Clause 1 - Functions and general powers of OFCOM
Communications Bill
12:00 pm
Dr Kim Howells (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Culture, Media & Sport; Pontypridd, Labour)
Borrowing must certainly be controlled, and I can imagine that there will be some very adult conversations at the Treasury about it. There will be times, as the hon. Gentleman knows, when the income flows to Ofcom, especially from licence fees, will vary. Ofcom may well need to make use of borrowing power sometimes, to smooth out cash flow over a period of time. I emphasise that Ofcom will need approval or authorisation from the Secretary of State before undertaking any borrowing.
We have previously given clear commitments that Ofcom will have a presence in the different nations of the United Kingdom, and we have agreed to the recommendation of the Joint Committee, which scrutinised the Bill, that there should be a requirement to underscore that commitment. I am glad that the hon. Member for Ceredigion welcomes the fact that that is in the Bill. However, I must tell him that I should not want to tie Ofcom down to meeting in Bangor, or even in Aberystwyth, before it meets in Pontypridd. It is a very pertinent point that Ofcom should not be seen as bound by the M25, or as a creature of the metropolis. It should have a vibrant working relationship with all parts of Britain. I am glad that the hon. Gentleman made that point.
We intend that, where appropriate, Ofcom should be able to contract out its functions to third parties. That is already the case with the Radiocommunications Agency, which contracts out certain functions to private companies. It is reasonable that Ofcom, too, should be able to do so. Subsection (7) provides for Part II of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 to apply to functions conferred on Ofcom. Under that provision, the Secretary of State will be able to make an order to enable functions of Ofcom to be contracted to a third party. Under subsection (7)(b), those functions will include Ofcom's powers to make subordinate legislation except where exercisable by statutory instrument. That provision will allow Ofcom to
contract out, for example, the development of codes and standards. I hope that the Committee welcomes that.
I shall deal briefly with some points that have been made, especially the issue raised by the hon. Member for Maldon and East Chelmsford—it is important that we get East Chelmsford into the Committee record—in relation to the appointment of Lord Currie and the board of Ofcom. Lord Currie's appointment as chairman of Ofcom and the appointments of non-executive members of the board were made fully in line with the Nolan procedures for public appointments. Under that process, appointments are open and are made on merit. I hope that the hon. Gentleman accepts that.
I shall address another matter raised by the hon. Member for Whittingdale—[Laughter.] Did I say Whittingdale? I am sorry—the hon. Member for Maldon and East Chelmsford. Whittingdale is probably a village just outside East Chelmsford. The hon. Gentleman asked about the case for regulating mobile telephony and quoted Lord Currie's paper. As I am sure the hon. Gentleman is aware, Oftel's proposals for the revision of existing controls on mobile termination charges have been referred to the Competition Commission. I would like to answer his question, but it would be inappropriate of me to comment on the matter at this stage. I do not want him to think that I have missed the point he made, because it is important.
The issue of broadband was raised by the hon. Member for Ceredigion and others. There is no specific mention of broadband because the Bill is technologically neutral. We are committed to the roll-out of broadband across the United Kingdom, but we do not feel that it requires a specific mention in the Bill. The Bill is designed to put in place a framework that can respond flexibly to developments in technology, but it is not about one technology rather than another. However, I know how vital broadband is to constituencies such as that of the hon. Member for Ceredigion and, indeed, that of every other member of the Committee.
The hon. Member for Ryedale asked whether clause 1 gives Ofcom sufficient flexibility to deal with changing circumstances. We have endeavoured to make the Bill as technologically neutral as possible, which is why there is no express mention of either broadband or analogue switch-off. Clause 6 is directed towards self-regulation and allowing Ofcom to respond to changing circumstances. Clause 1, however, is written in the broadest possible terms, and any possible limitations on what Ofcom can do are best addressed when we come to the specific clause on the subject. That is a point that the hon. Gentleman made himself.
The Government have made a commitment to adhere to the criteria for analogue switch-off that were announced by my right hon. Friend the Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Smith), then Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, in September 1999. They remain in place, and we continue to believe that switching off analogue
terrestrial transmission could start as early as 2006 and be completed by 2010.
We believe that a successful alliance between Government, industry and consumers within the framework detailed by the action plan will enable the United Kingdom to meet the criteria for switch-over laid down by my right hon. Friend in 1999. The Government made a commitment to adhering to those criteria. Switch-over is a complex and long-term process. I believe that a decision as important as that must lie with the Government, and they must be accountable to Parliament for making it. The hon. Member for Ceredigion makes an interesting point, but I hope that Parliament will see fit to debate the subject fully.