ITC Calls For Clearer Public Service Definitions
The ITC has welcomed the Government’s recently published draft Communications Bill as going a long way towards creating the regulatory framework for a dynamic market, but has warned that it needs to provide a more detailed definition of public service remits.
In evidence prepared for the Joint Scrutiny Committee on the Bill, the ITC says that the broad outline proposed for public service requirements, which at the moment is taken from the BBC’s licence fee agreement, is too demanding for the commercial sector.
The ITC believes that Ofcom should agree on the remits for each public service broadcaster on its own merits, which, it argues, will provide the new super-regulator with the power to ensure delivery of those remits on an ongoing annual basis.
The regulatory body also argues that for self-regulation to work Ofcom needs to report annually to Parliament, providing high-level analysis of what the market is supplying and public service broadcasters are delivering.
Elsewhere in its submission, the ITC suggests that Ofcom’s new Content Board, with strong representation from the nations and regions, should focus on “important cultural issues”, leaving the main Ofcom board free to concentrate on overall economic regulation and competition concerns.
The ITC’s proposals will be considered by the Joint Committee on the draft Communications Bill, which was established earlier in the month. The Committee, which is to be chaired by Lord Puttnam, will hold hearings on the Bill and will publish a report, to which the Government must respond.
ITC: 020 7306 7743 www.itc.org.uk
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