Broadcasting Act 1990

General provisions about licencesU.K.

86 Licences under Part III.U.K.

(1)A licence shall be in writing and (subject to the provisions of this Part) shall continue in force for such period as may be specified in the licence.

(2)A licence may be granted by the Authority for the provision of such a service as is specified in the licence or for the provision of a service of such a description as is so specified; and (without prejudice to the generality of the preceding provision) a licence may be so granted for the provision of a service which to any extent consists in the simultaneous broadcasting of different programmes on different frequencies.

(3)The following licences, namely—

(a)any licence to provide a national, local or satellite service,

(b)any licence to provide a licensable sound programme service, and

(c)any licence to provide additional services,

shall not continue in force for a period of more than eight years.

(4)The Authority—

(a)shall not grant a licence to any person unless they are satisfied that he is a fit and proper person to hold it; and

(b)shall do all that they can to secure that, if they cease to be so satisfied in the case of any person holding a licence, that person does not remain the holder of the licence;

and nothing in this Part shall be construed as affecting the operation of this subsection or of section 88(1) or (2)(b) or (c) or 89(1).

[F1(4A)Where the Authority are not satisfied that a BBC company which has applied for a licence is a fit and proper person to hold it, they shall, before refusing the application, notify the Secretary of State that they are not so satisfied.]

(5)The Authority may vary a licence by a notice served on the licence holder if—

(a)in the case of a variation of the period for which the licence is to continue in force, the licence holder consents; or

(b)in the case of any other variation, the licence holder has been given a reasonable opportunity of making representations to the Authority about the variation.

(6)Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) does not affect the operation of section 110(1)(b); and that subsection shall not authorise the variation of any conditions included in a licence in pursuance of section 102(1) or section 118(1).

(7)A licence granted to any person under this Part shall not be transferable to any other person without the previous consent in writing of the Authority.

(8)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (7), the Authority shall not give their consent for the purposes of that subsection unless they are satisfied that any such other person would be in a position to comply with all of the conditions included in the licence which would have effect during the period for which it is to be in force.

(9)The holding by any person of a licence to provide any service shall not relieve him of any requirement to hold a licence under section 1 of the M1Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 or section 7 of the M2Telecommunications Act 1984 in connection with the provision of that service.

87 General licence conditions.U.K.

(1)A licence may include—

(a)such conditions as appear to the Authority to be appropriate having regard to any duties which are or may be imposed on them, or on the licence holder, by or under this Act;

(b)conditions enabling the Authority to supervise and enforce technical standards in connection with the provision of the licensed service;

(c)conditions requiring the payment by the licence holder to the Authority (whether on the grant of the licence or at such times thereafter as may be determined by or under the licence, or both) of a fee or fees of an amount or amounts so determined;

(d)conditions requiring the licence holder to furnish the Authority, in such manner and at such times as they may reasonably require, with such information as they may require for the purpose of exercising the functions assigned to them by or under this Act;

(e)conditions requiring the licence holder, if found by the Authority to be in breach of any condition of his licence, to reimburse to the Authority, in such circumstances as are specified in any conditions, any costs reasonably incurred by them in connection with the breach of that condition;

(f)conditions providing for such incidental and supplemental matters as appear to the Authority to be appropriate.

(2)A licence may in particular include—

(a)conditions requiring the licence holder—

(i)to comply with any direction given by the Authority as to such matters as are specified in the licence or are of a description so specified, or

(ii)(except to the extent that the Authority consent to his doing or not doing them) not to do or to do such things as are specified in the licence or are of a description so specified; and

(b)conditions requiring the licence holder to permit—

(i)any employee of, or person authorised by, the Authority, or

(ii)any officer of, or person authorised by, the Secretary of State,

to enter any premises which are used in connection with the broadcasting of the licensed service and to inspect, examine, operate or test any equipment on the premises which is used in that connection.

(3)The fees required to be paid to the Authority by virtue of subsection (1)(c) shall be in accordance with such tariff as may from time to time be fixed by the Authority; and the amount of any fee which is to be so paid by the holder of a licence of a particular class or description shall be such as to represent what appears to the Authority to be the appropriate contribution of the holder of such a licence towards meeting the sums which the Authority regard as necessary in order to discharge their duty under paragraph 12(1) of Schedule 8.

(4)A tariff fixed under subsection (3) may specify different fees in relation to different cases or circumstances; and the Authority shall publish every such tariff in such manner as they consider appropriate.

