Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to expedite the process for the licensing of Cannock Radio radio station in Cannock Chase constituency.

Ofcom is responsible for licensing community radio services and has awarded over 300 licences since 2005. Over 220 community stations are broadcasting throughout the UK.

Applications for community radio licences are considered by Ofcom in accordance with the requirements of the Community Radio Order 2004. In order to treat all applicants equally, and given the high volume of potential applicants, Ofcom's policy is carry out licensing in rounds, inviting applications from each region of the UK in turn. For similar reasons of fairness, Ofcom does not accept an application from specific groups in a region without also accepting applications from across the whole region.

Ofcom invited applicants for the West and East Midlands in the first half 2014, with the closing date for applications on 24 June 2014. Ofcom has not yet confirmed a timetable for further licensing rounds, however Ofcom notes the continuing interest from potential applicant groups, as this will help inform its decisions on future licensing.

A total of 9 licences in the Midlands during the current round of licensing - most recently 3 licences were awarded in January 2015 to stations in the Midlands region. More details can be found on the Ofcom website: http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/radio-broadcast-licensing/community-radio/current-licensees/awards-round-3/.

Full details on applying for community radio licenses can also be found on Ofcom’s website: http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/radio-broadcast-licensing/community-radio/apply-for-licence/