Clause 3 - General duties of Ofcom
Communications Bill
6:30 pm
Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire, Conservative)
Does the Minister recall saying in February 2000 during discussion of the Utilities Bill and the general duties under clause 9 that
''the duties form a hierarchy, which is designed to assist regulators in resolving potentially conflicting regulatory objectives.''—[Official Report, 29 February 2000; Vol. 61, c. 233.]
My worry is that the Minister is escaping from the reality that Ofcom will, in practice, seek to pursue its objectives in the most deregulatory fashion, which, by definition, must be through competition wherever appropriate. If, in practice, competition is the primary mechanism for delivering its objectives, why do we not reflect that in the duties in a way that allows Ofcom to deliver its objectives in a way that is more legally robust?