Campaign Archive
Independent Radio Programmes For Children
EDM number 2607 in 2005-06, proposed by Don Foster on 19/07/2006.
That this House notes that the Broadcasting Act requires children’s programmes to be included in independent television schedules, but that no such protection exists for independent radio; and calls on the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to propose legislation to protect children’s rights and needs in relation to independent UK radio.
Signed by of 42 MPs across all parties.
NB: Nothing has been done by successive governments; Regulators; BBC Governors; BBC Trustees or BBC Executives and the situation has worsened year on year. In February the BBC erased from the R7 Service Licence a core mandate to provide UK children with an advertisement free home: handing 75% of their air-time and 50% of their budget to adult listeners. Despite the vast expansion of capacity, children are left with less PSB radio than Children’s Hour provided in the 1940s, when the Home Service was the only delivery platform. The English Language is our greatest export and we should lead the world in children’s radio production. Moreover, leading speech therapists and educators agree that the crucial skills of listening and language acquisition would be greatly improved by a daily diet of high quality radio, which would underpin their remedial work in this area of poverty.
Early day motion 1133
CHILDREN’S RADIO
- Session: 1995-96
- Date tabled: 10.07.1996
- Primary sponsor: Livingstone, Ken
- Sponsors:
That this House recognises the important and unique role which children’s radio can play in encouraging young people to think creatively in a way which television is unable to do, that in light of the BBC’s decision to withdraw from primary schools radio, the need to supply high quality, creative radio to children is now even more important,that it is also important that a range of children’s programmes should be broadcast at times when children can hear them; and calls on the Government to look into ways to encourage children’s radio, at both the local and national level.
Signed by 27 MPs across all parties
