§ Mr. Dudley Smithasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if, in granting a franchise for a local commercial radio station for Coventry, he will ensure that a satisfactorily strong signal is provided to enable programmes to be received by the residents of the adjacent area of Leamington, Kenilworth and Warwick;
(2) what consideration he gives when granting new franchises to local radio stations to the need to provide a signal of sufficient strength to reach adjacent communities, particularly those within a 10-mile radius of the transmitter.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesThe granting of franchises is a matter for the Independent Broadcasting Authority, which is primarily responsible for determining the editorial area it would wish a particular station to serve. The Authority tells me that it is aware of the desire of the residents of Leamington, Kenilworth and Warwick to receive the Coventry independent local radio service. But the proposals for a particular station have to take account of the technical constraints which may be imposed by the limited number of frequencies, the effects of geographical factors and the need to avoid interfering with transmissions in other parts of the country, bearing in mind the Government's intention that the local radio services of the IBA and the BBC should be made available to as much of the population of the United Kingdom as practicable. The technical provisions that will apply to the Coventry franchise have yet to be finalised, but there will be no unnecessary limitation on the signal strength of the station's transmissions.