Standing Committee E
Tuesday 10 December 2002
(Afternoon)
[Mr. Peter Atkinson in the Chair]
4.30 pm
The Chairman: I share my co-Chairman's ruling about jackets. Members of the Committee are welcome to take them off without asking the Chair.
Mr. Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire): On a point of order, Mr. Atkinson. May I interrupt myself, as it were? This morning we were discussing the clauses on the use of the radio spectrum as well as the current inquiry and pre-legislative scrutiny of the Select Committee on Trade and Industry of those clauses. May I secure your agreement to tell this Committee that the Select Committee intends to report its findings next week? Any issues arising from it can be discussed on 9 January and amendments that may be considered appropriate can be tabled and debated at that sitting.
The Chairman: Thank you. That was not a point of order for the Chair, but I am sure that the Committee is grateful for such information. Clause 3
General duties of Ofcom
Amendment moved [this day]: No. 1, in
clause 3, page 3, line 3, leave out subsection (1) and insert—
'(1) It shall be the principal duty of OFCOM to further the interests of consumers in relevant markets, where appropriate by promoting competition.
(1A) It shall further be the duty of OFCOM, in carrying out their functions—
(a) to secure the optimal use for wireless telegraphy of the electro-magnetic spectrum;
(b) to secure the availability throughout the United Kingdom of a range of television and radio services which (taken as a whole) are of high quality, sufficient to appeal to a variety of tastes and interests, and of a plurality of views sufficient to meet the diverse interests of citizens; and
(c) to secure that standards falling with subsection (2) are applied in the case of all television and radio services.'.
The Chairman: With this it will be convenient to take the following:
Amendment No. 150, in
Amendment No. 195, in
clause 3, page 3, line 3, leave out subsection (1) and insert—
'(1) It shall be the principal duty of OFCOM in carrying out their functions—
(a) to further the long-term interests of all citizens—
(i) by ensuring the availability of a diversity and plurality of high quality content in television and radio;
(ii) to secure that standards falling within subsection (2) are applied in the case of all television and radio services;
(iii) to secure the optimal use of wireless telegraphy of the electromagnetic spectrum; and
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(b) to further the long-term interests of consumers by promoting the efficiency of electronic communications networks and services, and broadcasting and to do so wherever possible by promoting effective competition in national, regional and local communications markets throughout the United Kingdom.'.
Amendment No. 151, in
clause 3, page 3, line 3, after 'the', insert 'further'.
Amendment No. 130, in
clause 3, page 3, leave out lines 4 to 13 and insert 'to further the interests of consumers and citizens—
(a) wherever possible by promoting effective competition;
(b) by securing the optimal use for wireless telegraphy of the electromagnetic spectrum;
(c) by securing the universal availability of a wide range of diverse and high quality communications services throughout the United Kingdom; and
(d) by securing standards falling within subsection (2) which are applied in the case of all television and radio services.'.
Amendment No. 29, in
clause 3, page 3, line 4, leave out 'where appropriate by promoting competition'.
Amendment No. 124, in
clause 3, page 3, line 13, at end insert—
'(e) to secure, so far as practicable and in the manner that best takes account of the need to protect personal data, in order to protect copyrighted content, and to empower parents to protect children from harmful content, that open standards for technological security systems are established and implemented.'.
Amendment No. 127, in
Amendment No. 27, in
clause 3, page 3, line 13, at end insert 'and in carrying out their functions, OFCOM shall have regard to the principles under which regulatory activities should be transparent, accountable, proportionate, consistent and targeted only at cases in which action is needed'.
Amendment No. 196, in
clause 3, page 3, line 20, at end insert—
'(2A) In performing their duties under subsection (1), OFCOM must observe the principles under which regulatory activities should be transparent, accountable, proportionate, consistent and targeted only at cases in which action is needed.'.
Amendment No. 48, in
clause 3, page 3, leave out lines 21 to 23 and insert—
'(3) It shall also be the duty of OFCOM in carrying out their functions, and in the performance of their duties under subsection (1), to comply with the principles of good regulation, namely that regulatory activities should be transparent, accountable, proportionate, consistent and targeted only at cases in which action is needed.
(3A) Subject to subsection (3), it shall be the duty of OFCOM in carrying out their functions, and in the performance of their duties under subsection (1), to have regard in particular to such of the following as appear to them to be relevant in the circumstances—'.
Amendment No. 153, in
clause 3, page 3, leave out lines 21 to 23 and insert—
'(3) It shall also be the duty of OFCOM in carrying out their functions, and in the performance of their duties under subsection (1), to comply, except where issues of national security preclude compliance, with the principles of good regulation, namely that regulatory activities should be transparent, accountable, proportionate, consistent and targeted only at cases in which action is needed.
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(3A) Subject to subsection (3), it shall be the duty of OFCOM in carrying out their functions, and in the performance of their duties under subsection (1) to have regard in particular to such of the following as appear to them to be relevant in the circumstances—.'.
Amendment No. 46, in
clause 3, page 3, line 24 after 'promoting', insert 'long-term and sustainable'.
Amendment No. 152, in
Amendment No. 28, in
clause 3, page 3, line 25, leave out paragraph (b).
Amendment No. 47, in
clause 3, page 3, line 32, after 'encouraging', insert 'long-term and sustainable'.
Amendment No. 125, in
Amendment No. 131, in
clause 3, page 4, line 6, leave out 'and value for money' and insert 'value for money, universal access, fairness, information and redress'.
Amendment No. 34, in
clause 10, page 10, line 30, at end insert 'and'.
Amendment No. 35, in
clause 10, page 10, line 34, leave out from 'put' to end of line 37.
Mr. Lansley: Before I interrupted myself, I was saying at our earlier sitting that the Government's response to the Joint Committee was that they did not wish to attach greater weight to Ofcom's duty to further the interests of consumers through competition. The Government said:
''We are sure that the Committee will recognise how important it is that the duties properly reflect the breadth of all OFCOM's responsibilities, both economic and cultural''.
Indeed, there is no dissent on my part or anyone's part that the duties need to reflect the breadth of responsibility. The Government continue:
''and follow the proposition set out in the White Paper that each duty is of equal weight.''
My proposition is not that the duties have different weight, but that their structure should reflect the structure under which Ofcom should discharge its responsibilities. For example, its duty to protect the public against unwarranted infringements of privacy is no less important than its duty to further the interests of consumers, although some may argue that it is. My argument is that the duty to secure against unwarranted infringements of privacy does not represent the primary duty of Ofcom, but is a specific qualification to be set against the manner in which the regulator should approach the tasks. Listing the duties together would not necessarily mean that Ofcom would assume that it should attach exactly the same weight to the task of protecting the public against unwarranted infringements of privacy as it would to the task of promoting competition. That
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would be ridiculous because promoting competition in markets is a predominant activity for Ofcom. In practice, even though the legislation treats those duties as being of equal value, Ofcom will recognise that its principal objective is to promote competition in order to further the interests of consumers.
Oftel has gone down that path. It has considered its duties under the Telecommunications Act 1984 and has concluded that, in current circumstances, it should treat the promotion of competition as its primary duty. Similarly, in the gas and electricity markets, Ofgem treats competition as its primary duty—but that does not mean that it has no other responsibilities. For example, Ofgem has to take its statutory environmental responsibilities into account. I want the Bill to reflect the way in which Ofcom will have to undertake its tasks.
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