(5)Where the holder of any licence—

(a)is required by virtue of any condition imposed under this Part to provide the Authority with any information, and

(b)in purported compliance with that condition provides them with any information which is false in a material particular,

he shall be taken for the purposes of sections 110 and 111 to have failed to comply with that condition.

(6)Nothing in this Act which authorises or requires the inclusion in a licence of conditions relating to any particular matter or having effect for any particular purpose shall be taken as derogating from the generality of subsection (1).

88 Restrictions on the holding of licences.U.K.

(1)The Authority shall do all that they can to secure—

(a)that a person does not become or remain the holder of a licence if he is a person who is a disqualified person in relation to that licence by virtue of Part II of Schedule 2 to this Act; and

(b)that any requirements imposed by or under Parts III to V of that Schedule are complied with by or in relation to persons holding licences in relation to which those requirements apply.

(2)The Authority may accordingly—

(a)require any applicant for a licence to provide them with such information as they may reasonably require for the purpose of determining—

(i)whether he is such a disqualified person as is mentioned in subsection (1)(a),

(ii)whether any such requirements as are mentioned in subsection (1)(b) would preclude them from granting a licence to him, and

(iii)if so, what steps would be required to be taken by or in relation to him in order for any such requirements to be complied with;

(b)revoke the award of a licence to a body where a relevant change takes place after the award, but before the grant, of the licence;

(c)make the grant of a licence to any person conditional on the taking of any specified steps that appear to them to be required to be taken as mentioned in paragraph (a)(iii);

(d)impose conditions in any licence enabling them to require the licence holder, if a body corporate, to give to them advance notice of proposals affecting—

(i)shareholdings in the body, or

(ii)the directors of the body,

where such proposals are known to the body;

(e)impose conditions in any licence enabling them to give the licence holder directions requiring him to take, or arrange for the taking of, any specified steps appearing to them to be required to be taken in order for any such requirements as are mentioned in subsection (1)(b) to be complied with.

[F2(2A)Before revoking in pursuance of subsection (2)(b) the award of a licence to a BBC company, the Authority shall give the Secretary of State notice of their intention to do so, specifying the relevant change.]

(3)Where the Authority—

(a)revoke the award of any licence in pursuance of subsection (2)(b), or

(b)determine that any condition imposed by them in relation to any licence in pursuance of subsection (2)(c) has not been satisfied,

any provisions of this Part relating to the awarding of licences of the kind in question shall (subject to subsection (4)) have effect as if the person to whom the licence was awarded or granted had not made an application for it.

(4)Those provisions shall not so have effect if the Authority decide that it would be desirable to publish a fresh notice under this Part in respect of the grant of a licence, or (as the case may be) a further licence, to provide the service in question.

(5)Every licence shall include such conditions as the Authority consider necessary or expedient to ensure that where—

(a)the holder of the licence is a body, and

(b)a relevant change takes place after the grant of the licence,

the Authority may revoke the licence by notice served on the holder of the licence and taking effect forthwith or on a date specified in the notice.

(6)The Authority shall not serve any such notice on the licence holder unless they have given him a reasonable opportunity of making representations to them about the matters complained of.

[F3(6C)The Authority shall not serve any such notice as is mentioned in subsection (5) on a BBC company unless they have given the Secretary of State notice of their intention to do so, specifying the relevant change.

(6D)Where the Authority receive any written representations from a BBC company under subsection (6), they shall send a copy of the representations to the Secretary of State.]

(7)In this section “relevant change”, in relation to a body to which a licence has been awarded or granted, means—

(a)any change affecting the nature or characteristics of the body, or

(b)any change in the persons having control over or interests in the body,

being (in either case) a change which is such that, if it fell to the Authority to determine whether to award the licence to the body in the new circumstances of the case, they would be induced by the change to refrain from so awarding it.

89 Disqualification for holding licence on grounds of conviction for transmitting offence.U.K.

(1)Subject to subsection (2), a person shall be disqualified for holding a licence under this Part if within the last five years he has been convicted of—

(a)an offence under section 1 of the M3Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 (licensing of wireless telegraphy) which involved the making of any transmission by wireless telegraphy otherwise than under and in accordance with a licence under that section;

(b)an offence under the M4Marine, &c., Broadcasting (Offences) Act 1967; or

(c)an offence under section 97 below.

(2)Subsection (1)(a) and (b) do not apply to any offence committed before 1st January 1989.

(3)Every licence granted under this Part shall include conditions requiring the holder of the licence to do all that he can to ensure that no person who is disqualified for holding a licence by virtue of subsection (1) is concerned in the operation of any station for wireless telegraphy used in the provision of the licensed service.