|
| |
|
(4) | In section 225(3) (period for review of financial terms of replacement Channel |
| |
3 and 5 and public teletext licences), after “initial expiry date” insert “for that |
| |
| |
(5) | In section 228(8) (giving effect to review of financial terms of replacement |
| |
licence), in the definition of “licensing period”— |
| 5 |
(a) | after ““licensing period”” insert “, in relation to a licence,”, |
| |
(b) | in paragraph (a), at the end (but before “or”) insert “for that type of |
| |
| |
(c) | in paragraph (b), at the end insert “for that type of licence”. |
| |
(6) | Section 229 (report in anticipation of new licensing round) is amended as |
| 10 |
| |
(7) | In subsection (1), after “licensing period” insert “for a type of relevant licence”. |
| |
| |
(a) | for “holders of relevant licences” substitute “holder or holders of that |
| |
| 15 |
(b) | for “licence holders” substitute “licence holder or holders”. |
| |
(9) | In subsection (3)(a) and (b), for “relevant licences” substitute “that type of |
| |
| |
(10) | After subsection (4) insert— |
| |
“(4A) | Subsection (5) applies where the Secretary of State— |
| 20 |
(a) | receives a report under this section in anticipation of the end of |
| |
a licensing period for a type of relevant licence, and |
| |
(b) | subsequently makes an order under section 224 extending the |
| |
licensing period for that type of licence.” |
| |
| 25 |
(a) | for the words from the beginning to “the order—” substitute “Where |
| |
this subsection applies—”, and |
| |
(b) | in paragraph (a), for “he” substitute “the Secretary of State” and at the |
| |
end (but before “and”) insert “for that type of licence”. |
| |
(12) | In subsection (6), in the definition of “licensing period”— |
| 30 |
(a) | in the opening words, after ““licensing period”” insert “, in relation to a |
| |
| |
(b) | in paragraph (a), at the end (but before “or”) insert “for that type of |
| |
| |
(c) | in paragraph (b), at the end insert “for that type of licence”. |
| 35 |
(13) | Section 230 (orders suspending rights of renewal) is amended as follows. |
| |
(14) | In subsection (2), for “licences for the time being in force that are of a |
| |
description specified in the order are” substitute “a licence for the time being |
| |
in force that is of a description specified in the order is”. |
| |
(15) | In that subsection, at the end insert “(but see subsection (7))”. |
| 40 |
(16) | In each of subsections (3), (4), (5) and (8)(b), for “licences” substitute “a licence”. |
| |
(17) | In subsection (7), for “Channel 3 licences” substitute “a Channel 3 licence”. |
| |
(18) | In subsection (11), in the definition of “initial licensing period”— |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
(a) | after ““initial licensing period”” insert “, in relation to a licence,”, and |
| |
(b) | at the end (but before “and”) insert “for that type of licence”. |
| |
26 | Report by OFCOM on public teletext service |
| |
After section 218 of the Communications Act 2003 insert— |
| |
“218A | Duty to report on public teletext service |
| 5 |
| |
(a) | prepare a report on the public teletext service, and |
| |
(b) | send it to the Secretary of State as soon as practicable after this |
| |
section comes into force. |
| |
(2) | OFCOM must prepare and send to the Secretary of State further reports |
| 10 |
on the public teletext service when asked to do so by the Secretary of |
| |
| |
(3) | Each report must include, in particular— |
| |
(a) | an assessment of the advantages and disadvantages for |
| |
members of the public of the public teletext service being |
| 15 |
| |
(b) | an assessment of whether the public teletext service can be |
| |
provided at a cost to the licence holder that is commercially |
| |
| |
(4) | An assessment under subsection (3)(a) must take account of alternative |
| 20 |
uses for the capacity that would be available if the public teletext |
| |
service were not provided. |
| |
(5) | “Capacity” means capacity on the frequencies on which Channel 3 |
| |
services, Channel 4, S4C and television multiplex services are |
| |
| 25 |
27 | Power to remove OFCOM’s duty to secure provision of public teletext service |
| |
(1) | Section 218 of the Communications Act 2003 (provision of public teletext |
| |
service) is amended as follows. |
| |
| |
(a) | for “must do all that they can to” substitute “may”, and |
| 30 |
(b) | at the end insert “and complies with this section”. |
| |
| |
(a) | for “OFCOM must exercise their powers” substitute “If there is a public |
| |
teletext provider, OFCOM must take account of the requirements of the |
