Clause 3 - General duties of OFCOM
Communications Bill
10:15 am
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon and East Chelmsford, Conservative)
At our sitting on Tuesday, we spent some time debating whether sufficient prominence was given to clause 3(3)(b), which is on the principles of regulation, as recommended by the better regulation task force. The Minister was clearly not persuaded by our argument that those principles should be given stronger prominence. The amendments focus on the first of those principles, that of transparency. They would strengthen the
requirement on Ofcom to be transparent in its decisions.
Amendment No. 132 refers to clause 3(6), which states that:
''Where it appears to OFCOM that any of their general duties conflict with each other in a particular case, they must secure that the conflict is resolved in the manner they think best in the circumstances.''
That is a fairly unremarkable requirement. The amendment would require Ofcom to publish the reason for its decision where there had been such a conflict between its various duties. As we have already debated, given the scope of Ofcom, its many duties, the speed of development of the technology in the sector for which it is responsible and the huge importance of the decisions, there is no doubt that conflicts will arise. Clearly, Ofcom will in some cases have a difficult task in deciding which requirement to give prominence to. Those who will be affected by that decision—both users and providers—should be entitled to know what has led Ofcom to reach a decision. That is the purpose of amendment No. 132. New clause 6 is designed to achieve the same objective.
During earlier debates, and particularly during the Joint Committee's debates, consideration was given to whether Ofcom should hold its meetings in public, and it was decided that that may not be appropriate. I do not wish to contest that. However, there is already a requirement on Ofcom to publish a statement on how promptly it is meeting its requirements. The purpose of new clause 6 is to place a similar requirement on Ofcom to publish a clear statement about what it is doing to achieve standards of openness. All Committee members want Ofcom to be open: it is important that everyone who will be affected by it—and, as I have said, they will represent a huge range of interests—understands the way in which it reaches its decisions and the factors that it takes into account. Both amendment No. 132 and the new clause are designed to achieve that objective.