§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what his policy is on applications by religious broadcasters for national analogue radio licences. [147045]
§ Janet AndersonReligious organisations are disqualified by provision of Paragraph 2 (1) of Part II of Schedule 2 to the Broadcasting Act 1990 from holding national radio licences. The White Paper, "A New Future for Communications", which was published on 12 December, invites comments on whether the current restrictions on ownership of broadcasting licences by religious organisations should be relaxed in new legislation. The consultation period ends on 12 February.