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Ofcom's Radio Licensing Committee ('RLC') has awarded five community radio licences in May.

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 each of the applicants awarded a licence met these 'characteristics of service'. In addition, each 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 decisions to award licences to particular applicants, 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.)

Applicants awarded a licence

Ofcom's Radio Licensing Committee made licence awards to the following applicants in locations in Staffordshire and the West Midlands (in no particular order):

• TCR FM (Tamworth, Staffordshire)
• Switch Radio (Castle Vale, Birmingham)
• Ambur Radio (Walsall, West Midlands)
• SACDA Radio (Sandwell, West Midlands)
• Raaj FM (Sandwell, West Midlands)

Each of these services will be licensed for a period of five years from the date of their launch.

The RLC was satisfied that each group awarded a licence should be allowed to seek up to 50% of their respective annual income from the sale of advertising or programme/station sponsorship if they so wish, in accordance with section 105(6) BA 1990, and that none of the new services would prejudice unduly the economic viability of any other local service (section 105(3) BA 1990).

TCR FM (Tamworth, Staffordshire)

TCR (Total Choice Radio) FM will be primarily aimed at younger people (those under the age of 30) in the Tamworth area. The applicant group has a history of youth-based community involvement locally, and has run two temporary radio broadcasts (restricted service licences (RSLs)). It has some existing assets and some promised in-kind support in the form of premises. It proposes a low-budget, volunteer-run operation (1a). Its programme plans build on the RSL experience, and aim to broaden choice against existing commercial services available in the area (1b & 1c). It has put forward appropriate social gain objectives, and the station will work in close collaboration with the Tamworth Youth and Community Centre (1e). Access to the station by the target community will be helped by the station’s location at the Tamworth Youth Centre (1g).

Switch Radio (Castle Vale, Birmingham)

Switch Radio will provide a community radio service to some of the most deprived locations within north-east Birmingham and northern parts of the Borough of Solihull. The applicant is a registered charity, and a long-established group with a long track record of RSL broadcasting locally. It has a well-developed managerial structure, staffing and volunteer plans. It has a useful existing asset base and some secured funding (1a). Programme plans are based on those developed over the RSL broadcasts (1b). The group has good community links and demonstrates strong support for the service (1d). Social gain proposals are good, and are evidenced by the group’s experience over a long period. (1e) Training plans (and experience) are a particular strength, and include accredited training, for example (1g).

Ambur Radio (Walsall, West Midlands)

Ambur Radio will be a community station for Walsall. It will be focused on the Asian communities but it will also provide some programming for the whole community, including other minority ethnic groups. The board includes members from a range of backgrounds, and includes experience of broadcasting, sales and marketing, business, training and a local councillor. The group has some assets, and in-kind support in the form of premises (1a). The proposed programming shows a commitment to giving opportunities to a number of ethnic communities within Walsall and some research was carried out to help shape plans (1b). The group demonstrates a good level of support, including some evidence of financial support and a willingness to engage in programming making (1d). An appropriate range of social gain objectives has been put forward, and the group has provided some evidence of existing community links (1e).

SACDA Radio (Sandwell, West Midlands)

SACDA Radio will operate a community radio service that produces and delivers programmes for African Caribbeans and other residents of the culturally diverse area of Sandwell. The applicant group has been established since 1994, and brings experience of offering educational, training and management support services to its target community. It has an existing asset base and some funding already in place for the radio service, in addition the group has experience in successfully obtaining grant funding (1a). It has operated a number of RSL broadcasts to the target community which have helped shape its broadcast plans (1b). It has good community links and demonstrates strong support for the service (1d). Social gain proposals are good, and in particular the group has a good deal of experience in offering training, and is already an accredited provider of City and Guilds qualifications, for example (1e).

Raaj FM (Sandwell, West Midlands)

Raaj FM will serve the Sandwell Panjabi community. The group has a large management board with actively involved community members and others who are experienced in broadcasting, company management, training and fundraising. Two RSLs have been run by this group and prior to this members of the group have been involved in a number of other RSL broadcasts to the target community. The applicant has existing assets including studio equipment and cash in the bank. It has in-kind support in the form of studio premises, and some secured funding (1a). Through its previous broadcasts it demonstrates a good understanding of what its community wants and has framed its proposals accordingly, with programmes for the varied social, cultural, educational, youth, religious, music, sports, disabled and minority activities and interests of this community (1b). Social gain proposals are appropriate and built on RSL experience (1e). Accountability provisions include opportunities to join the Management Group, a Listeners’ Club and station open days (1f).

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. 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 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 applicant’s 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 10 October 2007 Ofcom invited applications for licences to provide community radio services in locations in the west Midlands, east Midlands and Lincolnshire. These licences were offered for the provision of services on either the FM (VHF) or AM (medium wave) wavebands, with the exception of the City of Nottingham, the Gedling District in Nottinghamshire, Telford & Wrekin Unitary Authority and the City of Wolverhampton Metropolitan District, for which licences were only available on AM.

Ofcom received 31 applications, the non-confidential sections of which were made available for public scrutiny on our website. Six applications were considered by RLC at its February and March meetings, five applications at its April meeting, and a further eight at its May meeting. This leaves a further 12 applications from this region still to be considered for licence award.

The invitations did not specify the locations of services, but left it for applicants to decide where they wanted to be located.

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
Martin Campbell, Chief Adviser, Radio
Neil Stock, Head of Broadcast Licensing
Pam Giddy, Content Board Member
Peter Bury, Director of Strategic Resources
Peter Davies, Director, Broadcast Licensing & Radio Policy

A summary and assessment of each application was presented to the RLC at its meeting on Wednesday 21 May 2008. These papers summarised the proposals put forward by the applicants as they relate to the statutory criteria, and highlighted any issues of relevance under those criteria.

May 2008

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