Clause 5 - Winding up of OFCOM on abandonment etc.of proposals
Office of Communications Bill [Lords]
12:45 pm
Mrs Anne McIntosh (Vale of York, Conservative)
Thank you.
If the communications Bill does not appear before the House this spring, or by the autumn, or even by spring next year, it would be a right and proper for the matter to be considered by a Joint Committee of both Houses of Parliament. The composition of such a Joint Committee would be determined not by the Government, but by both Houses of Parliament, although I am not sure which House would have seniority. I had the privilege of serving on a Joint Committee of both Houses of Parliament and was told that if another similar Joint Committee was set up it would be the turn of the House of Commons to provide the Chairman. However, the Joint Committee would, no doubt, make a joint decision, so seniority would be of no consequence.
It should be for the Secretary of State to deem that it is no longer necessary for Ofcom to continue to exist. It may be necessary to prompt the Secretary of State to reach a decision, but that is not apparent in the Bill, so amendment No. 59 is necessary. Without it, primary legislation would not come before Parliament, although there is another procedure that we shall discuss in connection with clause 5 stand part, whereby a statutory instrument can be laid and prayed against. That is an unsatisfactory procedure and depends on
the vigilance of an active official Opposition in monitoring statutory instruments to ensure that they do not slip through unannounced.
Our purpose today—or on Report, or even on Third Reading—is to ensure that once Ofcom has been brought into existence, it does not continue longer than absolutely necessary. Our sunset provision—we have overcome our disappointment—would have introduced a time scale that would have helped the Minister to concentrate his Department's mind on whether Ofcom should continue for one year or 18 months, although the Opposition believe that one year would have been sufficient, from the date of the Bill's enactment.
The Bill fails to provide for the Department, having strung us along and promised a communications Bill, leaving us with only the little baby paving legislation--