§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will publish a White Paper on the future of radio broadcasting before introducing legislation.
§ Mr. RentonWe are considering this possibility.
§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he will detail the regulations under which the new Radio Authority will supervise the ownership of radio stations;
(2) how many (a) national commercial radio stations, (b) independent local radio stations and (c) community radio stations any one individual or any one company will be able to own or have a controlling interest in;
(3) whether he will introduce restrictions on the ownership of radio stations by non-British and non-EEC individuals or companies;
(4) whether he will introduce restrictions on individuals or companies who are licensed to own radio stations with regard to selling, sub-letting or sub-contracting such licences;
(5) whether individuals or companies granted licences for new radio stations will be allowed to sell, sub-let or sub-contract the use of those frequencies for any other purposes;
(6) under what regulations the new Radio Authority will operate with regard to (a) the ownership or (b) equity holdings of (i) political parties (ii) local authorities, (iii) statutory bodies, (iv) charitable organisations and (v) any body or organisation in which a political party has an interest.
§ Mr. RentonConditions regulating the award, renewal or transfer of radio licences by reasons of the status of prospective applicants or their accumulation of media interests will be included in the legislative proposals which my right hon. Friend will bring before Parliament. We have in mind, for example, provisions disallowing the control of licensed stations by companies registered outside the EC; limiting an individual or company to a financial interest in one national or six other licensed stations; and disallowing any such interest by political252W parties and their affiliates and public bodies (while allowing the latter to contribute to projects intended to further a specific purpose of benefit to the community concerned). Subject to such conditions and to the continuing observance of the promise of performance on the basis of which licences were awarded in the first place there will be provision for their reassignment.
§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he will detail the regulations under which(a) national commercial radio, (b) independent local radio and (c) community radio will operate with regard to (i) advertising time per hour, (ii) weekly films and (iii) royalty and copyright payments;
(2) whether he proposes that under the regulations which will apply to radio stations, it will be permissible to run such stations by computer, without staffing;
(3) whether the regulations which will apply to (a) national commercial radio, (b) independent local radio and (c) community radio will include requirements to (a) provide news services, (b) provide staff to man such stations or (c) broadcast a minimum number of hours each day of live programmes;
(4) what powers the new Radio Authority will have to investigate and to ensure that no system of payola operates in United Kingdom radio stations;
(5) what percentage of programmes: (a) the new national commercial radio stations and (b) independent local radio stations will be required to take from independent producers.
§ Mr. RentonUnder the legislative proposals my right hon. Friend will bring before Parliament it will be for licensed radio stations themselves to determine their own business and programming arrangements consistent with the general law and their licence conditions including those reflecting their promise of performance.
§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he will detail the regulations under which(a) national commercial radio, (b) independent local radio and (c) community radio will operate, with regard to (i) programme balance, (ii) news and current affairs time, (iii) obscenity and (iv) incitement to racial violence or religious intolerance;
253W(2) further to his written reply of 19 January, Official Report, columns 647–9, what requirements of accuracy, balance and decency there will be on licences of new radio stations;
(3) further to his written reply of 19 January, Official Report, columns 647–9, what present constraints in the Broadcasting Act 1981 will not apply to transmission arrangements for new radio stations;
(4) further to his written answer of 19 January, Official Report, columns 647–9, whether he will list the existing statutory requirements, applied to independent local radio, which will not be applied to the proposed (a) national commercial radio and (b community radio.
§ Mr. RentonThe legislative proposals which my right hon. Friend will bring before Parliament will reflect paragraph 7.7 of our Green Paper "Radio: Choices and Opportunities" (Cm. 92).
§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what period of time the radio licences granted by the new Radio Authority will run for(a) national commercial radio, (b) independent local radio and (c) community radio.
§ Mr. RentonThe legislative proposals which my right hon. Friend will bring before Parliament will include provision for the radio authority to award licences for up to eight years.
§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the relationship between the new Radio Authority and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission will be.
§ Mr. RentonIn the light of responses to our Green Paper we have concluded that radio should continue to fall within the jurisdiction of the Broadcasting Complaints Commission.
§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what powers and staff will be available to the new Radio Authority to monitor the programmes of new radio stations;
(2) further to his written reply of 19 January, Official Report, columns 647–9, what sanctions the new Radio Authority will have in the event of new licence holders not living up to their promises to their audiences.
§ Mr. RentonProvisions relating both to powers and to resources will be included in the legislative proposals which my right hon. Friend will bring before Parliament with a view to enabling the radio authority to enforce the conditions on which it issues licences, thus reflecting paragraphs 7.18–7.19 of our Green Paper.
§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what limits on transmission power will be imposed by the new Radio Authority on community radio stations.
§ Mr. RentonUnder the legislative proposals my right hon. Friend will bring before Parliament it will be for the radio authority to determine limits on the transmission power of stations it licenses, having regard amongst other things to the size of the area which the station is intended to serve and possible interference to other users of the radio spectrum.
§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many of the 500 responses he received254W to the Green Paper "Radio: Choices and Opportunities" recommended that radio licences should be assigned by competitive tender;
(2) further to his written answer of 19 January, Official Report, columns 647–9, what system of competitive tendering will be adopted and what steps taken to ensure that such arrangements are open and public;
(3) further to his written answer of 19 January, Official Report, columns 647–9, who will assign, by competitive tender, the licences for radio stations;
(4) further to his written answer of 19 January , Official Report, columns 647–9, what powers the new Radio Authority will have to ensure that the national commercial radio station, broadcast programmes that appeal to a variety of tastes and interests and one not limited to a single format.
§ Mr. RentonThe legislative proposals which my right hon. Friend will bring before Parliament will include provision for the Radio Authority to award licences for national radio services by competitive tender, for the procedure to be followed and for the criteria which the Radio Authority will be expected to apply in deciding which applications to entertain for the purposes of tender. No responses to the Green Paper recommended this proposal, and only a small number commented on it.
§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) further to his written answer of 19 January,Official Report, columns 647–9, what is his definition of community radio;
(2) further to his written answer of 19 January, Official Report, columns 647–9, what method he will employ to determine the number, scale and type of stations that a local community demands or wishes.
§ Mr. RentonUnder the legislative proposals my right hon. Friend will bring before Parliamemt it will be for the radio authority and not the Home Secretary to consider applications for licences to provide radio services to localities or communities. We do not envisage that under the new scheme there will be any formal distinction between different kinds of radio at the local level.
§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to his written answer of 19 January,Official Report, columns 647–9, whether he will require the Independent Broadcasting Authority to sell the transmitters that it currently owns.
§ Mr. RentonWe do not intend to require the IBA to sell the radio transmission sites and equipment that it now owns.
§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to his written answer of 19 January,Official Report, columns 647–9, by what date the BBC will have to (a) determine and (b) reassign two frequencies to independent radio.
§ Mr. RentonWe shall not withdraw frequencies currently assigned to the BBC until after the enactment of the legislative proposals based on the Green Paper which my right hon. Friend will bring before Parliament.
§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to his written answer of 19 January,Official Report, columns 647–9, whether he will list all those areas which have no radio service other than those provided by the BBC, and how many (a) people and (b) households live in these areas.
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§ Mr. RentonThis information is not readily available in the form sought. Those areas which have no radio service other than those provided by the BBC are those which do not receive radio services provided by the IBA since they lie outside the service areas of the ILR programme companies listed in appendix VIII to the annual report of the IBA 1986–87.