News Release

16th August 2010

In less than two months, residents living in Inverness and the Great Glen will switch to digital TV. Today (Monday 16 August), Ross County Football Club joined forces with the Switchover Help Scheme to help encourage locals in the area to lend a ‘Helping Hand’ and ensure that older and disabled people in the community are receiving the help they need.

The Switchover Help Scheme offers practical help to eligible older and disabled people to convert one of their TV sets to digital.

The Switchover mascot, Digit Al, visited Ross County Football Club in Dingwall to launch the scheme’s Helping Hand campaign, encouraging people to think if they know someone who may need help to switch. Manager Derek Adams, along with goalkeeper Michael McGovern and Paul Di Giacomo lent a helping hand and showed team spirit to raise awareness of the Help Scheme.

Ross County manager, Derek Adams, said: “Ross County Football Club is happy to lend a helping hand to the Switchover Help Scheme. We would like to encourage everyone to think about older and disabled people who may need extra support, ahead of the Switchover. We all have friends, relatives and neighbours who may need more information – tell them about the Switchover Help Scheme. ”

The Rosemarkie transmitter group, serving Inverness and the Great Glen, will start to switch to digital on 6 October.
Luke McCullough, national manager for Scotland for the Switchover Help Scheme, said: “Even if you are ready for switchover, we encourage you to think about older and disabled people in your community who may find it more difficult to make the switch. You can lend a helping hand by telling them about the Switchover Help Scheme, which will give them practical help to convert one TV set in their home to digital.”

People are eligible if:

• They are aged 75 or over, or
• They have lived in a care home for six months or more
• They get (or could get) disability living allowance, or attendance or constant attendance allowance, or mobility supplement, or
• They are registered blind or partially sighted

What’s on offer?

For a one-off payment of £40, eligible people will be offered:

• Easy-to-use equipment to convert one television set
• Installation of that equipment if requested (a delivery only option is available)
• An aerial check and upgrade if necessary and where possible 
• A demonstration of how it works
• A twelve month aftercare service

The standard offer for eligible people in the STV North TV region is for a Freeview set-top box installed on one TV. Most households will be able to receive more than 40 Freeview channels via an aerial. Around 15 of the most watched Freeview channels will be available throughout the region, including all of the public service channels.

Most people will be asked to pay £40 towards the standard offer of help. For eligible people who are also on pension credit, income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance or income-related employment and support allowance, the help is free.
All eligible people in the STV North TV region can also choose from other digital options, including freesat and Sky amongst others, some of which cost extra.

As well as the Help Scheme events, eligible people are being asked to respond to their Information Packs as soon as possible. Or to make it even easier, eligible people can choose to apply by calling the Help Scheme free on 0800 408 7654 or instead they can nominate someone else to make their application for them.

- Ends-
Media Contacts:

Roisin-Alana Di Giacomo
Weber Shandwick
T: 01463 716 739
M: 07770 886 940
E: rdigiacomo@webershandwick.com

Notes to Editors:

Switchover Help Scheme
The Switchover Help Scheme is run by the BBC through an agreement with the Government to help older and disabled people make the change to digital. 

In the run-up to switchover in each region, every eligible person will be offered practical help to convert one of their TV sets to digital. People are eligible if they are aged 75 years or more, or if they are registered blind or partially sighted. Also eligible are people who get (or could get) attendance or constant attendance allowance, mobility supplement, or disability living allowance.