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Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information) Bill

moved Amendment No. 16: 16: Clause 2 , page 2, line 33, leave out from ““section”” to end of line 34 and insert ““““information of a prescribed description”” means information prescribed in Schedule 1”” The noble Lord said: I shall also speak to Amendments Nos. 17, 18 and 30. This group of amendments would ensure that any information that is essential for the purpose of switchover is released. Amendment No. 16 provides a reference to the proposed new schedule, which sets out on the face of the Bill the information that willbe shared under the new powers in the Bill. The new schedule lists the information as shown in paragraph 27 of the Explanatory Notes. It would be preferable for these parameters to be included in the Bill rather than restricted to the Explanatory Notes. Amendment No. 17 would strengthen and safeguard the release of information provided for in the Bill by ensuring that when the Secretary of State makes an order prescribing information, it will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure in both Houses. Amendment No. 18 is a probing amendment. It would delete Clause 2(7), which allows the Secretary of State to make what seem to be extremely wide ranging orders. The wording currently reads that orders, "““may make different provision in relation to different cases””." That is an unnecessarily broad definition of the types of orders that could be issued for the purposes of data sharing, especially given that, as the Bill stands, they are subject to the negative procedure. I look forward to the Minister’s response and beg to move.