Clause 10 - Function of promoting media literacy

Communications Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 3:30 pm on 12 December 2002.

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Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

Photo of John Whittingdale John Whittingdale Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

No amendments have been tabled on this clause, but it will be worth while to detain the Committee briefly because the clause covers an interesting area—the duty of Ofcom to promote media literacy. We would like to explore that important issue with the Minister. What precisely does he have in mind for Ofcom and how he will bring it about? It is almost undeniable that a great deal of media illiteracy exists. I hope that something similar is not true of this Committee—although one occasionally has a faint suspicion.

Earlier, we discussed amendments relating to the needs of disabled people. We wondered how technology—for example, closed caption subtitling—could help them. It is pretty complicated to access such technology and we must help people to understand how to do so. Some elderly people may not have a great grasp of the most recent technological developments.

Later, when we discuss content, I suspect that we will discuss whether material is offensive or distasteful, and how best we can prevent children from accessing such material. Technology exists for that. I use parental locks—I strongly recommend others to use them—on, for example, set top decoders. PINs are also effective in ensuring that children cannot access material that may be suitable for adults but unsuitable for very young people. However, if we are to allow choice and not censor material that is suitable for adults, we must ensure that parents understand how best to take advantage of technology to use locks or other devices. There is a genuine need to increase understanding of the capabilities of technology in the area of media literacy.

I do not oppose clause 10 in any way, but I would be interested to know how the Minister sees Ofcom going about its function. Will a specific area of its budget be reserved for this purpose? How will Ofcom

achieve these objectives, which I think we would all support?

Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) rose—

Photo of Mr Brian White Mr Brian White Labour, North East Milton Keynes

I appreciate the enthusiasm of the hon. Member for Lichfield (Michael Fabricant).

When we discussed the general duties of Ofcom on Tuesday, I said that, due to my incompetence, I had not tabled an amendment to promote community media as a general duty. However, Ofcom will have a duty to promote media literacy, which will relate not only to existing media forms but to new forms as they appear. Community media is one of the most exciting new forms and I feel that Ofcom has a duty to promote it. I hope that one thing to come out of this debate will be a recognition by Ofcom's board that it has a key role in that. Clause 10 will be vital.

Community media covers not only radio but television. A number of pilot schemes exist up and down the country. Ofcom must have a role in presenting a range of options; it should not interpret this clause narrowly. In the White Paper, there is much about the need for people to be literate in new forms of media such as the internet. However, there are other new technologies and community media is the current one. Others will come along later and Ofcom will have a key role in their development, especially in the early stages.

Photo of Mr Richard Allan Mr Richard Allan Shadow Spokesperson (Business, Innovation and Skills), Shadow Spokesperson (Trade and Industry)

I echo the points made by the hon. Member for Milton Keynes, North-East about the role of community media. The duties set out in subsection (1) relate to encouraging and enabling the public to understand how the media works, and how material is put together and edited. Quite simply, the best way to understand that process is to do it. There are some good examples of that. The best way to educate people is to give them a taste of the subject.

In my city of Sheffield, the BBC local radio station, Radio Sheffield, has on its ground floor an active community media centre, where people learn how to use the internet and create community websites that form part of the BBC website, which is the most popular website in the country and an important part of the media. Up the road, in what was the National Centre for Popular Music, a lottery-funded project that opened and then shut down rather rapidly, the ground floor is being put to good use by Sheffield Community Radio, which brings people in and shows them how radio works. It is particularly exciting that that radio station will no longer have to go off air when its temporary licence expires, because it continues broadcasting using real media across the internet. There are now good opportunities for community media, and that is by far the best way to promote media literacy.

Photo of Nick Palmer Nick Palmer Labour, Broxtowe

Does the hon. Gentleman feel that the word ''community'' is defined too narrowly in amendment No. 228? Nowadays, one of the great attractions of the internet is that it makes it possible to form a non-geographical community. For example, I might feel

that I have more in common with the hon. Gentleman than with my neighbour, who does nothing but watch football.

Photo of Mr Richard Allan Mr Richard Allan Shadow Spokesperson (Business, Innovation and Skills), Shadow Spokesperson (Trade and Industry)

I do not think that we are talking about any specific definition of community; we are talking about media literacy. I am not talking about amendment No. 228, which has not been selected, but about the entire clause and the appropriate response to it. I ask the Minister to respond positively, and to say that he believes that an appropriate way for Ofcom to interpret its powers under the clause is to try to generate active participants in media, as opposed to passive consumers. We do not want people to sit like couch potatoes and accept media; we want them to understand and engage with it. We now have the tools for that, and I hope that Ofcom, under clause 10, will interpret its role of promoting work with community media in the widest sense, through geographical, non-geographical, and other types of media. That is an important way that Ofcom could fulfil the obligations that have sensibly been set out.