| |
public teletext service when exercising their powers”, and |
| 35 |
(b) | omit the words after paragraph (b). |
| |
(4) | Accordingly, in the heading of the section, for “Duty” substitute “Power”. |
| |
(5) | Omit section 221 of that Act (replacement of existing public teletext provider’s |
| |
| |
(6) | In section 276(1) of that Act (co-operation with the public teletext provider), for |
| 40 |
“the provider of the service or channel” substitute “, if there is a public teletext |
| |
provider, the provider of the Channel 3 service or Channel 4”. |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
(7) | In section 362 of that Act (interpretation of Part 3), in the definition of “the |
| |
public teletext service”, for “is required to be” substitute “is or may be”. |
| |
(8) | The amendments made by this section and the entries in Schedule 3 relating to |
| |
sections 218(7) and 221 of the Communications Act 2003 (and section 46 so far |
| |
as relating to those entries) come into force on such day as the Secretary of State |
| 5 |
may by order made by statutory instrument appoint. |
| |
(9) | An order may not be made under subsection (8) unless— |
| |
(a) | condition A or B is met, |
| |
(b) | the Secretary of State is satisfied that making the order is in the public |
| |
| 10 |
(c) | a draft of the instrument containing the order has been laid before, and |
| |
approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament. |
| |
(10) | Condition A is that the Secretary of State has laid before Parliament a report by |
| |
the Office of Communications (“OFCOM”) under section 218A of the |
| |
Communications Act 2003 (report on public teletext service). |
| 15 |
(11) | Condition B is that OFCOM have invited applications for the licence to provide |
| |
the public teletext service (within the meaning of Part 3 of the Communications |
| |
| |
(a) | no applications were made by the closing date, or |
| |
(b) | OFCOM considered that they could not award the licence to any of the |
| 20 |
| |
28 | Appointed providers of regional or local news |
| |
After section 287 of the Communications Act 2003 insert— |
| |
“287A | Appointed providers of regional or local news |
| |
| 25 |
(a) | appoint a person to provide relevant media content consisting |
| |
of regional news or local news (or both) for all or part of a |
| |
designated Channel 3 area, and |
| |
(b) | pay amounts to the appointed person for use in, or in |
| |
connection with, the provision of such content. |
| 30 |
(2) | OFCOM must do all that they can to secure that a person does not |
| |
become or remain a person appointed under this section if the person |
| |
is a disqualified person under paragraph 1 of Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the |
| |
1990 Act in relation to a Broadcasting Act licence. |
| |
(3) | Where a person has been appointed under this section to provide news |
| 35 |
for all or part of a designated Channel 3 area, the regulatory regime for |
| |
the regional Channel 3 service provided for that area includes the |
| |
conditions (if any) that OFCOM consider appropriate for securing that |
| |
the service includes news programmes provided by that person. |
| |
(4) | OFCOM must publish the criteria that they intend to use in making an |
| 40 |
appointment under this section. |
| |
| |
(a) | must specify the period for which the person is appointed, |
| |
(b) | must specify the area for which the person is appointed (the |
| |
| 45 |
|
| |
|
| |
|
(c) | may specify the parts of the appointed area, or the communities, |
| |
for which the appointed person is to provide local news, |
| |
(d) | may make provision for the variation of the appointment, |
| |
including the appointed area, |
| |
(e) | may be made subject to such conditions as OFCOM consider |
| 5 |
| |
(f) | may be revoked by OFCOM at any time. |
| |
(6) | The conditions may include, in particular, conditions requiring the |
| |
appointed person to make the relevant media content available to— |
| |
(a) | the provider of the regional Channel 3 service for the appointed |
| 10 |
| |
(b) | the body corporate appointed under section 280 as the |
| |
appointed news provider for Channel 3, and |
| |
| |
(7) | The conditions may also include, in particular— |
| 15 |
(a) | conditions relating to the form, character and quality of the |
| |
| |
(b) | conditions requiring the appointed person to broadcast or |
| |
distribute the relevant media content, whether by means |
| |
involving the use of an electronic communications network or |
| 20 |
| |
