Postal Services Bill [HL]
FIFTH
MARSHALLED
LIST OF AMENDMENTS
TO BE MOVED
IN COMMITTEE
The amendments have been marshalled in accordance with the Instruction of 16th March, as follows—
Clauses 36 to 38
Schedule 4
Clauses 39 to 46
Schedule 5
Clause 47
Schedule 6
Clauses 48 and 49
Schedule 7 | Clause 50
Schedule 8
Clauses 51 to 56
Schedule 9
Clauses 57 to 59
Schedule 10
Clause 60 |
[Amendments marked * are new or have been altered]
Amendment
No.
| 89A | Page 21, line 12, leave out "at an affordable price" |
| 89B | Page 21, line 14, leave out "or" and insert "and" |
| 89C | Page 21, line 15, leave out "in the opinion of OFCOM" and insert "OFCOM considers that" |
| 89D | Page 21, line 17, at end insert "taking into account the characteristics of the services, including added value features, as well as the intended use and the pricing" |
| 89E | Page 21, line 17, at end insert— |
| "( ) | A postal service is not within the scope of the universal postal services if it is exempted under the Postal Services Directive." |
| 89F | Page 21, line 26, leave out subsection (2) |
| 89G | Page 21, line 31, at end insert "(to the extent they provide such services)" |
| 89H | Page 21, line 35, at end insert— |
| "(3A) | At any time when there is a postal operator designated as the universal service provider under section 31, nothing in subsection (1)(a) is to be read as authorising the imposition of a condition requiring a person— |
| (a) | to deliver or collect letters or other postal packets as mentioned in section 29(3)(a) to (d), |
| (b) | to provide a service throughout the United Kingdom, or |
| (c) | to provide a service at an affordable price in accordance with a public tariff which is uniform throughout the United Kingdom." |
| 89J | Page 21, line 40, at end insert— |
| | "(to the extent they provide such services)" |
| 89K | Page 21, line 41, leave out subsection (5) |
| 89L | Page 22, line 2, after "impose" insert "proportionate" |
| 89M | Page 22, line 5, at end insert "(to the extent they provide such services)" |
| 89N | Page 22, line 8, leave out "may from time to time" and insert "shall" |
| 89P | Page 22, line 10, at end insert— |
| | "The first review shall be completed by 1 March 2010, and thereafter, OFCOM may from time to time review the extent (if any) of the financial burden for the universal service provider of complying with its universal service obligations." |
| 89Q | Page 22, line 26, at end insert— |
| "( ) | In applying the method of calculation specified in subsection (2) or in calculating the financial burden under subsection (3), OFCOM must conduct an independent efficiency benchmarking exercise and exclude from the costs any inefficiencies identified." |
| | The above-named Lords give notice of their intention to oppose the Question that Clause 39 stand part of the Bill. |
| 90 | Page 22, line 43, leave out from beginning to "are" in line 15 on page 23 and insert "OFCOM must determine by regulations that contributions for sharing the burden of the universal service obligation" |
| 90A | Page 23, line 17, after "service" insert "(to the extent they provide such services)" |
| 91 | Page 23, line 17, leave out "or" |
| 92 | Page 23, line 18, leave out "or" and insert "and" |
| 93 | Page 23, leave out lines 20 and 21 |
| 93A | Page 23, line 34, at end insert— |
| "( ) | Regulations under subsection (5) may only be made by affirmative resolution." |
| 93B | Page 23, line 34, at end insert— |
| "( ) | If, in relation to the first review of the financial burden for the universal service provider of complying with its universal service obligations which must be completed by 1 March 2010 in accordance with section 39(1), OFCOM determines in accordance with subsection (4) that contributions are to be made by some or all providers or users, such a scheme shall operate with effect from a date no later than 1 April 2010, even if regulations for the purpose of subsection (6) are not made by OFCOM until a later date." |
| 94 | Insert the following new Clause— |
| | "Borrowing from capital markets |
| | Nothing in this Act prevents the universal service provider from borrowing money from capital markets in order to comply with its universal service obligations." |
| 95 | Insert the following new Clause— |
| | "Investment fund for post office network |
| (1) | This Act shall not come into effect until the Secretary of State has by order made provision to establish an investment fund for the post office network of at least £2 billion in order to achieve a post and sub-post office network that may enter business agreements with other businesses in the postal service and other sectors, and deliver a range of services, including— |
