Open Channel Radio (Hansard, 18 March 1981)

§ Mr. Raison

I welcome the opportunity to confirm the Government's belief that the introduction of a citizens' band service may have considerable advantages for disabled people. My reply to the hon. Member was as followsThank you for your letter of 5th March with which you enclosed this correspondence from the Royal National Institute for the Blind about the use of citizens' band radio for disabled persons. As you know we have now announced our decision to introduce a licensed 27 MHz.F.M. citizens' band service later in the year. Licences will also cover the use of a frequency band in the region of 930 MHz. We have always been very conscious that such a service will offer certain social benefits, notable among these being its usefulness to disabled people particularly those who are house-bound or who could use the facility to summon help in difficult or emergency situations. It is, therefore, appropriate that the facility will be legalised in the Year of the Disabled and we hope that this aspect of the service will indeed be developed. It is, perhaps, an area in which those clubs, organisations and individuals who have promoted the advantages of the facility should look to make a useful contribution. While we wish to keep the service as free from regulation as possible, we hope by means of a code of practice to encourage users to leave at least one channel free for emergency communications: a practice which has grown up in other countries where the facility is permitted and one which has obvious advantages for the disabled. The correspondence raised the question of concessionary licences for disabled people. We have not finalised the licensing arrangements and will certainly keep this possibility in mind; but I am bound to say that it raises real difficulties.