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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will (a) refund community radio stations' Ofcom transmitter and relay licence fees to support those stations during the covid-19 outbreak and (b) take steps to ensure that those stations do not incur those costs in future.

This is a matter for Ofcom, who are responsible for setting and collecting licence fees from radio broadcast licence holders, including those payable by community radio stations.

Ofcom have taken steps to engage with community radio stations that are struggling to meet fees, and have made arrangements with a number of broadcast licence holders that are having difficulties. Community stations should contact Ofcom if they have fees that they are unable to pay as the result of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.