflict (for instance if Sport Wales was involved in a programme for S4C), I would declare my role and withdraw from subsequent discussion.

Q If appointed, what professional or voluntary work commitments will you continue to undertake, or do you intend to take on, alongside your new role? How will you reconcile these with your new role?

A I intend to continue in my other board roles for the time being. My term as a board member at Sport Wales ends in September 2025. I will continue as a governor at Coleg Gwent, which has a time commitment of around two days per month, and also as a trustee of the Urdd and the Alacrity Foundation. Both these roles require a time commitment of no more than a day a month. I believe these commitments are entirely compatible with my new responsibilities at S4C. Moreover I believe my work within these organisations will be beneficial to my new role at S4C because they give me a valuable insight into key sectors which are relevant to programme-making, namely children and young people, and sport.

Q Have you ever held any post or undertaken any activity that might cast doubt on your political impartiality? If so, how will you demonstrate your political impartiality in the role, if appointed?

A I was a politician in the Welsh Assembly (as it was then called) between 2000–2003, representing Mid and West Wales for the Labour Party. I also stood as a Parliamentary candidate for the Labour Party in Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire in the 2015 General Election, unsuccessfully. I have not undertaken any political activity since that time.

As chair of S4C I would take the obligation of political impartiality extremely seriously. The future of S4C requires cross-party support, and if S4C is to represent all communities in Wales it must remain completely impartial. As chair I would ensure that the broadcaster treats all political parties with fairness and respect at all times, and covers any contentious topics in a fair and balanced way. S4C’s news programmes are provided by the BBC, which ensures the complete impartiality of all news and political coverage.

Q Do you intend to serve your full term as chair? Do you intend to seek re-appointment?

A I intend to serve my full term as chair. I don’t know my intentions regarding re-appointment at this stage.

Q If appointed, what will be your main priorities on taking up the role?

A My first priority on taking up the role would be to build an effective and collaborative Board working together as a team to ensure the success of S4C into the future. I will be greatly assisted in this task by the appointment of five new Board members who will bring extensive additional expertise to the current Board. I will seek to establish a culture of mutual trust and respect from day one, and to set high standards of behaviour based on the Nolan Principles of public life.

Within the board I will ensure a clear focus on providing high quality content for our audiences and delivering value for money for taxpayers. I will also seek to build a strong relationship with all of S4C’s stakeholders, in particular the BBC, the independent production companies across Wales who provide a huge variety of content for audiences, as well as politicians in Westminster and Cardiff Bay. My other main priority will be to focus on staff wellbeing, and to ensure that effective processes are in place to manage staff morale and to develop a positive and supportive culture throughout the organisation.

Q What challenges do you think S4C will face over your term as chair? How do you intend to manage them?

A The main challenge S4C will face is the challenge faced by all traditional broadcasters in the UK, which is how to maintain and build audiences in the face of a highly complex and rapidly changing media environment. This is particularly acute in the area of young audiences who have very different ways of consuming media compared to older generations.

Understanding how to reach these audiences and what type of content is most likely to appeal to them is a significant challenge for all media providers, however for S4C attracting younger audiences has an added importance because of its critical role in supporting and sustaining the Welsh language. Maintaining the visibility of S4C programmes across a wide range of streaming platforms will be critical in this task.

Continuing to provide a wide range of high quality programming within a tight funding envelope will be a major challenge as the cost of production continues to rise.

As chair of S4C I will ensure the board addresses this challenging media environment with honesty, transparency and rigour, and we will work closely with partners, in particular the BBC and TV companies in Wales, to deliver the kind of high quality programming that audiences expect and deserve. We will achieve this by fostering a culture of innovation and creativity both within S4C and across the sector.

Q What criteria should the committee use to judge your and S4C’s performance over your term as chair?

A The committee should judge my performance by the strength of governance and overall performance of the board over the next four years, as well as by the transformed culture within the organisation. S4C’s performance should be judged by the quality and originality of its output, its success in representing and reflecting communities across Wales, its engagement with key stakeholders, and its ability to demonstrate value for money for Welsh taxpayers.

Q How will you protect and enhance your personal independence and the institutional independence of S4C from the UK Government and ministers?

A I will do my utmost to adhere to the Nolan Principles of public life at all times, and to lead with integrity and dedication – both to the success of S4C and to its role in sustaining the Welsh language. The institutional independence of S4C is well established and understood by government and ministers and all political parties. Should the independence of S4C from government ever face challenge, I would act robustly with the support of the board to resist any interference and to ensure the important principle of institutional independence was protected at all times.