(c) | conditions requiring the appointed person to support and |
| |
promote the provision by other persons of regional news or |
| |
local news (or both) for the appointed area, whether in the form |
| |
of relevant media content or otherwise. |
| 25 |
(8) | An amount paid under this section may be paid on such conditions as |
| |
OFCOM consider appropriate, including— |
| |
(a) | conditions as to the use of the amount, and |
| |
(b) | conditions as to the circumstances in which all or part of the |
| |
| 30 |
(9) | Section 287(5) and (6) apply to a condition imposed under subsection |
| |
(3) as they apply to a condition imposed under that section. |
| |
(10) | OFCOM must consult the Secretary of State— |
| |
(a) | before publishing criteria in accordance with subsection (4), and |
| |
(b) | before determining conditions to be imposed under subsection |
| 35 |
| |
| |
“designated Channel 3 area” means an area— |
| |
(a) | for which a regional Channel 3 service is provided, and |
| |
(b) | which has been designated for the purposes of this |
| 40 |
section by OFCOM with the consent of the Secretary of |
| |
| |
“local news”, for an appointed area, means news that is intended |
| |
to be of particular interest to persons living within a part of the |
| |
area or to a particular community living within the area; |
| 45 |
“regional news”, for an appointed area, means news that is |
| |
intended to be of particular interest to persons living within the |
| |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
“relevant media content” means material, other than |
| |
advertisements, which is included, or is capable of being |
| |
included, in any of the following services that are available to |
| |
members of the public in all or part of the United Kingdom— |
| |
(a) | television programme services, additional television |
| 5 |
services or digital additional television services, |
| |
(b) | on-demand programme services, or |
| |
(c) | other services provided by means of the internet where |
| |
there is a person who exercises editorial control over the |
| |
material included in the service. |
| 10 |
(12) | The services that are to be taken for the purposes of this section to be |
| |
available to members of the public include any service which— |
| |
(a) | is available for reception by members of the public (within the |
| |
meaning of section 361); or |
| |
(b) | is available for use by members of the public (within the |
| 15 |
meaning of section 368R(4)).” |
| |
29 | Broadcasting of programmes in Gaelic |
| |
(1) | Omit section 184 of the Broadcasting Act 1990 (broadcasting of programmes in |
| |
Gaelic on Channel 3 in Scotland). |
| |
(2) | Accordingly, omit section 183A(7)(a) and (b) of that Act (representation in |
| 20 |
Gaelic Media Service of interests of holders of certain licences). |
| |
Independent radio services |
| |
| |
(1) | In section 86(6) of the Broadcasting Act 1990 (varying licences under Part 3), for |
| |
“section 110(1)(b)” substitute “section 97B or 110(1)(b)”. |
| 25 |
(2) | After section 97 of that Act insert— |
| |
| |
97A | Date for digital switchover |
| |
(1) | The Secretary of State may give notice to OFCOM nominating a date for |
| |
digital switchover for the post-commencement services specified or |
| 30 |
| |
(2) | When nominating a date, or considering whether to nominate a date, |
| |
the Secretary of State must have regard to any report submitted by |
| |
OFCOM or the BBC under section 67(1)(b) of the Broadcasting Act 1996 |
| |
(review of digital radio broadcasting). |
| 35 |
(3) | The Secretary of State— |
| |
(a) | may nominate different dates for different services, and |
| |
(b) | may give notice to OFCOM withdrawing a nomination under |
| |
| |
(4) | In this section and section 97B— |
| 40 |
|
| |
|
| |
|
“date for digital switchover”, in relation to a post-commencement |
| |
service, means a date after which it will cease to be appropriate |
| |
for the service to continue to be provided in analogue form; |
| |
“post-commencement service” means a local service, national |
| |
service or additional service that is provided under a licence |
| 5 |
| |
(a) | was granted on or after the day on which this section |
| |
| |
(b) | has been renewed under section 103B or 104AA. |
| |
97B | Variation of licence period after date for digital switchover nominated |
| 10 |
(1) | This section applies if the Secretary of State has nominated a date for |
| |
digital switchover for a post-commencement service (and has not |
| |
withdrawn the nomination). |
| |
(2) | If the period for which the licence to provide the post-commencement |
