Clause 13 - Consumer research
Communications Bill
4:30 pm
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon and East Chelmsford, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 38 in
clause 13, page 13, line 44, leave out from 'network' to end of line 47.
Clause 13 deals with consumer research under the heading:
''Functions for the protection of consumers''.
The Minister has spoken about clause 390, which contains definitions. It is clear that, in this case, the definition of ''consumers'' goes a long way beyond what most people would imagine ''consumers'' to mean. In particular, the definition includes business customers. If one looks at the criteria on which research carried out by Ofcom will be based, it will become pretty clear that several criteria affect business customers but not domestic customers. Is the Minister confident that a requirement to respond to research requests from Ofcom will not place an undue burden on businesses?
The amendment would clarify a point that is accepted by the ITC and Oftel: television broadcasts are not services that are associated with electronic communications services. Broadcasters do not provide any form of electronic communications services to their viewers and their broadcasts are regulated only under part 3. Provisions in the Bill that indicate that television broadcasts are delivered to viewers as services associated with an electronic communications service must be changed to reflect that.
Subsection (4) states:
''OFCOM must make arrangements for ascertaining . . . the state of public opinion from time to time concerning programmes included in television and radio services''.
There is a suggestion that that might include video on-demand services. Will the Minister confirm that video on-demand services are excluded from any regulation under part 3?