Written question asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Baroness Rawlings (Conservative) on Tuesday, 19 July 2011.

Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government under what legislation the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) was created; what powers BCAP has; who the chairman is; when he or she wasselected and by whom; what process was followed in his or her selection including where the post was advertised, how many persons applied for the position, how many were short-listed for interview, how candidates were appraised; what criteria were adopted for the appointment; and whether the candidates' views on (a) abortion, (b) reproductive rights and reproductive health, (c) embryo experimentation, and (d) stem cell research were sought.

Answer: The Communications Act 2003 provides for Ofcom to have general responsibility for the regulation of the content of broadcasting services including all programmes and advertisements. Furthermore, the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 confers powers for the contracting out by order of functions vested in certain office holders. Under Section 1(7) of the Communications Act, Ofcom is one such officeholder to which these contracting out arrangements can be applied. Under such contracting-out arrangements Ofcom has transferred day-to-day responsibility for broadcast advertising regulation to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). As part of this co-regulatory framework, the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) was established to set the broadcast advertising code, a function of Ofcom under Section 319 of the Communications Act. Under this system Ofcom is required to approve the regulatory standards code drawn up by BCAP. The ASA enforces the approved BCAP code while Ofcom retains backstop powers enabling it, among other things, to impose sanctions. The additional matters raised are operational ones for the ASA and Ofcom, which remain responsible for ensuring the system's effectiveness in meeting its statutory duties. The department does not hold this information. For this reason, the noble Lord may wish to contact the regulators, who are independent of Government, directly.

Secondary information