Oral Answers to Questions

Amanda Milling Excerpts

Thursday 9th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Whittingdale]

And possibly the Wilson family, too. I am most grateful to you, Mr Speaker, for your assistance. My hon. Friend nevertheless makes an important point—that the sacrifice of our citizens in the first world war represented contributions made by every single part of the United Kingdom, and it is extremely important to commemorate that. As my hon. Friend will be aware, on the centenary day of 1 July next year, there is a major event at Thiepval in northern France. I am sure that other parts of the UK will want to participate, including the great cities that he mentioned.

[Amanda Milling (Cannock Chase) (Con)]

9. What steps the Government are taking to promote and support local community radio.

[The Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

Community radio is a fantastic success story in this country. We have almost 230 radio stations on air and we maintain our community radio fund.

[Amanda Milling]

The current regional system for awarding FM licences to community radio stations has resulted in Cannock Radio having no clear timeframe in which to apply. Would my hon. Friend consider replacing that system with one that is more predictable, fair and frequent?

[Mr Vaizey]

I hear what my hon. Friend says, and I know that the Leader of the House visited the brilliant Cannock Radio station with her recently. At the moment, we want to keep the regional system because we believe that it provides greater certainty than an on-demand system. However, I will certainly talk to Ofcom about the point that she has made.