Ofcom: Public Service Broadcasting

Lord Gardiner of Kimble Excerpts

Wednesday 12th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Clement-Jones]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to reach conclusions on changes to Ofcom’s statutory duties and functions with respect to public service broadcasting.

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, the Government published a consultation on 23 April proposing reforms to Ofcom’s statutory duties and functions, including measures relevant to public service broadcasting. Following this consultation, which closes on 25 June, the Government intend to bring forward a public bodies order before the Summer Recess. That order will be debated in both Houses in the autumn and we expect it to be in force at the end of this year.

[Lord Clement-Jones]

My Lords, quality and diversity in our public service broadcasting are hugely important for our society. Rapid changes in technology and convergence between the internet and television could affect both considerably over time. The Government acknowledged this in their response to the recent Communications Committee report on convergence, yet now they propose to get rid of Ofcom’s obligations to review public service broadcasters on a regular five-year basis to save just £180,000. Is that not perverse?

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[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

The intention is to provide more flexibility in the timing of when reviews of public service broadcasting are conducted. It is certainly not the intention to remove the obligation to conduct such reviews in future, but rather to ensure that when they happen they are relevant, timely and of the correct scope. Of course, I must not prejudge the consultation. There are some more weeks of it to go and comments would be most welcome.

[Lord Puttnam]

My Lords, does the Minister accept that, whereas the quality of regulation in this country over the past few years has been at times questionable, Ofcom is, in my experience, regarded internationally as the gold standard for regulation, particularly in the very complex media industry? Can he assure us that nothing will be done to diminish the quality of Ofcom or in any way reduce its powers?

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

I am most grateful to the noble Lord and am particularly conscious of his long-term interest in this, having been so much involved in the setting up of Ofcom. I assure him that Ofcom will be required to ensure that the quota requirements are met by the public service broadcasting sector, whether in news, current affairs, original productions, independent productions, outside-London productions or regional news. It must also publish data on compliance with the above quotas in an annual PSB report. The Government are working closely with Ofcom, which we want to continue to be a very successful organisation.

[Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville]

My Lords, I congratulate the Government, through my noble friend, on the fact that they launched this particular consultation on Shakespeare’s birthday.

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

We should all celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday. In the arts and culture debate tomorrow, I might mention something about our most famous poet. I want to emphasise that Ofcom has now been in existence for 10 years and it is appropriate, given the huge technological advances in this sector, that we should look at how we could do things better.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock]

Will the Minister take on special responsibility for drawing to the attention of Ofcom and all broadcasting organisations the importance of balance in their output in the run-up to the referendum on Scottish independence?

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

I hope the noble Lord knows my own preferences on the matter of the referendum. Of course, impartiality must be absolutely key to anything we do, whether it is a referendum or general elections. It is part of the essence of public service broadcasting.

[Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury]

My Lords, as we are talking about Ofcom’s duties, what plans do the Government have to act on the recommendations made by Ofcom about plurality in the media in a report published last year at the request of the Secretary of State?

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[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

Certain Members of your Lordships’ House attended the QSD on 22 May when we discussed plurality. The Government are seeking views on this matter, which is complex. I think Lord Justice Leveson agreed with that. We are building on Ofcom’s advice and the recommendations of Lord Justice Leveson. The process will begin in September. I know that your Lordships’ Communications Committee is also working on these matters.

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch]

My Lords, following my question on a possible communications Bill in the Queen’s Speech debate, I was surprised to receive a letter from the noble Earl, Lord Howe, which I am sure he cleared with the noble Lord’s department. In that letter, the noble Earl states that, for the most part, our regulatory framework is working well and that there simply is not a great clamour for wholesale reform. Given the growing demands for greater child protection, which we have talked about this afternoon, and for internet controls, decent broadband and media ownership controls, does this not represent a lack of courage on the part of the Government? They really should be legislating on a broader scale to firm up outside regulation and increase controls in these areas.

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

I would say to the noble Baroness that the work we are doing on Ofcom is designed to ensure that we do not do things that are unnecessary and inefficient. We should be enabling Ofcom to undertake its really important responsibilities. I refer to refinements because, having looked at the recommendations in the consultation, I think they give a more refreshing and up-to-date twist on what we wanted Ofcom to do when the noble Lord, Lord Puttnam, was so involved in its creation.

[Lord Grocott]

In the light of this Question and the wider debate about the Leveson inquiry, is it not worth reminding ourselves of the fact that in this country broadcasters work within a democratically established regulatory framework? This is in comparison with the press, which talks at great length about freedom of the press. Of course we need to respect this and it is very important, but the broadcasters’ regulatory framework thoroughly enables them to conduct investigative reporting and news and current affairs reporting to the highest standards. It is perfectly possible to have the highest quality of media output within a proper regulatory framework.

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

I would say to the noble Lord that I think we should have a free and a responsible press.