| (a) | the opening of new post office branches where there is a defined need, |
| (b) | start up and investment capital and training in business opportunities to new and existing sub-postmasters, |
| (c) | the provision of local and central government information and services by post offices and sub-post offices, and |
| (d) | the creation of a postbank to deliver financial services for customers through the post office network. |
| (2) | An order under subsection (1) must provide for the Crown to have a statutory obligation to maintain the Post Office network on the basis of a framework with agreed outlets and service requirements set every five years and beginning in April 2011. |
| (3) | An order under this section is subject to the affirmative resolution procedure." |
| 95A | Insert the following new Clause— |
| | "Charges made by national providers |
| (1) | OFCOM must have a duty to set the minimum charges made by any national provider for the provision of courier or postal services. |
| (2) | OFCOM must determine that any charges are applied on the basis of either— |
| | throughout the whole of mainland Britain. |
| (3) | "National provider" means any provider that offers a courier or postal service that crosses the border of any country within Britain." |
| 95B | Page 25, line 23, leave out "the purpose of" and insert "any one or more of the following purposes" |
| 95C | Page 25, line 26, leave out "or" |
| 95D | Page 25, line 27, at end insert— |
| "(d) | guarding against the theft or loss of or damage to postal packets, |
| (e) | securing the delivery of postal packets to the intended addressees." |
| 95E | Page 25, line 34, leave out "the operator's postal infrastructure or" |
| 95F | Page 26, line 1, after "them" insert "that the postal operator has significant market power and" |
| 96 | Insert the following new Clause— |
| | "Information about performance condition |
| (1) | Any information about performance condition is a condition that OFCOM may impose requiring a postal operator to do one or more of the following— |
| (a) | publish information about the extent to which it is providing specified postal services in accordance with specified standards; |
| (b) | publish annually an independently audited performance report; and |
| (c) | provide specified information (at such times and in such manner as OFCOM may direct) to other postal operators and users of postal services about the service provided by that postal operator. |
| (2) | The reference in subsection (1)(b) to an independently audited performance report is to a report that— |
| (a) | contains information about the postal operator's performance in complying with any regulatory conditions; and |
| (b) | is audited for accuracy by a person who is independent of both OFCOM and the postal operator. |
| (3) | Any information about performance condition may require the postal operator to meet the costs of the audit required by subsection (1)(b)." |
| | The above-named Lords give notice of their intention to oppose the Question that Clause 45 stand part of the Bill. |
| | The above-named Lords give notice of their intention to oppose the Question that Clause 46 stand part of the Bill. |
| 96ZA | Insert the following new Clause— |
| | "Separation for accounting purposes |
| | OFCOM must have regard to the method by which costs are to be allocated to different services set out in the Postal Services Directive in imposing any regulatory condition under section 34, 35, 44 or Schedule 3 requiring a separation for accounting purposes between different matters." |
| 96ZB | Page 28, line 15, leave out subsection (3) |
| 96ZC | Page 28, line 18, after "section" insert "(and with rules made under section (Appeals under section 48: supplementary))" |
| 96ZD | Page 28, line 36, at end insert— |
| "(8A) | The Commission may investigate any matter or do any other thing for the purpose of making a decision under subsection (7)(b)." |
| 96ZE | Insert the following new Clause— |
| | "Appeals under section 48: supplementary |
| (1) | The Commission may make rules about the making, conduct and disposal of appeals under section 48. |
| (2) | The rules may, in particular, impose time limits or other restrictions on— |
| (a) | the taking of evidence at an oral hearing, or |
| (b) | the making of representations or observations at an oral hearing. |
| (3) | The rules may make different provision for different cases. |
| (4) | The Commission must publish the rules in such manner as it considers appropriate for the purpose of bringing them to the attention of those likely to be affected by them. |
| (5) | Before making the rules, the Commission must consult such persons as it considers appropriate. |
