Radio Amateurs (Hansard, 15 March 1993)

§ Mr. Leigh

These questions concern operational matters which are the responsibility of the Radiocommunications Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Mr. B. Maxwell to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 12 March 1993: You recently tabled a series of questions concerning the regulation of amateur radio. As you know, the Chief Executive of the Agency has been asked to write to you with the information requested as the questions relate to operational matters for which this Agency is responsible. I am replying in his absence. The questions and the information are as follows. Question 172 tabled on 9 March 1993: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what consideration he has given to allowing radio amateurs to use a for sale facility on pocket radio; and if he will make a statement. Packet messages should reflect the purpose of the amateur licence, that is self-training in wireless telegraphy. It is not felt 52W that advertising of goods fits into such a category. Packet radio provides both in the UK and, indeed, throughout the world an immensely useful tool for the dissemination of information, the seeking of help and advice and the publication of radio related news. The Amateur Radio Licence was compiled with this in mind and hence advertising is not currently allowed. In addition, there are already numerous outlets available for buying and selling of amateur equipment, for example through amateur radio magazines and amateur radio rallies. Question 175 tabled on 9 March 1993: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, when the RIS last carried out a site inspection of GB3NA and GB3SY at Barnsley; what abuse was found; and what action he is taking. GB3NA was last inspected on 13 September 1990. No contraventions were found. No inspections have been carried out of GB3SY. Question 176 tabled on 9 March 1993: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, how many repeaters used by amateur radio operators have on-air remote control providing for immediate shut-down. The Agency is prepared to consider representations from any repeater group requesting on-air remote control. One application has been granted to date and one application is under consideration. Question 177 tabled on 9 March 1993: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what plans he has to change the repeater franchise scheme presently held by the Radio Society of Great Britain; and if he will make a statement. A decision has been made in principle to change the present arrrangement. From 1 April 1993, authority for these stations to operate will be granted by the issue of Notices of Variation to the repeater keeper's personal Amateur Radio Licence. Further details will be announced shortly. Question 178 tabled on 9 March 1993: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what consideration he has given to the introduction of a no-code high frequency licence for licensed radio amateurs. The International Radio Regulations require that a licence to operate on frequencies below 30 MHz can be granted only to radio amateurs who have proved their ability to send and receive Morse code signals. The Agency is consulting widely on this issue and initial responses indicate that there are strong opinions both for and against this requirement. Question 182 tabled on 9 March 1993: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, how many amateur licences have been revoked or modified in the last 12 months. One amateur radio licence has been revoked and two re-applications have been refused during the last 12 months. During this period one amateur radio licence has been modified by the issue of a Notice of Variation. Question 183 tabled on 9 March 1993: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what action he is taking to prevent yachtsmen using pirate call signs on 14313 MHz and conducting illegal phone-patch traffic back to the United Kingdom. Where complaints have alleged licence contraventions by United Kingdom amateurs, the Agency has an arrangement to pass details to the Radio Society of Great Britain's Amateur Radio Observation Society (AROS) to inquire into the matter in the first instance. AROS will decide in the light of its findings, whether to report the matter to the Agency for possible further investigation. Question 186, tabled on 9 March 1993: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what consideration he has given to abolishing the requirement for log-keeping by amateur radio operators using low power FM. A radio amateur is required to keep a permanent record (a log) of all transmissions with the exception of transmissions from low power devices as defined in sub-clause 2(4)(b) of the amateur radio licence. Question 187 tabled on 9 March 1993: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, how many inspections of repeater sets in respect of radio operators have been carried out in the last 12 months; how many licence violations were found; what was the most common violation; and what action he is taking to reduce violations. There have been 27 inspections of amateur repeaters in the current financial year to the end of February. These revealed 53W 5 licence contraventions. There were two instances each of removal of attenuators and unauthorised unattended operation and one instance of spurious emissions. The Agency's priorities are set by Ministers. Top priority is given to tackling interference which could endanger lives and to helping those whose business operations are disrupted as a result of interference. Other complaints, including those relating to hobby radio, are dealt with after higher priorities have been met. Within this limitation, the Agency has devoted considerable effort to tackling repeater abuse. In addition to the programme of site inspections, actions taken in response to complaints have included imposing restrictions on individuals' use of repeaters, requiring attenuators to be fitted to reduce coverage, limiting the hours in which repeaters operate and, where necessary and justified in the public interest, prosecuting. Prosecution usually requires extensive monitoring to obtain supporting evidence. Question 188 tabled on 9 March 1993: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what representations he has received regarding the abuse of repeaters by amateur radio operators in London. Since the beginning of 1992, the Agency has received a total of 8 representations from 3 individuals complaining about abuse of repeaters in London and one letter objecting that measures taken by the Agency to combat the abuse were excessive. Question 189 tabled on 9 March 1993: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what regulations govern the fees for amateur radio licences. The current amateur radio licence fee is set by the Wireless Telegraphy (Licence Charges) Regulations 1991 (S.I. 1991/542) as amended by the Wireless Telegraphy (Licence Charges) (Amendment) Regulations 1992 (S.I. 1992/362). These Regulations are made under Sections 1 and 2 of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 and the fees are set out within the limitations set out in Part V of the Schedule 1 and Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the Department of Trade and Industry (Fees) Order 1988 (S.I. 1988/93). Question 192 tabled on 9 March 1993: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, how many people have been prosecuted for amateur radio related offences in each of the last five years; what has been the budget of the Radio Investigation Service in each of the last five years; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the monitoring and enforcement activities of the services. Statistics on prosecutions are published annually in the Agency's report. I am enclosing a copy for your attention. The figures for the last five financial years are 3 (1987–88), 7 (1988–89), 3 (1989–90), 5 (1990–91), and 4 (1991–92). All resulted in convictions. Total expenditure by the Radio Investigation Service (RIS) since the Agency was created was £5.51 million in financial year 1990–91 and £5.99 million in financial year 1991–92. These figures are net of receipts and do not include overheads. Comparable figures for previous years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Effectiveness of the Agency's monitoring and enforcement activities is assessed against the enforcement quality of service targets set by Ministers and published in the Agency's annual report. In 1991–92, the targets were to handle 100% of safety of life complaints within 24 hours, to handle 95% of business complaints within 5 working days and to handle 95% of domestic complaints within 1 month. The RIS succeeded in meeting or surpassing all these targets, which have been made even more demanding for the current financial year. Performance figures will be published in the Agency's next annual report. I enclose a full set of the Agency's amateur radio information sheets for your information and hope this is all helpful.