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6 Duties to review regulatory burdens | |
(1) OFCOM must keep the carrying out of their functions under review with a | |
view to securing that regulation by OFCOM does not involve— | |
(a) the imposition of burdens which are unnecessary; or | |
(b) the maintenance of burdens which have become unnecessary. | 5 |
(2) In reviewing their functions under this section it shall be the duty of OFCOM— | |
(a) to have regard to the extent to which the matters which they are | |
required under section 3 to further, or to secure, are already furthered | |
or secured by effective self-regulation; and | |
(b) in the light of that, to consider to what extent it would be appropriate | 10 |
to remove or reduce regulatory burdens imposed by OFCOM. | |
(3) In determining for the purposes of this section whether procedures for self- | |
regulation are effective OFCOM must consider, in particular— | |
(a) whether those procedures are administered by a person who is | |
sufficiently independent of the persons who may be subjected to the | 15 |
procedures; and | |
(b) whether adequate arrangements are in force for funding the activities | |
of that person in relation to those procedures. | |
(4) OFCOM must, from time to time, publish a statement setting out how they | |
propose, during the period for which the statement is made, to secure that | 20 |
regulation by OFCOM does not involve the imposition or maintenance of | |
unnecessary burdens. | |
(5) The first statement to be published under this section— | |
(a) must be published as soon as practicable after the commencement of | |
this section; and | 25 |
(b) shall be a statement for the period of twelve months beginning with the | |
day of its publication. | |
(6) A subsequent statement— | |
(a) must be published during the period to which the previous statement | |
related; and | 30 |
(b) must be a statement for the period of twelve months beginning with the | |
end of the previous period. | |
(7) It shall be the duty of OFCOM, in carrying out their functions at times during | |
a period for which a statement is in force under this section, to have regard to | |
that statement. | 35 |
(8) OFCOM may, if they think fit, revise a statement under this section at any time | |
before or during the period for which it is made. | |
(9) Where OFCOM revise a statement, they must publish the revision as soon as | |
practicable. | |
(10) The publication under this section of a statement, or of a revision of a | 40 |
statement, must be in such manner as OFCOM consider appropriate for | |
bringing it to the attention of the persons who, in their opinion, are likely to be | |
affected by the matters to which it relates. | |
7 Duty to carry out impact assessments | |
(1) This section applies where— | 45 |
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(a) OFCOM are proposing to do anything for the purposes of, or in | |
connection with, the carrying out of their functions; and | |
(b) it appears to them that the proposal is important; | |
but this section does not apply if it appears to OFCOM that the urgency of the | |
matter makes it impracticable or inappropriate for them to comply with the | 5 |
requirements of this section. | |
(2) A proposal is important for the purposes of this section only if its | |
implementation would be likely to do one or more of the following— | |
(a) to involve a major change in the activities carried on by OFCOM; | |
(b) to have a significant impact on persons carrying on businesses in the | 10 |
markets for any of the services, facilities, apparatus or directories in | |
relation to which OFCOM have functions; or | |
(c) to have a significant impact on the general public in the United | |
Kingdom or in a part of the United Kingdom. | |
(3) Before implementing their proposal, OFCOM must either— | 15 |
(a) carry out and publish an assessment of the likely impact of | |
implementing the proposal; or | |
(b) publish a statement setting out their reasons for thinking that it is | |
unnecessary for them to carry out an assessment. | |
(4) An assessment carried out under this section— | 20 |
(a) may take such form, and | |
(b) must relate to such matters, | |
as OFCOM consider appropriate. | |
(5) In determining the matters to which an assessment under this section should | |
relate, OFCOM must have regard to such general guidance relating to the | 25 |
carrying out of impact assessments as they consider appropriate. | |
(6) Where OFCOM publish an assessment under this section— | |
(a) they must provide an opportunity of making representations to them | |
about their proposal to members of the public and other persons who, | |
in OFCOM’s opinion, are likely to be affected to a significant extent by | 30 |
its implementation; | |
(b) the published assessment must be accompanied by a statement setting | |
out how representations may be made; and | |
(c) OFCOM are not to implement their proposal unless the period for | |
making representations about it has expired and they have considered | 35 |
all the representations that were made in that period. | |
(7) Where OFCOM are required (apart from this section)— | |
(a) to consult about a proposal to which this section applies, or | |
(b) to give a person an opportunity of making representations about it, | |
the requirements of this section are in addition to, but may be performed | 40 |
contemporaneously with, the other requirements. | |
(8) Every report under paragraph 12 of the Schedule to the Office of | |
Communications Act 2002 (c. 11) (OFCOM’s annual report) must set out— | |
(a) a list of the assessments under this section carried out during the | |
financial year to which the report relates; and | 45 |
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(b) a summary of the decisions taken during that year in relation to | |
