In this report the Welsh Affairs and Culture, Media and Sport committees approve the appointment of Huw Jones as Chairman of S4C, the Welsh language national broadcaster. The two committees held a joint pre-appointment hearing with Huw Jones, the Government's preferred candidate for Chairman of the S4C Authority. This followed earlier reports from both committees expressing concern for the future independence of S4C after new governance and funding arrangements with the BBC were introduced - Welsh Affairs Committee: S4C: fifth report of session 2010-12, HC 614 (ISBN 9780215559449) and Culture, Media and Sport Committee, BBC Licence Fee Settlement and Annual Report, fourth report of session 2010-12, HC 454 (ISBN 9780215559654). The committees are satisfied that Huw Jones has demonstrated the high degree of professional competence and personal independence required for the post. They recommend that the Minister proceed with the appointment.

The Committee concludes that the preferred candidate for chair of the BBC Trust, Mrs Rona Fairhead CBE, is a suitable candidate for the post

On cover and title page: House, committees of the whole House, general committees and select committees

The Committee held a pre-appointment meeting with the government's preferred candidate for chair of Ofcom, Dame Patricia Hodgson. The Committee is satisfied that Dame Patricia is a suitable candidate and recommends that the Secretary of State proceeds with the appointment.

Around 80% of online gambling in the UK is conducted with operators which are not licensed here. In December 2012 the Government published a very short draft Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill to require overseas gambling operators to obtain a Gambling Commission licence. The overseas-based remote gambling operators generally opposed the Bill, on the grounds it was unnecessary for consumer protection, might drive consumers to cheaper unlicensed operators and was principally intended to bring overseas operators within the UK's tax regime. Much of the UK-based gambling industry, sports bodies and organisations working to combat problem gambling supported the principle of the Bill. Almost all those who gave oral or written evidence to the Committee raised the issue that the enforcement regime would have to be rigorous in order to provide any of the benefits to consumers. The Committee supports the principle that gambling should be regulated on a ’point of consumption' basis. The Committee also notes the concerns raised about taxation of the online industry. The Government stated that the ability to bring all operators serving UK consumers within the tax net is a consequence, but not the prime motivation, of the draft legislation. The Committee notes in this regard that, in setting a tax rate for remote gambling, the Treasury should bear in mind that too high a rate would be liable to drive customers and companies into the unregulated, black market.

The draft Wales Bill was published following the recommendations of the Silk Commission in November 2012. It sets out to devolve tax and borrowing powers to the Welsh Government and National Assembly for Wales, make changes to the electoral arrangements of the National Assembly for Wales, and clarify and update the devolution settlement. The Government hopes that the provisions in the draft Wales Bill will enable devolved governance in Wales to become more accountable. The cross-party Committee believes partial devolution of income tax to the Welsh Government should be put to the people of Wales in a referendum. The cross-party Committee also has sympathy with the argument that the issue of "fair funding" must be resolved before any income tax powers are devolved so that Wales is not unfairly disadvantaged. The issue of fair funding - how the size of the block grant from the UK Government is determined, currently by the Barnett formula which has long been criticised as providing an unfairly low allocation to Wales - needs to be examined and should not wait until after the 2015 General Election. The National Assembly for Wales should have power to decide its own Assembly term length, rather than this being decided at Westminster. The Committee recommends the clause in the draft Bill which permanently extends the length of the Assembly from four to five years should be scrapped and replaced with provisions that give the National Assembly the powers to determine the length of its own electoral term.

The report from the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee says big changes need to be made to the way football is run in England to address financial instability and levels of debt in the game, and to secure its future. The committee says that crucially, reform must be undertaken without impinging on English football's many strengths. The Football Association (FA) as the national governing body of English football is the most appropriate agency to take the lead in addressing the weaknesses of English football, but it needs urgent reform itself to carry out its responsibilities effectively and meet the future challenges of the game. The Committee sets out 34 conclusions and recommendations, including: imposing a rigorous and consistent formal licensing model throughout professional English football to promote sustainable forward-looking business plans; a strong fit and proper persons test consistently applied, with a presumption against selling the ground unless it is in the club's interest; amending the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to recognise the special nature of supporters trusts and help them overcome the significant legal and bureaucratic hurdles they face when raising funding; that the FA should review expenditure at the grass roots, with a particular emphasis on coaching education. For oral and written evidence, see Vol. 2 (ISBN 9780215561053)