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Community Radio (Amendment) Order 2010

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his thorough explanation of the effect of this order. However, I wish to make one or two points. We on these Benches are very positive about the future of radio. We think that local and community radio will continue to make up an integral part of this media sector. These stations provide a vital service that can cater for very specific tastes or a very specific area and so fill a need which risks being overlooked by larger national or commercial broadcasters who deal with broader areas or tastes. Of these local community stations, 14 per cent, for example, are aimed at minority ethnic groups, 9 per cent are aimed at young people and 7 per cent at religious groups. Local community radio is, therefore, clearly an important part of the network of media available in this country. It helps to define local communities by allowing increased local involvement and a focus on local issues. For example, in Newport on the Isle of Wight there is a station catering specifically for the needs of the elderly; in Belfast there is a station particularly for Irish Gaelic speakers; and in London there is a station for those people interested in experimental radio art. I do not know whether the Minister knows what that is; I certainly do not. There is something for all tastes. The demand for, and popularity of, these stations is shown by the fact that since the Community Radio Order 2004, Ofcom has licensed 214 stations—the Minister mentioned that—159 of which are already broadcasting. Stewart Purvis, Ofcom's content and standards partner, said: ""Community radio is now an established third tier of radio broadcasting in the UK. This new tier of radio adds richness and variety to the services already provided by the BBC and commercial radio and offers opportunities for people to get involved in local broadcasting"." With this in mind, we are very supportive of two of the substantive amendments which this order makes. Article 5 modifies the 2003 Act in relation to community radio. It introduces new Section 253A, which gives Ofcom the power to extend community radio licences for one period of not more than five years. We approve of this development because we think that a regulatory regime which is light touch and allows genuinely successful local radio stations to operate as part of a viable local media business is an important development and is to be encouraged. For this reason, we also support the first part of Article 3, which, as the Explanatory Note states, would remove, ""the restriction that a community radio licence may not be granted to an applicant who proposes to receive more than 50 per cent of the income the applicant needs to provide the proposed service from any one source"." This change is also a step in the right direction towards lighter regulation and allows freedom to grow for genuinely successful local stations which attract significant investment and donation from one source. However, the Minister will not be surprised to hear that our support is not unequivocal. We have reservations about the change the order brings in which would allow Ofcom to award licences to community radio stations in areas that overlap with small commercial stations; in other words, those with a potential audience of fewer than 50,000 adults. We object to this amendment because, in this instance, the commercial station operates on a very local level anyway. These stations will often be not-for-profit, very locally focused and have significant community involvement. To allow another publicly funded community station a licence in this area would simply mean that it would have the potential to upset the fragile economic balance of this station by competing for listeners. We think it is very important to create a regulatory regime which helps rather than hinders the commercial radio sector—particularly in this difficult economic climate, with the additional instability caused by the big switchover from analogue to digital. In response to the Government's consultation on this matter, RadioCentre quoted the then Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport, the right honourable Andy Burnham, who, on 2 March 2009, stated: ""We already have established radio stations that provide an excellent service to their community and we want to work pragmatically to ensure not only that community radio can continue to develop but, with one eye on the rest of the media industry, that it does not threaten the development of commercial services"—[Official Report, Commons, 2/3/09; col. 570.]" Can the Minister inform us what effect this change to the Community Radio (Amendment) Order is expected to have on the status of small, locally based commercial stations? Does he not agree that this amendment will have a potentially damaging impact on their survival by allowing small community stations to compete with local commercial stations which are already suffering? Given the supposedly reassuring words above, and the fact that currently local stations are already handing licences back to Ofcom because they cannot make their businesses work, why do the Government think that this is an appropriate change? What other action is being taken to ensure that the development of commercial services is not threatened? In more general terms, my Lords, can the Minister give us some idea of hopes for the future regarding community stations and the small commercial stations as we move into the digital age? What impact do the Government expect the switchover to have on local radio? Moreover, what is being done actively to ensure that successful local radio stations can survive to become part of a viable local media sector?