BBC Local Radio Service Licence. Issue date: 18 December 2006 This Service Licence takes effect from 1 January 2007 BBC Local Radio This Service Licence covers BBC Local Radio in England. Each of the 38 individual stations is described in Annex II of this licence Part I: Key characteristics of the service 1. Remit The remit of BBC Local Radio is to provide a primarily speech-based service of news, information and debate to urban and rural communities. Speech output should be complimented by music. The target audience should be listeners aged 50 and over, who are not well-served elsewhere. There should be a strong emphasis on interactivity and audience involvement. 2. Scope of this Licence Each station should broadcast at least between 05.00hrs and midnight on weekdays and between 06.00hrs and midnight at weekends. Each station may be available on analogue radio (FM/AM) in England. Stations may also be available on DAB digital radio and digital television platforms and they may be simulcast on the internet. Each service may offer its programmes streamed on-demand for a limited period after broadcast and other interactive programme-related content via bbc.co.uk. 3. Service budget BBC Local Radio has a service budget of £96.3 million in 2006/07. This may be adjusted annually for Retail Price Inflation. Any planned or actual change in annual expenditure on the service of more than 10% in real value requires approval from the BBC Trust and may entail variation of this Service Licence. 1 BBC Local Radio Service Licence. Issue date: 18 December 2006 This Service Licence takes effect from 1 January 2007 4. Overview of aims and objectives BBC Local Radio programmes should exhibit some or all of the following characteristics: high quality, original, challenging, innovative and engaging, and it should nurture UK talent. BBC Local Radio should deliver its remit by providing accurate, impartial and independent news and programmes that set local issues in context. The output should be relevant and act as a trusted guide to local and other issues for its audiences. BBC Local Radio should champion the local area and call to account decision makers. It should also reflect the diversity of communities served. The presentation style and tone should encourage participation. Programmes should offer listeners the opportunity to contribute, and there should be opportunities for listeners to tell their own stories. Output should be all speech at the breakfast peak and the service should be speech-led in daytime. Music output should be mainstream in peaktime and include specialist in off-peak hours. Specialist music should be appropriate to the area. Current and recent1 chart hits should represent a low proportion of weekly music output. BBC Local Radio should use some non-broadcast methods to extend its reach, and that of the BBC, into local communities. BBC Local Radio should promote digital technologies to its audiences, and its buses and open centres should provide opportunities for listeners to try out digital platforms. Each local radio station should also be linked to a website providing local news and information. 1 “Recent” is defined as released within the past 12 months 2 BBC Local Radio Service Licence. Issue date: 18 December 2006 This Service Licence takes effect from 1 January 2007 Part II: Contribution to public value 5. Contribution to the promotion of the BBC’s public purposes2 5.1 Sustaining citizenship and civil society BBC Local Radio should make a very important contribution to this purpose amongst its audience. It should encourage a shared sense of civic responsibility among its listeners by providing constantly updated, accurate, impartial and independent news and information on local, national and international matters. It should host wide-ranging discussions on matters of local concern and hold elected and unelected decision makers to account, and frequently offer listeners opportunities to contribute to the output and take an active part in their local communities. The service should aim to be the primary conduit of information during weather crises or other local civil emergencies. Conditions BBC Local Radio should: · Broadcast an average of at least 60% speech content in core hours and 100% at the breakfast peak each year 5.2 Reflecting the UK’s nations, regions and communities BBC Local Radio should make a very important contribution to this purpose amongst its audience, primarily by placing local and community concerns at the centre of the output. All stations should carry religious output reflecting the faiths followed in their area and all should provide religious output on Sundays. All stations should mount regular outside broadcasts at events across the local area and report on their local sports teams. Where they exist, local minority audiences should be catered for. BBC Local Radio should use specially equipped buses and open centres to extend its reach into local communities. Buses and open centres should be used to encourage local communities to make their own creative content for broadcast. 2 When Purpose Remits have been adopted by the BBC Trust in 2007, this Service Licence will set out how this service will contribute to the promotion of relevant priorities set out in Purpose Remits. 3 BBC Local Radio Service Licence. Issue date: 18 December 2006 This Service Licence takes effect from 1 January 2007 It should work with network radio and television to deliver local material into national programmes. Conditions BBC Local Radio should: · Broadcast at least 230,000 hours of local output each year. Less than 2.5% of this should be repeats. 5.3 Stimulating creativity and cultural excellence BBC Local Radio should contribute to this purpose amongst its audience. It should provide opportunities for new and emerging musicians from the local area and support local arts and music events by providing event information. Music output should be mainstream in peaktime and include specialist in off-peak hours. Specialist music should be appropriate to the area. Current and recent chart hits should represent no more than 15%3 of weekly music output. BBC Local Radio stations should take advantage of their structure – small teams and no formal commissioning structure - to act as a test bed for new production ideas and ways of working, and for developing new talent. 5.4 Promoting education and learning BBC Local Radio should contribute to this purpose amongst its audience. Buses and open centres should be used, in partnership with educational agencies, to engage adult learners. BBC Local Radio should contribute to pan-BBC learning and social action campaigns. 5.5 Bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK BBC Local Radio should play its part in contributing to this purpose amongst its audience, primarily by bringing the world to the UK. Its news bulletins should cover key international events and issues. 3 “Recent” is defined as released within the past 12 months 4 BBC Local Radio Service Licence. Issue date: 18 December 2006 This Service Licence takes effect from 1 January 2007 5.6 Emerging communications The BBC’s sixth public purpose is defined in the Charter as "in promoting its other purposes, helping to deliver to the public the benefit of emerging communications technologies and services and, in addition, taking a leading role in the switchover to digital television". BBC Local Radio should contribute to the promotion of this purpose in a variety of ways which are described in this Service Licence. 5 BBC Local Radio Service Licence. Issue date: 18 December 2006 This Service Licence takes effect from 1 January 2007 6. Annexes to this Licence 6.1 Annex I – Performance assessment The performance of BBC Local Radio will be assessed by the Trust using the framework described in Annex I. BBC Local Radio’s compliance with any Conditions, as described in section 5, will also be measured on an annual basis and reported in the Annual Report and Accounts. The BBC Trust will expect BBC Local Radio to comply with the commitments described in sections 4 and 5 of the Service Licence. The BBC Trust will monitor compliance with these commitments retrospectively as part of its periodic service reviews and/or on an exceptional basis if there is evidence or allegation of non-compliance. 6.2 Annex II – Licences for individual BBC Local Radio stations The particular remit and commitments of each BBC Local Radio station are described in Annex II to this licence. 7. Operation of this Service Licence by the BBC Trust For details of how the BBC Trust operates this Service Licence, please see the Service Licence Operating Framework. This is available from www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust or upon request from the BBC Trust Unit. 6 BBC Local Radio Service Licence. Issue date: 18 December 2006 This Service Licence takes effect from 1 January 2007 Annex I: Performance measurement framework Introduction The BBC Trust has the function of assessing the performance of the Executive Board in delivering the BBC’s services and activities and holding the Executive Board to account for its performance.4 It will use the framework described below as the basis for its assessment of BBC Local Radio. The framework is based around the four drivers of public value: Reach, Quality, Impact and Value for money and it includes measurement of the five content characteristics, as described in the BBC Agreement5: high quality, challenging, original, innovative and engaging. The Trust can amend this framework without this constituting formal variation to this Service Licence. Performance measurement framework Reach: BBC Local Radio should contribute towards the maintenance of combined BBC weekly reach6 at over 90% by aiming to maintain its own weekly reach, particularly amongst its stated target audience.