Photo of Michael Fabricant Michael Fabricant Conservative, Lichfield

I simply wanted to add the question of the electronic programme guide. Sky television is to be congratulated on its development and use of such guides. I shall be curious to hear whether the Minister believes that there is a role for the electronic programming guide in promoting media literacy. I am particularly thinking of the issues raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Maldon and East Chelmsford, namely the quality of certain types of programme and whether they are suitable for certain age groups in terms of sex or violent content. Also, there is the issue of whether it should be made clear on the programme guide that subtitles are available for the hard of hearing. That harks back to our debate this morning. I feel that the electronic programme guide is the ideal medium by which clause 10 can be exercised.

Photo of Mr Simon Thomas Mr Simon Thomas Plaid Cymru, Ceredigion

I rise to support the comments of the hon. Members for Milton Keynes, North-East and for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr. Allan) regarding the ability to use community media as a tool to succeed in promoting media literacy, which is the basis of the clause. I put on record that I am grateful for the clause, which is important. It gives Ofcom a huge opportunity to reach out to the grass roots.

Photo of Roger Gale Roger Gale Vice-Chair, Conservative Party

Order. The Committee is beginning to have a bit of a weekend feel about it. Could private conversations be held outside, please?

Photo of Mr Simon Thomas Mr Simon Thomas Plaid Cymru, Ceredigion

Thank you, Mr. Gale.

Ofcom can use community media and the function of promoting media literacy to be real to the people on the doorstep. It is over 10 years now since I helped to establish a community radio station in Ceredigion—Radio Ceredigion—which unfortunately is no longer community-owned. It was taken over by a large newspaper group. Nevertheless, it still functions and has facilities for volunteers to go in and work in local radio. My experience 10 years ago of trying to put together my own radio programmes helped to shape a considerable amount of my understanding of the media. It would be useful for Ofcom to look at such possibilities.

I have two concerns relating to media literacy. First, I worry that Ofcom will be a big animal and will lack the subtle touch that media literacy and community media demand. It will not have the attention span necessary to meet the concerns mentioned by hon. Members. Would it be permissible for Ofcom to work with other institutions in delivering its functions under the clause? I have in mind such institutions as Cardiff university's centre for journalism studies, which is a high-class training ground in Wales. Could Ofcom work with outside institutions to achieve its functions of promoting media literacy, rather than try to do it all itself? I am concerned that, if Ofcom keeps everything in house, and does not work with bodies that may have more experience, it will have an iron fist rather than a more subtle approach.

My second point was touched on by the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam: it is increasingly the new media that people use for community media projects, such as online and digital radio, and the streaming of real video and radio, which are not specifically covered by the clause. Will the Minister confirm that promoting media literacy includes everything to do with what we currently call the internet and whatever it may become, even though that aspect is not, strictly speaking, regulated by Ofcom? I want to be sure that the clause is drafted sufficiently widely to include those aspects.

Photo of Kim Howells Kim Howells Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Culture, Media & Sport

I thought that this would be a short debate, but it has turned into a long one—and very refreshing it is too.

The hon. Member for Maldon and East Chelmsford spoke about the need for parents to understand what locking devices were available. However, it usually only took my kids about half an hour to work out how to unlock things, so I have to admit that after a while I gave up. My kids turned out to be all right, actually.

The hon. Member for Lichfield came up with an interesting suggestion, as usual. I am the only one in our house now who has to use the Sky zapper to get back to the main menu to find my way around the system. Every one else knows the numbers and they knock them out. [Interruption.] I do not know what my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda (Mr. Bryant) said, but we had a discussion earlier in the week about better design. Locking elements could be incorporated into design, perhaps not on the surface of the device but in easily accessible software.

In response to the questions asked by the hon. Member for Ceredigion, I would certainly expect Ofcom to look for partners to work with. Some interesting projects are going on at the moment. The hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam told us about the need for a pro-active approach, to make people aware of the possibilities that already exist.

I have an access radio station on my own patch—GTFM. It is in one of the poorest wards in my constituency and shares its administration with the university on the other side of the valley. It is fascinating to see the different ways in which those two communities have accessed the opportunity and, at the same time, linked up with the rest of that part of the valley. It has been an instructive experience. People

have learned much. They have learned that they have a voice, which they might previously have assumed was denied to them.

Some hon. Members asked whether there would be an iron fist approach to the issue, whether the boundaries to media literacy would be strictly determined and how such matters ought to be dealt with. I reassure the Committee that that is not the intention behind the relevant provision. Media literacy, by its very nature, must grow, expand and change with the various media that we use.

An important point was made at the end of the debate: we must be aware of, understand and learn about the interoperability and shading between the different media. Our use of personal computers and of the internet is part of that process. I am sure that hon. Members will agree with me that great work is being done by many of the outreach institutions of colleges, universities, and especially further education colleges, in helping people to get the degree of computer literacy that they need just to get started.

This is an important step forward and I am glad to hear that there is general agreement in the Committee that it should be taken forward.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 10 ordered to stand part of the Bill.