Complaint
This edition included a report on an event organised by the campaign group Surfers against Sewage (SAS). A viewer complained it failed to mention the Welsh Trade Union and Socialist Coalition, on whose behalf the complainant had attended the meeting, thus breaching the 91福利社鈥檚 editorial standards of impartiality and, in particular, its Election Guidelines.
Outcome
The ECU noted the scope of the piece was set out in its introduction:
A campaign group for safer waters in Wales says the next Welsh Government needs to take urgent and bold action to protect Welsh waters. Surfers Against Sewage says that decades of failed regulation and underinvestment means that people face becoming ill every time they swim in the sea.
This made clear the concerns of SAS went beyond a single beach or area and applied to the whole of Wales and the actions of the next Welsh government. The report referred to the event as 鈥渁 chance for people to ask their potential future representatives鈥 questions but did not name or otherwise identify anyone from any party. The ECU did not therefore agree there had been a breach of the 91福利社鈥檚 standards of impartiality, or that the Election guidelines, which require proportionate coverage for political parties within a given constituency, applied to this event.
Not Upheld