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Digital Economy Bill [HL]

My Lords, these two amendments would remove any ability of the Secretary of State to allow Ofcom more time to produce a code. I am not in favour of unnecessary delays or time wasting; I share the concern of the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones. I am all in favour of giving Ofcom challenging targets, and our provision is just that—challenging but achievable. However, putting this in legislation means that if Ofcom fails to do so within this period it could be found to be in breach of a statutory duty. If that is due to its failings so be it, but what if this is through no fault of Ofcom’s and something which it has no control over? That is another matter. As noble Lords may be aware, under European legislation—the technical standards directive—all member states must notify the Commission when they propose to introduce legislation that would affect a business wishing to operate in the UK. This notification process requires that the member state submit the proposal in a near final form, and that the Commission and other member states have a three-month period to consider and comment if they wish. If issues are raised, then the Commission would look into the proposal in more detail. I hate to say the next bit, but this process can take up to 12 months. During that period the notifying member state cannot proceed with the regulation. We are certain that the code will need to be notified and we have built this into the eight-month period allowed to Ofcom. We are also fairly confident that after the three-month standstill we would be able to proceed. However, here’s the rub: we cannot be sure that it would not be delayed further. It is only in this type of situation that we envisage that the Secretary of State would allow Ofcom an extension. I want to reassure the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, that we share exactly his concern. We have tried to give him an assurance that the only circumstances where the Secretary of State would allow Ofcom an extension would be circumscribed. In light of the explanation I have just given, I hope that the noble Lord will feel able to withdraw his amendment.