Clause 91 - Enforcement notification for contravention
Communications Bill
10:45 am
Mr Stephen Timms (Minister of State (e-Commerce & Competitiveness), Department of Trade and Industry; East Ham, Labour)
The hon. Gentleman is right that there are two stages in the process as set out in the Bill. The amendment would add a third stage before an enforcement notification could be issued. I hope that I can persuade him that that would not be the right thing to do. I appreciate that hon. Members may feel that it would be unreasonable for Ofcom to be able to force a contravening provider to take particular action without the provider having had an opportunity to question it or to propose alternatives, but that is not the case in this example. The operator will have known at the initial stage, via the contravention notice issued under clause 90, of the case against him, and will have had an opportunity to make representations and to take corrective action if he wished.
The hon. Gentleman rightly made the point that the process is in some respects different from that under the Competition Act. That refers to the point that I was making in response to the hon. Member for Ryedale. It is important to recognise and reflect on the differences between general competition law and a sectoral regime such as that in the Bill.
Broadly, the 1998 Act lays down general prohibitions in regard to anti-competitive agreements and conduct, leaving industry free to operate as it wishes, unless or until prevented from doing so. However, what is anti-competitive in a given case—and so whether or not there is a breach—can only be established after a full investigation. By contrast, the sectoral regime in the Bill lays down a variety of specific obligations that will be the subject of consultation in advance, so the risk of genuinely inadvertent breach is much smaller. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will withdraw the amendment.