§ Sir Patrick Wallasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the total number of citizens band licences now issued; and what is his estimate of the number of illegal sets still operating.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherAbout 453,000 new CB licences have been issued since the launch of the CB service in November 1981, and of these some 286,000 were valid at the end of May 1983. We have no reliable information on which to base an estimate of the number of illegal sets in use.
§ Sir Patrick Wallasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress is being made towards achieving a common European citizens band radio frequency.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherThe telecommunication commission of the Conference of European Posts and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) is due to consider a draft revised recommendation for 27 MHz CB radio in Europe at a meeting in September. If accepted it will be for individual member countries to decide whether to implement it. It remains our objective to adopt the CEPT recommendation in the United Kingdom in due course and we are continuing discussions with the radio users in this country who would be most affected by its introduction in order to determine how the recommendation might be applied.