By Emmanuel Oluebube, Bureau Chief, UK

Ofcom is  proposing to simplify and streamline some of the regulatory requirements on community radio stations, so services can focus on delivering social gain for their local communities.

Ofcom says: “Specifically, we are consulting on varying community radio licences to afford stations greater flexibility with regard to their’ Key Commitments – which describe the service they are required to provide.

We consider that current format of Key Commitments focuses too heavily on specific quotas, taking focus away from the character of service and social gain requirements. We have also heard from the community radio sector that overly prescriptive Key Commitments can divert resources from vital aspects of their services.

So, we want to ensure that licensees have more flexibility to determine how best to serve their community, while ensuring appropriate rules remain in place to protect the overarching character of a service. To do this, we are proposing to remove specific quotas on:

• the types of programming to be broadcast – for example, the main types of music and speech output;
• the number of hours of original output broadcast each week; and  the number of hours of locally produced output.

“We are also proposing specific safeguards to ensure that, for stations which broadcast in non-English languages, these languages are specified in the character of their service.

We are now seeking views on our proposals by Thursday 13 June 2024, which will be considered before reaching a final decision. “