proposals to which assessments carried out in that year or previous | |
financial years relate. | |
(9) The publication of anything under this section must be in such manner as | |
OFCOM consider appropriate for bringing it to the attention of the persons | 5 |
who, in OFCOM’s opinion, are likely to be affected if their proposal is | |
implemented. | |
8 Duty to publish and meet promptness standards | |
(1) It shall be the duty of OFCOM to publish a statement setting out the standards | |
they are proposing to meet with respect to promptness in— | 10 |
(a) the carrying out of their different functions; and | |
(b) the transaction of business for purposes connected with the carrying | |
out of those functions. | |
(2) This section does not require standards to be set out with respect to anything | |
which (apart from this section) is required to be done by a time, or within a | 15 |
period, provided for by or under an enactment. | |
(3) OFCOM may, if they think fit, at any time revise the statement for the time | |
being in force under this section. | |
(4) It shall be the duty of OFCOM— | |
(a) in carrying out their functions, and | 20 |
(b) in transacting business for purposes connected with the carrying out of | |
their functions, | |
to have regard to the statement for the time being in force under this section. | |
(5) Where OFCOM revise a statement under this section, they must publish the | |
revision as soon as practicable. | 25 |
(6) The publication under this section of a statement, or of a revision of a | |
statement, must be in such manner as OFCOM consider appropriate for | |
bringing it to the attention of the persons who, in their opinion, are likely to be | |
affected by the matters to which it relates. | |
(7) OFCOM’s report under paragraph 12 of the Schedule to the Office of | 30 |
Communications Act 2002 (c. 11) (annual report) for each financial year must | |
contain a statement by OFCOM summarising the extent to which they have | |
complied during that year with the standards set out under this section. | |
9 Secretary of State’s powers in relation to promptness standards | |
(1) Where the Secretary of State considers that the statement published by | 35 |
OFCOM under section 8 is not adequate for securing that they meet | |
satisfactory promptness standards, he may give them a notification to that | |
effect. | |
(2) If the period of three months after the date of the giving of a notification under | |
subsection (1) expires without OFCOM taking steps which the Secretary of | 40 |
State is satisfied remedy the situation, he may give them a direction under this | |
section. | |
(3) A direction under this section is one requiring OFCOM to issue a new or | |
revised statement under section 8 in accordance with the direction. | |
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(4) Before giving a direction under this section, the Secretary of State must— | |
(a) give OFCOM an opportunity of making representations to him about | |
his proposed direction; and | |
(b) have regard to any representations made to him by them. | |
(5) Where the Secretary of State gives a direction to OFCOM under this section, he | 5 |
must publish a copy of it in such manner as he considers appropriate for | |
bringing it to the attention of persons who, in his opinion, are likely to be | |
affected by OFCOM’s promptness standards. | |
(6) It shall be the duty of OFCOM to revise their statement under section 8 in | |
accordance with any direction of the Secretary of State under this section. | 10 |
(7) In this section “promptness standards” means standards of promptness in— | |
(a) the carrying out by OFCOM of their different functions; and | |
(b) the transaction by them of business for purposes connected with the | |
carrying out of those functions. | |
(8) No notification is to be given under subsection (1) at any time in the period of | 15 |
twelve months beginning with the commencement of section 8. | |
Media literacy | |
10 Function of promoting media literacy | |
(1) It shall be the duty of OFCOM to take such steps, and to enter into such | |
arrangements, as appear to them calculated— | 20 |
(a) to bring about, or to encourage others to bring about, a better public | |
understanding of the nature and characteristics of material published | |
by means of the electronic media; | |
(b) to bring about, or to encourage others to bring about, a better public | |
awareness and understanding of the processes by which such material | 25 |
is selected, or made available, for publication by such means; | |
(c) to bring about, or to encourage others to bring about, the development | |
of a better public awareness of the available systems by which access to | |
material published by means of the electronic media is or can be | |
regulated; | 30 |
(d) to bring about, or to encourage others to bring about, the development | |
of a better public awareness of the available systems by which persons | |
to whom such material is made available may control what is received | |
and of the uses to which such systems may be put; and | |
(e) to encourage the development and use of technologies and systems for | 35 |
regulating access to such material, and for facilitating control over what | |
material is received, that are both effective and easy to use. | |
(2) In this section, references to the publication of anything by means of the | |
electronic media are references to its being— | |
(a) broadcast so as to be available for reception by members of the public | 40 |
or of a section of the public; or | |
(b) distributed by means of an electronic communications network to | |
members of the public or of a section of the public. | |
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