Reference: 1-220506883
22 November 2012
By email
John Whitcome
Claire Pressdee-Collins
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Information Requests
xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Mr Whitcome
Freedom of Information: Right to know request
Thank you for your request for information regarding pirate radio stations broadcasting in the
West Midlands County from January 2005 until November 2012. We received your request
on 30 October 2012 and have considered it under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘the
Act’). I have answered your questions in turn below.
The information on unlicensed broadcasting pre 2007 is held on Ofcom’s archived system
and is not readily accessible as a considerable amount of time would be needed to locate,
retrieve, identify and extract any relevant information. Section 12 of the Act provides that a
public authority is not obliged to comply with a request for information if the authority
estimates that the cost of complying with the request would exceed the “appropriate limit”.
The appropriate limit is set out in the Freedom of Information and Data Protection
(Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004, and is, for Ofcom, £450. That sum is
intended to cover the estimated costs involved in determining whether Ofcom holds the
information requested, identifying, locating, retrieving and extracting the information from any
document containing it. The Regulations provide that costs are to be estimated at a rate of
£25 per person per hour.
Ofcom estimates that it would take at least 18 hours to identify, locate and extract the
information you require for this question and as such the cost of complying with your request
will exceed the appropriate limit. We will therefore not be able to provide any information pre
2007.
1. How many prosecutions against individuals have taken place between the
specified dates?
27
(from 2007 to end Oct 2012)
2. Out of the number of persons identified, how many have had multiple
prosecutions?
None
3. Please list the names of all the unlicensed broadcast stations and the number of
times enforcement action has been carried against each of them, clearly showing
the method of enforcement used (i.e.: studio raid, main transmitter removal,
mobile telephones disconnected, website domain name blocking etc).
IB Station
YEAR
Freq(s)
Studio
TX
Link
Aerials
involved
2010
Caribbean Vibes?
99.7
1
2012
Dance Asia
92.4
3
1
2007
Deep FM
89.6
1
2012
Deep FM
89.6
1
1
2011
Distinct FM
87.5
3
2010
Dream FM
92.3
2
2008
Dream FM
99.2
1
2007
Frontline FM
106.3 /
1
2010
Frontline FM
106.3 /
2
2012
Frontline FM
106.3 /
1
2009
Fubar FM
90.2
1
2011
Fusion
90.2
2
2012
Fusion
90.2
1
2007
Hot FM
92.0
1
18
2008
Hot FM
92.0
1
7
2
2009
Hot FM
92.0
1
3
2010
Hot FM
92.0
9
3
2011
Hot FM
92.0
5
2012
Hot FM
92.0
1
2009
Irie UK
99.7 / 99.4
5
2010
Irie UK
99.7 / 99.4
2
2011
Irie UK
99.7 / 99.4
1
4
2012
Irie UK
99.7 / 99.4
1
2007
Kriss FM
95.1 / 95.3
1
4
2008
Kriss FM
95.1 / 95.3
1
6
2009
Kriss FM
95.1 / 95.3
1
4
2010
Kriss FM
95.1 / 95.3
1
1
2011
Kriss FM
95.1 / 95.3
1
1
2012
Kriss FM
95.1 / 95.3
1
1
2007
Midlands Rush
92.2 / 58.3 / 97.5
1
5
2008
Midlands Rush
92.2 / 58.3 / 97.5
1
2
2009
Midlands Rush
92.2 / 58.3 / 97.5
2
2010
Midlands Rush
92.2 / 58.3 / 97.5
1
1
2009
Pure FM
97.5
3
2010
Pure FM
97.5
1
2007
Real FM
99.6 / 99.7
4
4
2008
Real FM
99.6 / 99.7
1
2009
Real FM
99.6 / 99.7
1
1
2010
Real FM
99.6 / 99.7
1
2007
Silk City
101.5
5
3
2008
Silk City
101.5
1
2009
Silk City
101.5
5
1
2007
Skyline FM
94.2
6
8
2008
Skyline FM
94.2
3
2009
Skyline FM
94.2
1
1
2010
Skyline FM
94.2
1
2012
Skyline FM
94.2
1
2007
Smooth
93.8
2
10
3
2008
Smooth
93.8
1
2007
Sting FM
107.5 / 97.5 / 106.6
37
3
2008
Sting FM
107.5 / 97.5 / 106.6
7
2009
Sting FM
107.5 / 97.5 / 106.6
1
5
2010
Sting FM
107.5 / 97.5 / 106.6
2
11
2010
Supergold Stafford
97.5
1
1
2007
True FM
103.5
1
2007
Underground FM
107.0
1
11
5
2008
Underground FM
107.0
2
1
2009
Vibez
87.5
3
2010
Yard Vibes
99.2 / 99.7
1
2
2008
Unidentifed
92.4
1
6
2010
Unidentifed
?
1
1
1
2011
Unidentifed
?
1
4. How many enforcement visits have been as a result from information supplied
from members of the public or licence paying broadcasters.
Reports/complaints from the public can determine the level of action that Ofcom takes.
Although we cannot directly attribute each single report to an enforcement operation we can
confirm the following number of complaints were received in the West Midlands as under:
2007
22
2008
46
2009
29
2010
18
2011
13
2012
2
5. Please supply a breakdown of costs for each case of enforcement action carried
out.
This information is not readily accessible as a considerable amount of time would be needed
to locate, retrieve, identify and extract any relevant information. Section 12 of the Act applies,
as explained above.
6. Please give details of any complaints or allegations made against Ofcom's staff in
the enforcement section.
We do not hold this information. We do not believe there were any complaints have been
made against Ofcom staff post-2007
7. Out of the unlicensed broadcast stations identified, if any have not had
enforcement action against them please supply information as to why it hasn't
taken place.
We do not hold this information. We do not believe there were any complaints made against
Ofcom staff post-2007
8. How many reports of interference to safety of life services or aviation have been
reported in West Yorkshire between the dates stated above, if any please state
which authority reported it and if the interference was proven to be attributed to
pirate radio?
1 report from Swanwick/NATS re interference to Birmingham Airport. Proven to be an illegal
broadcast station in Birmingham.
I hope this information has been helpful. If you require any further information or would like to
talk through any issues regarding the information you have requested then please do not
hesitate to give me a ring. I will be more than happy to pass your details on to one of our
experts in this area.
Please ensure that when using the provided information in any way, you comply with all
relevant legislation. For example, the information provided may be protected by copyright
under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended). If in doubt, please seek
independent legal advice. For Ofcom’s policy on copyright and related issues, please refer
to
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/disclaimer.
Yours sincerely
Claire Pressdee-Collins
If you are unhappy with the response or level of service you have received in relation to your request from Ofcom, you may
ask for an internal review. If you ask us for an internal review of our decision, it will be treated as a formal complaint and will
be subject to an independent review within Ofcom. We will acknowledge the complaint and inform you of the date by which
you might expect to be told the outcome.
The following outcomes are possible:
• the original decision is upheld; or
• the original decision is reversed or modified.
Timing
If you wish to exercise your right to an internal review
you should contact us within two months of the date of this
letter. There is no statutory deadline for undertaking internal reviews and it will depend upon the complexity of the case.
However, we aim to conclude all such reviews within 20 working days, and up to 40 working days in exception cases. We will
keep you informed of the progress of any such review. If you wish to request an internal review, you should contact:
Graham Howell
The Secretary to the Corporation
Ofcom
Riverside House
2a Southwark Bridge Road
London SE1 9HA
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information
Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
