§ Sir John Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has made any assessment of the implications for the incidence of pirate radio of his decision not to proceed with an experiment in community radio; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. Giles ShawThere is at this stage no evidence that the decision not to proceed with the community radio experiment has led to a significant increase in the incidence of unlicensed broadcasting, the detection and prevention of which are matters for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. The issue raised by the possible introduction of community radio are to be addressed in the Green Paper covering radio broadcasting in the round, which we intend to publish in the autumn. I hope that unlicensed broadcasting, which can have serious consequences, will not take place, and that those who want to see changes to the present arragements for radio will contribute to the discussions which the Green Paper is intended to stimulate.