Clause 94 - Power to deal with urgent cases
Communications Bill
11:15 am
Mr John Greenway (Ryedale, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No.108, in
clause 94, page 89, line 43, leave out from 'direction' to end of line 47.
Under the clause, where Ofcom has reasonable grounds for believing that there has been a breach and reasonable grounds for believing that the matter is urgent, it can take action by direction. Under subsection (6)(b), it can attach conditions to the direction. It is not appropriate for Ofcom to have such a potentially wide-ranging power to impose possibly damaging conditions on a provider purely on the basis of there being, in Ofcom's view, reasonable grounds for believing that there has been a breach and reasonable grounds for believing that the matter is urgent.
The amendment therefore seeks to remove the power to impose conditions. In responding to a similar amendment addressing the reasonable grounds issue, the Minister explained persuasively why it was important that Ofcom had the necessary powers. I suggest to him that even if the amendment were accepted, Ofcom would still be able to suspend an operator's entitlement to provide—what used to be the licence—either for the activity in question or its entire business. The issue is that the power to attach conditions is not limited to the activity in dispute because it gives Ofcom carte blanche. The regulation is poorly targeted and it could lead to disproportionate regulation. It goes beyond what is needed for Ofcom to be able to act speedily and incisively in the manner that the Minister described earlier today.