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Digital Economy Bill [HL]

I should like to echo one or two of the points that my noble friend has just put. Exactly like him, I seek guidance on what this section means. As the noble Lord knows, I am a strong supporter of public service broadcasting—not just the BBC but Channel 4, ITV and the other public service broadcasters—so there is absolutely no question of my not supporting it. What I do not understand is the duty placed on Ofcom, ""to promote appropriate levels of investment in public service media content"." That is what I do not understand—the promotion. For once we are not talking about what is "appropriate" but about what "promote" actually means. Does it mean that it is the duty—or that it is possible or conceivable—that Ofcom could push for more public spending, so that more money could be spent in this area? If it does mean that, does it not bring it smack up against the department that is responsible for spending? In other words, there would be a divided voice. You may well find the department takes one view and Ofcom takes another. Perhaps that is not the intention. However, it is such an extraordinarily wide definition that it seems that Ofcom would be entirely entitled to take whatever view it wanted as a result of this. The most useful thing that the Minister could do is to give us examples of what this section means in practice. In other words, what does promoting appropriate levels of investment in public service media content actually mean when it comes down to it? That would be very much for the convenience of the House.