Clause 83 - Conditions about network access etc.
Communications Bill
6:45 pm
Mr Stephen Timms (Minister of State (e-Commerce & Competitiveness), Department of Trade and Industry; East Ham, Labour)
I hope that I can reassure members of the Committee about what these words will be taken to mean. In a way, this returns to our earlier discussion about words being used in UK law that are familiar in UK law. In this case, the term ''undue discrimination'' is well established and well understood in UK law and will not support the lax interpretation about which the hon. Members for Maldon and East Chelmsford and for Sheffield, Hallam rightly expressed concern. The law recognises that some kinds of discrimination are entirely proper and necessary. Businesses routinely offer different terms in different circumstances, and if those differences in terms are based on objective differences—for example, a discount for a big order—that is not a problem. It would be construed as discrimination, but it is not undue discrimination, and there is no problem with it. It is only where equivalent proposals or customers in equivalent circumstances are treated differently that the question of undue or improper discrimination arises. The term ''undue discrimination'' does the job that the directive requires, and the Bill as it stands will give effect to article 10(2) of the access directive without the amendment being made.
The hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam made an interesting point and gave a good example. Companies such as Centrica, with its One.Tel service, have complained for a long time that its customers get two bills while BT's customers get a single bill. Oftel recently made a determination on that so that it will be possible in future for One.Tel's customers to receive one bill instead of two, although there is some concern about how long that process will take. That is a good example of the kind of difficulty that arises, and which we certainly want the Bill to address. The form of words in the Bill does the job that is required.