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Digital Economy Bill [HL]

My Lords, I am grateful to all noble Lords who have spoken in this debate and note the unanimity of approval for the amendment which my noble friend Lord Whitty moved, with the exception of the noble Lord, Lord Howard. The Government agree with noble Lord, Lord Howard, in this respect. As far as devolved Administrations are concerned, Ofcom currently sends its annual report to First Ministers. There is nothing which we would assume would change. The noble Lord, Lord Howard, indicated that broadcasting is a reserved matter. First Ministers in the devolved Administrations have a great interest in these issues. They are fully entitled to receive reports and Ofcom will carry on the practice of ensuring that those reports go to the First Ministers of the devolved nations. The Ofcom annual plan also does that. I can see no reason why established practice would change. Therefore I do not think that the amendments which relate to this and the devolved Administrations are necessary. Amendments 21, 22 and 25 deal with the specific groups identified by my noble friend as cause for concern. I am not surprised that there were several speeches in support of such amendments because I am sure they reflect the universal position of the House, and of course the Government have sympathy with the aim of the amendments. The ability of everyone in society to engage with and benefit from digital services is of the greatest importance and is part of the reason for the enormous amount of work put into these issues by the Government over recent years. Moreover, the Digital Britain report published in the middle of last year gave Ofcom a specific role leading the Digital Participation Consortium which brings together the Government, the private and the third sectors to work together on reducing the barriers that people face in getting online. So of course the Government are fully charged of the necessity to meet these objectives—in fact it is part and parcel of the strategy being pursued over recent years. My noble friend has quite appropriately raised a very important matter in the context of the Bill, but I do not think that Amendment 21 is required, or indeed Amendment 22, which suggests that there are separate networks in rural and urban areas, because that is not the case. In any event, the extent to which rural and urban areas are covered and the nature of that coverage is already required within the report since Ofcom will need to consider availability and quality issues when it makes its report. It is also worth noting that Section 3(4) of the Communications Act 2003 requires Ofcom to "have regard" in performing its duties both to, ""the different interests … of persons living in rural and in urban areas"," and to the needs of the disabled, ""of the elderly and of those on low incomes"." All this is already part of our existing legislation in terms of Ofcom’s overarching duties and obligations which will apply, of course, to the preparation of these reports. I do not have in any way, shape or form anything but admiration for my noble friend for raising these issues and for those noble Lords who have supported him in objectives that we all share. I merely indicate that the Government are fully cognisant of them and, indeed, legislation already takes account of them. Again, I beg to agree with the noble Lord, Lord Howard, that it may not be necessary for these amendments to be pressed. I hope that my noble friend will think likewise.