Memorandum submitted by the Radio Authority
OVERVIEW
1. The Radio Authority welcomes this opportunity
to place a memorandum before the Culture, Media and Sport Select
Committee, in its investigation into the establishment of a new
Office of Communications to oversee the regulation of telecommunications
and broadcasting in the UK.
2. Our views in advance of this process
were set out in our submission Radio Regulation for the 21st Century,
June 2000, and our judgements now are very much informed by the
thinking included in that paper. We will be happy to amplify this
memorandum for the Committee, and to provide any further information
which the Committee would find useful. The June 2000 document
is available at www.radioauthority.org.uk. If the Committee wishes
it, we will be happy to provide printed copies of that as well.
The Authority is also in the process of finalising its response
to the Government's Consultation on Media Ownership and will forward
a copy of its submission to the Committee when this is completed
towards the end of January.
3. The Authority supports Government's intention
to re-shape the regulation of broadcasting, spectrum management
and telecommunications in the UK. We are participating actively
in the complex and demanding transition process, preparing for
OFCOM, while awaiting the detailed legislation to give effect
to this planning. Our main concerns at this stage in the process
are as follows:
— that OFCOM must be a world class
regulator, and represents an improvement on what currently exists;
— that, in its operations, OFCOM must
be flexible and non-bureaucratic, able to respond quickly to a
rapidly changing technological environment, but without losing
the qualities valued in the existing regulatory patterns;
— that OFCOM ensures that radio solutions
are created for radio problems, and that the need for a degree
of sector-specific regulation is reflected in OFCOM's internal
structure;
— that OFCOM should have a role, where
appropriate, in overseeing issues relating to the BBC;
— that momentum towards OFCOM coming
into being is not impeded, or uncertainty injected, leading to
stalling of progress and a consequent loss of morale and personnel.
BACKGROUND
"In the year to September 2000 advertisers
invested £522 million in commercial radio. This is an increase
of 15.5 per cent on the previous full year and is leading commercial
radio to a 6 per cent share of the advertising market in 2000
... over the last year there has been a fall in the number of
people relying on television as their primary source of news,
and an increase in the number relying on radio".
4. The development of independent radio
in the UK, under the Radio Authority's stewardship since 1991,
has been a widely acknowledged success. From its launch in 1973,
Independent Local Radio (ILR) enjoyed steady growth through the
1970s and 1980s. The Broadcasting Act 1990 heralded the creation
of the Radio Authority to help ensure sufficient attention was
given to the needs of independent radio, and permitted the introduction
of Independent National Radio (INR).
5. Listening to commercial radio has increased
more than 40 per cent since the Authority was founded at the start
of 1991. By 1998, independent radio was estimated to account for
about 50 per cent of listening in the UK. Radio was the fastest
growing advertising medium over the last decade, with its share
of the overall advertising "cake" growing from 2 per
cent to 6 per cent. Today, there are 3 national analogue and one
digital licences in operation, and at local level 255 analogue
and 33 digital licences. It is this legacy—this success
story, and one which sees the UK as a leader in the field of digital
broadcasting—which we are determined should be protected
and progressed under OFCOM.
World Class Regulator
6. It is important that OFCOM should represent
an improvement on what exists currently from the five regulators
(Broadcasting Standards Commission, Independent Television Commission,
Office of Telecommunications, Radio Communications Agency and
the Radio Authority). OFCOM must be much more than a sum of the
parts. It must be—and be seen to be—a 21st century
regulator.
Flexibility
7. In a rapidly changing technological environment,
it will be important for OFCOM to ensure it is non-bureaucratic
and quick on its feet in responding to change. We believe that
government should delegate secondary legislative powers to OFCOM,
subject to appropriate Ministerial clearance, to enable a swift
response to change, and to avoid the delays in changing primary
legislation which are inescapable, given the need to seek space
in a crowded Parliamentary timetable.
Radio Problems/Solutions
8. The success of the Radio Authority in
providing a focus for radio issues since its advent in 1991 has
ensured that radio solutions are developed for radio problems,
and radio is not seen as an adjunct of television. We are keen
to ensure this position is maintained within OFCOM, and to that
end have recommended the establishment of a Radio Group within
the new structure. We are determined that radio shall not return
to being a `Friday afternoon job' for a regulator concerned with
the bigger battalions, and that radio is not subject to arbitrary
regulation lacking the relevant expertise.
BBC and OFCOM
9. There seems little logic in excluding
the BBC from OFCOM's remit. We believe there are areas, such as
frequency planning, where there is a natural common interest in
working under one roof and ensuring both an economy of scale and
that decisions are made against a wider picture. Similarly, we
question the need for the Secretary of State for Culture, Media
and Sport to decide on BBC's plans for digital radio. Instead
it would seem more sensible for such issues to be handled by OFCOM.
More widely, we see merit in OFCOM being empowered to amend by
secondary legislation to ensure that it can act swiftly in response
to a fast moving technological environment.
Momentum
10. It will be important to ensure that
momentum towards the creation and coming into being of OFCOM is
maintained over the next couple of years, Assuming the OFCOM Paving
Bill clears the Houses of Parliament in the coming months, and
the main Communications Bill is published in April allowing time
for pre-legislative scrutiny by both Houses, and then introduced
in the autumn, OFCOM should come into being by the end of 2003.
11. Much detailed planning needs to be undertaken
between now and then to make this happen and ensure an orderly
transition from the existing five regulators to the new OFCOM.
We are keen to ensure there are no unnecessary delays in this
process to provide some certainty, to enable the five regulators
to ensure "business as usual" until the new structures
come into play, and to allow staff to make informed choices on
their plans for the future.
10 January 2002
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