Consultation outcome

Consultation on analogue community radio licensing

From:: Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Published: 8 November 2023
Last updated: 10 December 2024 — See all updates

Read the full outcome

Government response to the consultation on analogue community radio licensing

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Community Radio Order - De minimis assessment

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Detail of outcome

The government has consulted on whether to amend current legislation (by means of an amendment to the Community Radio Order 2004) to allow Ofcom to renew analogue community radio licences that are approaching expiry at the end of 2025.

Subject to the necessary approvals, the government will now proceed to draft and lay the Community Radio Order 2025 in order to:

Allow community radio licences to be renewed for an additional 10 year period.
Relax advertising and sponsorship restrictions related to community radio, with protections written into the legislation to protect commercial radio stations operating in the same regions as community radio stations.

Detail of feedback received

The consultation had 44 responses. We are grateful to everyone who took the time to respond and share their experience, views and suggestions. All valid responses were considered in the development of policy and this government response.

Responses received were attributable to members of the public, Members of Parliament, current community radio licence-holders, and industry bodies.

Original consultation

Consultation description

Analogue community radio licences will begin to expire from October 2025, and given the need for stations - and Ofcom, who are responsible for managing these licences - to have clarity well in advance of this date, it is now time to review the legislative framework for analogue community radio licensing.

To date, analogue community radio licences have been issued for an initial five years in accordance with the provisions of the Broadcasting Act 1990 and the Community Radio Order 2004, with subsequent Orders amending the relevant provisions such as to enable Ofcom to extend these licences for a further five years on three occasions. These incremental changes to the legislation have balanced both the relative scarcity of analogue spectrum (which has acted as a counter-argument against longer, or indeed perpetual licences), and a desire to ensure that stations have the stability and certainty to develop their services. We are seeking views in this consultation on whether - and if so, for how long - to legislate to enable licences to be extended again.

We would also welcome views on the current restrictions on the capacity of stations to raise money through advertising and sponsorship.

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