| |
service is to continue in force ends after the date for digital switchover, |
| 15 |
OFCOM must by notice vary the licence so that the period ends on or |
| |
before that date, subject to subsection (3). |
| |
(3) | OFCOM may not reduce the period so that it ends less than 2 years after |
| |
the day on which they issue the notice, unless the licence holder |
| |
consents to such a reduction. |
| 20 |
(4) | If the period for which the licence to provide the post-commencement |
| |
service is to continue in force ends on or before the date for digital |
| |
switchover, OFCOM may not vary the licence so that the period ends |
| |
| |
(3) | In section 199(5) of that Act (publication of notices by OFCOM), after “55,” |
| 25 |
| |
31 | Renewal of national radio licences |
| |
(1) | In section 103A of the Broadcasting Act 1990 (renewal of national licences), in |
| |
subsection (1), after “renewed” insert “under this section”. |
| |
(2) | After that section insert— |
| 30 |
“103B | Further renewal of national licences |
| |
(1) | A national licence may be renewed under this section on one occasion |
| |
for a period of not more than 7 years beginning with the date of renewal |
| |
(“the renewal period”) (subject to the following provisions of this |
| |
| 35 |
(2) | Subsections (2) to (9), (11) and (12) of section 103A apply in relation to |
| |
the renewal of a licence under this section as they apply in relation to |
| |
the renewal of a licence under section 103A, subject to subsection (3). |
| |
(3) | Those provisions apply in relation to the renewal of a licence under this |
| |
section as if the following were omitted— |
| 40 |
| |
(b) | in subsection (4)(c), the words from “or OFCOM” to the end, |
| |
| |
(d) | subsection (8)(a), and |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
(4) | Where OFCOM renew a licence under this section they must include in |
| |
the licence as renewed a condition requiring the licence holder to do all |
| |
that the licence holder can to secure the broadcasting of a simulcast |
| |
radio service in digital form throughout the renewal period.” |
| 5 |
(3) | Section 103A(12) of the Broadcasting Act 1990 (as applied by section 103B of |
| |
that Act) does not prevent the determination of a date falling less than one year |
| |
after the making of the determination where— |
| |
(a) | the Office of Communications consider that the relevant date for the |
| |
purposes of that section (as applied) is a date which is not more than 15 |
| 10 |
months after the day on which this section comes into force, and |
| |
(b) | the determination is made as soon as practicable after that day. |
| |
32 | Renewal and variation of local radio licences |
| |
(1) | In section 104A of the Broadcasting Act 1990 (renewal of local licences)— |
| |
(a) | in subsection (1), after “renewed” insert “under this section”, and |
| 15 |
(b) | after that subsection insert— |
| |
“(1A) | A local licence may be renewed under this section only if it is |
| |
granted before the day on which section 104AA comes into |
| |
| |
(2) | After that section insert— |
| 20 |
“104AA | Further renewal of local licences |
| |
(1) | A local licence may be renewed under this section on one occasion for |
| |
a period of not more than 7 years beginning with the date of renewal |
| |
(subject to the following provisions of this section and section 104AB). |
| |
(2) | A local licence may be renewed under this section only if— |
| 25 |
(a) | it has been renewed under section 104A, or |
| |
(b) | it is granted on or after the day on which this section comes into |
| |
| |
(3) | Subsections (3) to (12), (13) and (14) of section 104A apply in relation to |
| |
the renewal of a licence under this section as they apply in relation to |
| 30 |
the renewal of a licence under section 104A, subject to subsections (4) |
| |
| |
(4) | Section 104A(3) (as applied) has effect as if the words “Subject to |
| |
subsection (2)” were omitted. |
| |
(5) | In the case of an approved licence, if an applicant for renewal of the |
| 35 |
licence under this section makes a national nomination in accordance |
| |
with section 104AB, section 104A (as applied) has effect as if— |
| |
(a) | subsections (4) and (13)(b) were omitted, |
| |
(b) | references to the nominated local digital sound programme |
| |
service were references to the national digital sound |
| 40 |
programme service nominated under section 104AB, and |
| |
(c) | references to the nominated local radio multiplex service were |
| |
references to the national radio multiplex service nominated |
| |
| |
|
| |
|