📻 Delegated Legislation Committee

• Community Radio Importance: The session highlighted that nearly 90% of UK adults listen to the radio weekly, with community radio stations playing a crucial role in providing local and diverse content. Examples like Cambridge 105 and Spark Sunderland illustrate their value and training opportunities for young journalists.

• Licence Extensions: The draft order proposes to extend community radio licences by 10 years, aiming to provide stability and encourage long-term investment. This decision was based on a consultation where most respondents supported 10-year renewals.

• Revenue Restrictions: The order will increase the revenue-raising limit from advertising and sponsorship from £15,000 to £30,000 for most stations. A small number of stations in areas with smaller markets will retain increased restrictions to protect local commercial radio.

• Regulatory Simplification: The draft includes consolidating previous orders, simplifying regulations for both stations and Ofcom, and removing outdated amendment orders from 2011, 2015, and 2019.

• Government Support: An additional £50,000 was allocated to the community radio fund for 2024-25, with plans for a local media strategy to enhance community radio further. The Minister is open to considering additional support in future budget reviews.

• Concerns and Criticisms: Concerns were raised about potential barriers to new entrants in the radio sector due to the licence extensions. There were also questions about the coverage issues with DAB radio and ensuring current stations deliver social benefits. The Minister noted that coverage concerns would be raised with Ofcom.

• Future of Community Radio: The government aims to ensure the sector’s long-term health and sustainability, emphasizing the role of community radio in diverse local media ecosystems and training future broadcasters.

The session showed a moderate level of disagreement, primarily from a single member of the Committee, Mr Louie French (Con). His concerns were about potential negative impacts on competition and the absence of a review or relicensing process for community radio stations. However, these disagreements did not lead to significant opposition or a prolonged debate. The other members did not express similar concerns and appeared to support the draft order.

Here are specific examples of disagreements:

1. Mr Louie French’s Concerns About Competition: Mr French raised the issue that extending licences could restrict new entrants and thus limit sector growth. He questioned whether this was in the best interest of the community radio sector, suggesting a potential disadvantage to the principles of community radio (09:32:00).

2. Request for Review or Relicensing Process: Mr French further asked whether the Minister had considered a relicensing process or a review of existing licences to ensure that community radio stations are fulfilling their social gain objectives (09:32:00).

3. Coverage Issues: Mr French also mentioned concerns about coverage, particularly with the phasing out of analogue radio and the switch to DAB, suggesting that this might prevent stations from serving their communities effectively (09:32:00).

The Minister, Stephanie Peacock, addressed these concerns by explaining the consensus from the community radio sector favoring renewals, acknowledging the potential impact on new entrants, and offering to raise the issue of coverage with Ofcom. These responses show an acknowledgment of the concerns but did not indicate a change in policy, suggesting a mild disagreement that was managed within the session without escalating into conflict.

Overall, the level of disagreement was not intense or widespread, resulting in a rating of 2 out of 5.