§ The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Tessa Jowell)the Government has considered Professor Everitt's report "New Voices: an evaluation of 15 access radio stations" and is minded to bring forward a draft order which would introduce a new tier of access radio stations once the Communications Bill becomes law.
Before beginning to draft an Order, I am writing to the Radio Authority, the Commercial Radio Companies Association and the Community Media Association so that they have an opportunity to express their views at this stage. We intend to produce a draft Order for formal consultation in the autumn. No decisions have yet been taken on Government funding.