§ Mr. BurdenTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what assessment his Department made prior to its decision to require BBC Radio WM to relinquish its medium-wave frequencies of the impact this would have on the ethnic minority broadcasting in the west midlands.
§ Mr. BrookeBBC Radio West Midlands simulcasts its services on both FM and AM, except for some 37 hours a week in the evenings, when it broadcasts its Asian programmes on AM. We appreciate that many Asian listeners would regret the loss of these programmes. That is why we have asked the BBC to look for ways of continuing to broadcast them after October 1994, when the Radio Authority will use the AM frequencies for a new local radio service in the west midlands.