Convergence Think Tank

Oral Answers to Questions — Culture, Media and Sport – in the House of Commons at 2:30 pm on 10 March 2008.

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Photo of Bill Wiggin Bill Wiggin Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) 2:30, 10 March 2008

If he will publish the minutes of the meetings of the convergence think tank; and if he will make a statement.

Photo of Andy Burnham Andy Burnham The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The Government intend to publish the proceedings of all the convergence think tank seminars on the dedicated website. Most of the proceedings of the first seminar on 7 February this year will be posted on the website today.

Photo of Bill Wiggin Bill Wiggin Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Secretary of State did not mention the fact that the convergence think tank is costing some £300,000. Given that Ofcom is doing a great deal of the work, is it not a little tactless to spend that kind of money on so few seminars—I believe that one of them is on Arsenal football club—when the portable antiquities scheme and hundreds of other arts organisations are fighting for survival as a result of Government cuts?

Photo of Andy Burnham Andy Burnham The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The hon. Gentleman is scraping the barrel in trying to find a subject on which to launch an attack. This issue is of huge importance to the whole of British society; it is about people's ability in a fully converged digital world to get access to high-quality content. It is important that there is the widest possible debate among the telecommunications, media and other industries on developing a sensible and consensual policy to take us through this changing world. The process mentioned, led jointly with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, is a good example of how Government should make policy; listening to the views of industry, working closely with consumer groups and, at the end of the day, coming up with the right answers. The money spent on that process will be well spent.

Photo of Andrew Miller Andrew Miller Chair, Regulatory Reform Committee, Chair, Regulatory Reform Committee

My right hon. Friend will remember that way back in time—in respect of the Broadcasting Act 1996—it was argued, by the technical director of ITV, I think, that convergence had happened and that we were now dealing with a series of subsets of the same technology. That is the case and now, after several years of Ofcom, is it not time to consider looking carefully at the size and shape of the umbrella that we created to produce Ofcom and to determine whether it meets the needs of current developing technologies?

Photo of Andy Burnham Andy Burnham The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

In the short time that it has existed, Ofcom has been incredibly successful in establishing an authority and a clear lead on these important issues. The difficult question to answer in terms of the changing communications industry is how we in this House keep pace while ensuring that the legislative environment is not a barrier to the industry's success. That is the line we have to tread. In those circumstances, it is very important that we work with our regulators and industry. That is why we have established this process. A similar process led to the creation of the Communications Act 2003, which has been a success.