Clause 1 - The Office of Communications
Office of Communications Bill [Lords]
3:00 pm
Dr Kim Howells (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Culture, Media & Sport; Pontypridd, Labour)
I shall answer that in a moment. Where there are legitimate interests, Ofcom should ensure that they are reflected satisfactorily in the committees that it may establish.
Turning to amendment No. 54, in December 2000 the then Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Smith), stated clearly in response to questions from hon. Members about whether Ofcom would have offices in Scotland and Wales that it would have a presence there. I am happy to reconfirm that in Committee. The details of how that will be achieved will be a matter for Ofcom. We should not be so heavy handed as to tell Ofcom what sort of office to set up, where to set it up and what its relationship should be with the devolved bodies, although I am determined that it will have a proper relationship with them.
Turning to the point made by the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr. Allan), I expect Ofcom to consult closely with the devolved assemblies and the English regions to ensure that constituents' needs are taken into account in an appropriate way. The
amendments tabled by the hon. Member for Ceredigion raise some interesting issues about how best to ensure that Ofcom relates properly to the nations and regions. I am certain that those issues will have a good airing when we draft and put out to consultation the communications Bill.