Broadcasting (Radio Multiplex Services) Bill

FM is an analogue transmission, and most community stations currently broadcast on FM. With DAB, ...

Does my hon. Friend agree that community radio is an oft-forgotten layer? We hear about the big n...

I thank my hon. Friend for that interesting observation. In some cases, community radio can becom...

I thank my hon. Friend for his clear explanation of the difference between digital and analogue. ...

I absolutely agree. One issue at the moment is that if a community radio station is looking to se...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the rurality of an area is a problem in itself? It is about not ju...

My hon. Friend is right to point out that geography and topography have a large impact on what ra...

It is all very well my hon. Friend referencing commercial operations, but will he confirm whether...

My hon. Friend will have read the Bill, and he will have seen that subsection (4)(c) of proposed ...

My hon. Friend is being generous in giving way again. He sparks many memories from my long career...

My hon. Friend makes the fantastic point that sometimes a community radio operation can take a br...

I declare an interest, because I wrote songs in the 1980s. I do not know whether that has anythin...

Just to be clear, the Bill makes no move towards turning the whole sector from analogue to digita...

I am curious as to how much it would cost a community organisation to apply for a licence, becaus...

In terms of the process to apply, we must remember that this is mostly focused on the infrastruct...

Can my hon. Friend explain the status of the 70 unique radio stations that, apparently, have spru...

At the moment, they are, in effect, operating under a trial basis that Ofcom has created. If the ...

Will my hon. Friend say a few words about preparedness and whether the infrastructure is in place...

The infrastructure currently is not in place, and we are dealing here with creating the licensing...

rose—

I will briefly give way, but I should start to make some more progress.

I thank my hon. Friend for being so generous in giving way, and I just want to clarify something....

Indeed, and I thank my hon. Friend for making that point. As we have seen in the past, as things ...

I declare an interest as the chairman of the all-party group on commercial radio. My hon. Friend ...

My understanding is that yes, it would, although I have to be clear that the Bill will only set a...

I congratulate my hon. Friend on bringing forward this excellent Bill to broaden choice for commu...

I thank my hon. Friend and neighbour for that intervention. Hospital radio absolutely provides an...

In my office, I have a young lady who volunteers at her local hospital radio station. She said th...

I thank my hon. Friend for such a passionate intervention on behalf of hospital radio stations. I...

If my hon. Friend is saying that the taxpayer will not have to fund these mini-multiplexes, where...

I thank my hon. Friend for her helpful intervention. In essence, it would be similar to how FM tr...

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Torbay (Kevin Foster) on making such an informed spe...

It is because they have resigned.

Resigned, yes.

Every constituency could be affected by this sensible Bill. I also pay tribu...

Is my hon. Friend not surprised that there is not broader interest in this important matter acros...

It is disappointing, but of course there are never that many Members here on a Friday; traditiona...

Parliament is sitting.

Would my hon. Friend like to intervene?

I would just like my hon. Friend to reflect on the fact that Parliament is sitting. There is no s...

I know that my hon. Friend is usually here on a Friday, and I have to say that I am guilty, as ar...

Talking about community radio stations, which sometimes have dwindling audience numbers, does my ...

I entirely agree. For instance, the Derby Telegraph is sadly losing its readership, despite being...

Many local newspapers are now trying to move firmly towards much more activity online. Does my ho...

Yes, I am sure that that would be the case. I thank my hon. Friend for intervening at that point....

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way again; she is being very generous. We have talked about hos...

Yes, and I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. It could also be used as part of a degree ...

It is a great pleasure, as always, to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Derbyshire (Paulin...

Does my hon. Friend think that another opportunity for the provisions in this legislation would h...

It would seem that the nature of what is in this Bill could have been included in the Digital Eco...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the bonus of this aspect of the law being dealt with via the priva...

My view is that the matter could have been dealt with, without any undue side effects, in the Dig...

It is an enabling Bill.

It is. For it to be of any use at all to man or beast, the Minister and his team at the Departmen...

My hon. Friend has sparked my interest. Will he share with us what sort of radio stations he list...

Well, I will be honest: it is usually Radio 4, Radio 5 or Radio 5 live sports extra, particularly...

Does my hon. Friend not think that many people also carry digital radios with them wherever they ...

I am sure that is not the case.

In her most recent intervention, my hon. Friend the Member ...

Does my hon. Friend agree that one of the biggest changes that has happened since Parliament last...

My hon. Friend, the promoter of the Bill, is absolutely right: there has been an enormous increas...

What I would emphasise—I am sure my hon. Friend looked at this in reading the Bill—is that the cl...

I accept that. In making that intervention, my hon. Friend draws attention to another point I was...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the whole point of this Bill is to enable smaller multiplexes to b...

Yes, I do agree—that is exactly what the Bill seeks to do. However, as I said, the Bill, of itsel...

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Torbay (Kevin Foster) on bringing forward this Bill....

Does my hon. Friend agree that the switchover in Norway is an opportunity for us, as a country, t...

That is an excellent point. Of course, we have huge geographical and demographic differences with...

Is perhaps the reason Norway is moving away from any analogue form of radio that it does not broa...

Probably, although I would not dare to make any comment on cricket to my hon. Friend.

The game of cricket provides the perfect example for our approach to this situation. We are quite...

There are so many cricketing metaphors that I could use, but I had better not. I agree with my ho...

I thank my hon. Friend for being so generous in giving way this morning. She is touching on the v...

My hon. Friend anticipates the next part of my speech. It is almost as though she had seen it in ...

My hon. Friend is making some valid points about radio acting as a friend. I know that many elder...

My hon. Friend, with her history in broadcasting, knows about this only too well. Local radio pla...

It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for South Ribble (Seema Kennedy) and I congr...

Does my hon. Friend still get royalties?

That would be telling.

Order. If Mr Colvile is to ask a question like that, he has to name the tune he is referring to.<...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

Digital radio affects areas of the UK that should have been h...

Today of all days, I should like to reiterate how important that last point is. On the east coast...

I agree with my hon. Friend and thank her for that helpful intervention, which leads me to what h...

My hon. Friend refers to what the right hon. Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham) suggested when he wa...

I totally agree. I pay homage to my hon. Friend for his research on the Bill and for speaking for...

I am delighted to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale (David Morris). It...

I confess that I drive to and from my constituency for two reasons: I want to listen to the crick...

I welcome that intervention, because I am a complete Radio 4 addict. I listen to the World Servic...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the Bill could enable these hyper-local radio stations to be a sub...

That is a valid point. The Wiveliscombe station transmits to only 10 parishes, but it provides an...

I have not yet listened to the omnibus edition of “The Archers”, although I have tried quite hard...

I hope that my hon. Friend will be reassured to hear that, when Ofcom carried out its trials, man...

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention.

It is important that we develop an infrastruc...

It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Oliver C...

Is my hon. Friend aware of a wonderful organisation called Archers Anarchists, whose members beli...

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. I was not aware of that, but I am not surprised.