One community radio licence award: October 2009

Ofcom's Radio Licensing Committee ('RLC') awarded one community radio licence in October.

All community radio services must satisfy certain 'characteristics of service' which are specified in Article 3 of the Community Radio Order 2004. The RLC was satisfied that the applicant awarded a licence met these 'characteristics of service'. In addition, the application was considered having regard to the criteria set out in section 105 of the Broadcasting Act 1990 ('BA 1990') (as modified by the Community Radio Order 2004). A summary of these criteria is set out below. The key considerations in relation to these criteria, which formed the basis of the RLC's decision to award a licence to the applicant, are also set out below. Where applicable, the relevant subsection of section 105 (1) of the BA 1990 is noted in brackets. (Please see specific community radio licence award criteria, set out below, for full details of each subsection.)

Applicant awarded a licence

Ofcom's RLC made a licence award to 1 Ummah FM (Reading). This service will be licensed for a period of five years from the date of its launch.

The RLC was satisfied that the group awarded a licence should be allowed to seek up to 50% of its annual income from the sale of advertising or programme/station sponsorship if it so wishes, in accordance with section 105(6) BA 1990. The RLC was also satisfied that the new service would not prejudice unduly the economic viability of any other local service (section 105(3) BA 1990).

1 Ummah FM (Reading)

1 Ummah FM will serve the Muslim community of Reading. The applicant group has built up experience through running temporary radio services (restricted service licences, known as RSLs) for the period of Ramadan over a number of years (1a). The groups programming output will be multilingual, but predominantly in English, and proposals are based on feedback it has received from listeners to its RSL services (1b). The proposed service will broaden the range of radio services available in Reading (1c). Social gain proposals include a commitment to facilitate discussion and the expression of opinion through on-air discussions on a wide range of topics, and the group cites its experience of offering phone-ins and discussion programmes on its RSLs. It will also develop partnerships with various organisations to help increase understanding of the community and strengthen links within it (1e).

Statutory requirements relating to community radio licensing

The following pages set out the statutory requirements relating to community radio licensing, and details of the licensing process. Further information about these, and detailed information relating to community radio, can be found at:
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radio/ifi/rbl/commun_radio/

In carrying out all of its functions, Ofcom is required to have regard to the general duties set out in section 3 of the Communications Act 2003. In addition, under section 85(2)(b) BA 1990, it is the duty of Ofcom to do all that it can to secure the provision within the UK of a range and diversity of local radio services.

The characteristics of a community radio service

In respect of the licensing of community radio services in particular, all community radio licensees must satisfy 'characteristics of service' requirements which are specified in Article 3 of the Community Radio Order 2004. The characteristics of community radio services are:

That they are local services provided primarily for the good of members of the public, or of particular communities, and in order to deliver social gain, rather than primarily for commercial reasons or for the financial or other material gain of the individuals involved in providing the service;
That the service is intended primarily to serve one or more communities (whether or not it also serves other members of the public);
That the person providing the service does not do so in order to make a financial profit by so doing, and uses any profit that is produced in the provision of the service wholly and exclusively for securing or improving the future provision of the service, or for the delivery of social gain to members of the public or the community that the service is intended to serve;
That members of the community it is intended to serve are given opportunities to participate in the operation and management of the service;
That, in respect of the provision of that service, the person providing the service makes himself accountable to the community that the service is intended to serve.

Article 2 of the Community Radio Order 2004 includes four mandatory social gain objectives. Social gain means the achievement, in respect of individuals or groups of individuals in the community that the service is intended to serve, or in respect of other members of the public, of the following objectives:

the provision of sound broadcasting services to individuals who are otherwise underserved by such services,
the facilitation of discussion and the expression of opinion,
the provision (whether by means of programmes included in the service or otherwise) of education or training to individuals not employed by the person providing the service, and
the better understanding of the particular community and the strengthening of links within it.

Article 2 also includes a number of other objectives of a social nature which may be considered to represent "social gain".

Specific community radio licence award criteria

There are seven specific selection criteria set out in section 105(1) BA 1990 that Ofcom must have regard to when considering whether to make a community radio licence award. In summary these are:

The ability of each applicant to maintain its proposed service over the licence period (section 105(1)(a));
The applicants ability to cater for the tastes and interests of the target community (section 105(1)(b));
The extent to which each applicant would broaden the range of local radio services available in the area, and have a content distinct from those services (section 105(1)(c));
The extent to which there is evidence of local demand or support for a proposed service (section 105(1)(d));
The extent to which the service would deliver social gain benefits to the public or relevant community (section 105(1)(e));
Provisions for making the operator of service accountable to the relevant community (section 105(1)(f));
Provisions for allowing access by members of the public or the relevant community to the station facilities, and the provision of training in the use of those facilities (section 105(1)(g)).

Considering whether, or to whom (and on what conditions), to grant a community radio licence, Ofcom must also have regard to the need to ensure that any service provided under that licence does not prejudice unduly the economic viability of any other local service. Sections 105(4) to (6) BA 1990 require Ofcom:

not to grant a community radio licence which would overlap with a commercial radio service serving no more than 50,000 persons of 15 years or older;
to prohibit paid advertising and sponsorship of programmes in respect of any community radio service where that service overlaps with any other local radio service serving between 50,000 and 150,000 persons of 15 years or older; and
in all other cases, to prohibit any community radio service from receiving an appropriate proportion (at least 50%) of relevant income from paid advertising and sponsorship of programmes.

For the avoidance of doubt, programme sponsorship includes station or channel sponsorship.

Ofcom is also prohibited, by subsection 2 of section 105, from granting a licence to any applicant who proposes to receive from any one person (or company) more than 50% of its annual funding.

Process for assessment of applications

On 27 August 2008 Ofcom invited applications for licences to provide community radio services in locations throughout the East and southeast of England. (However, applications for locations in Greater London and other areas within the M25 were invited at a later date.) Licences were offered for the provision of services on either the FM (VHF) or AM (medium wave) wavebands, with the exception of some areas for which licences were only available on AM (see Ofcoms invitation to apply on our website at www.ofcom.org.uk/radio/ifi/rbl/commun_radio/tlproc/invites/area7.pdf).

Ofcom received 48 applications, the non-confidential sections of which were made available for public scrutiny on our website. 31 of these applications were considered by the RLC at its February, March, April, May, June, July and September meetings and a further four applications were considered at the October meeting.

The membership of the RLC for the licence awards detailed above was as follows:

Philip Graf, Ofcom Deputy Chairman (Chair)
Joyce Taylor, Content Board Member for Scotland
Pam Giddy, Content Board Member
Peter Bury, Director of Spectrum Policy
Peter Davies, Director, Broadcast Licensing & Radio Policy
Neil Stock, Head of Broadcast Licensing
Martin Campbell, Chief Adviser, Radio

A summary and assessment of each application was presented to the RLC. These papers summarised the proposals put forward by the applicant as they relate to the statutory criteria, and highlighted any issues of relevance under those criteria.

November 2009