You may remember Don Foster tabling the following question, which was answered in parliament yesterday:

Don Foster (Lib Dem, Bath) asked the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what means her Department uses to assess the effectiveness of Ofcom in upholding its duties to citizens and consumers; and if she will make a statement. (10043)

James Purnell: The Office of Communications (Ofcom) is a public corporation, operating independently from Government, principally under the terms of the Communications Act 2003 and the Office of Communications Act 2002. The Office of Communications Act requires Ofcom to report annually to the Secretary of State on the carrying out of their functions during the financial year and a copy of this report is laid before each House. In addition, DCMS and DTI Ministers and their departmental officials meet regularly with the Ofcom chairman and senior officials to discuss issues relating to the exercise of Ofcom’s statutory functions.

This does provide a starting point for looking at how Ofcom is overseen. For one thing, the mechanism is in the Ofcom Act not the Communications Act. Then it is a ministerial matter, not one for parliament or the select committee. There is no information given here on what happens should the Sec State have concerns about what’s in Ofcom’s annual report — we may have to go back to the Ofcom Act or get further questions asked.

Don Redding, co-ordinator, Public Voice