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Digital Economy Bill [HL]

My Lords, I am alarmed by the Government’s amendment, which seems rather draconian. I lived through the experience of the passage of the Communications Act 2003 and know very well the importance of getting the right parts of the Bill enacted. Even then, against considerable pressure at times, that Bill was out of date fairly quickly. As to the need to have the power to update quickly, there is an urgency which perhaps we need to address, but which has not been addressed satisfactorily so far. I rather agree with the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, who said that, if nothing else could be agreed, the amendment in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Puttnam, should be agreed. Certainly, there should be 90 days, as opposed to 60 days, to gather evidence to refute what was going on. I would again stress that when this Bill is passed, we will need legislation that will be able to react quickly. Like the noble Lord, Lord Fowler, I do not think that primary legislation should be brought in fast. Certainly, after what has happened in the past few years of this Government’s reign, there is no way in which primary legislation can be achieved quickly. There is a huge backlog waiting to go through Parliament. I have considerable reservations about the government amendment, but I see the need to redraft and to have something. The Government may draw up something which will satisfy us. I certainly hope so.