Broadcasting Act 1996

General provisions about licences

42Licences under Part II

(1)Any licence granted by the Radio Authority (in this Part referred to as “the Authority”) under this Part shall be in writing and (subject to the provisions of this Part) shall continue in force for such period as is provided, in relation to a licence of the kind in question, by the relevant provision of this Part.

(2)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 44(1) or (2)(b) or (c).

(3)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 a licence having effect for a specified period 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.

(4)Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) does not affect the operation of section 59(1)(b); and that subsection shall not authorise the variation of any condition included in a licence in pursuance of section 55(1).

(5)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.

(6)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (5), 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.

(7)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 [1949 c. 54.] Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 or section 7 of the [1984 c. 12.] Telecommunications Act 1984 in connection with the provision of that service.

43General licence conditions

(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 the 1990 Act or 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 to the 1990 Act.

(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 59, 62 and 66 of this Act and section 111 of the 1990 Act 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).

44Restrictions on holding of licences under Part II

(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 the 1990 Act (as amended by this Act); and

(b)that any requirements imposed by or under Parts III to V of that Schedule (as so amended) 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.

(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—

(a)the Authority have notified him of the matters complained of and given him a reasonable opportunity of making representations to them about those matters, and

(b)in a case where the relevant change is one falling within subsection (7)—

(i)they have also given him an opportunity of complying with Parts III and IV of Schedule 2 to the 1990 Act within a period specified in the notification, and

(ii)the period specified in the notification has elapsed.

(7)A relevant change falls within this subsection if it consists only in one or more of the following—

(a)a reduction in the total number of points, calculated in accordance with paragraph 9 of Part III of Schedule 2 to the 1990 Act, attributable to all the services referred to in paragraph 8(1) or (2)(a) or (b) of that Part of that Schedule,

(b)a change in the national market share (within the meaning of Part IV of that Schedule) of one or more national newspapers (within the meaning of that Part of that Schedule), or

(c)a change in the local market share (within the meaning of that Part of that Schedule) in a particular area of one or more local newspapers (within the meaning of that Part of that Schedule).

(8)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,

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

(c)any other change giving rise to a failure to comply with any requirement imposed by or under Schedule 2 to the 1990 Act,

being (in any 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.