| (6) | The Secretary of State may by order— |
| (a) | apply any of sections 109 to 117 of the Enterprise Act 2002 (c. 40) (investigation powers of the Commission), with or without modifications, in relation to appeals made under section 48, and |
| (b) | make provision for and in connection with the extension of the period within which appeals must be determined in cases where requirements imposed under section 109 of that Act (as applied) have not been complied with. |
| (7) | An order under subsection (6) is subject to negative resolution procedure." |
| 96A | Insert the following new Clause— |
| | "Appeals to the Competition Appeals Tribunal |
| (1) | This section applies to— |
| (a) | any decision by OFCOM under this Part (other than a price control decision within the meaning of section 48(10)); and |
| 67 | (b) a determination by the Competition Commission under section 48(7). |
| (2) | A person affected by a decision to which this section applies may appeal against it to the Competition Appeal Tribunal. |
| (3) | The means of making an appeal is by sending the Tribunal a notice of appeal in accordance with Tribunal rules. |
| 1213 | (4) The notice of appeal must be sent within the period specified, in relation to the decision appealed against, in those rules. |
| (5) | The notice of appeal must set out— |
| (a) | the provision under which the decision appealed against was taken; and |
| (b) | the grounds of appeal. |
| (6) | The grounds of appeal must be set out in sufficient detail to indicate— |
| (a) | to what extent (if any) the appellant contends that the decision appealed against was based on an error of fact or was wrong in law or both; and |
| (b) | to what extent (if any) the appellant is appealing against the exercise of a discretion by OFCOM. |
| (7) | In this section references to a decision under an enactment— |
| (a) | include references to a decision that is given effect to by the exercise or performance of a power or duty conferred or imposed by or under an enactment; but |
| (b) | include references to a failure to make a decision, and to a failure to exercise a power or to perform a duty, only where the failure constitutes a failure to grant an application or to comply with any other form of request to make the decision, to exercise the power or to perform the duty; |
| | and references in the following provisions of this Chapter to a decision appealed against are to be construed accordingly. |
| (8) | For the purposes of this section and of the following provisions of this Chapter a decision to which effect is given by the exercise or performance of a power or duty conferred or imposed by or under an enactment shall be treated, except where provision is made for the making of that decision at a different time, as made at the time when the power is exercised or the duty performed. |
| (9) | Section 195 of the Communications Act 2003 (c. 21) (decisions of the tribunal) shall apply to decisions of the Tribunal taken under this Act, save that in relation to appeals falling within subsection (1)(b) above, the Tribunal shall determine the appeal applying the same principles as would be applied by a court on an application for judicial review. |
| (10) | Section 196 of the Communications Act 2003 (appeals from the tribunal) shall apply to appeals from the Tribunal under this Act. |
| (11) | Section 117 of the Enterprise Act 2002 (c. 40) (offences of supplying false or misleading information) shall have effect in relation to information supplied to the Competition Commission in connection with their functions under this section as it has effect in relation to information supplied to them in connection with their functions under Part 3 of that Act." |
| | [Amendments 96B and 96C are amendments to Amendment 96A] |
| 96B | Leave out lines 6 and 7 |
| 96C | Leave out lines 12 and 13 and insert— |
| "( ) | The notice of appeal must be sent within the period of two months beginning with the day on which the decision is published. |
| ( ) | The Tribunal must determine an appeal before the end of— |
| (a) | the period of 4 months beginning with the day on which the notice of appeal was sent to it, or |
| (b) | if the Tribunal considers that the circumstances of the case are exceptional, the period of 6 months beginning with that day. |
| | Where paragraph (b) applies, the Commission must (before the end of the period mentioned in paragraph (a)) publish its reasons for considering that the circumstances of the case are exceptional." |
| 97 | [Re-tabled as Amendment 102] |
| 98 | [Re-tabled as Amendment 108] |
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