As everyone knows, if you don’t make at least 50,000 GBP per year in London, you’re probably living above a filthy kebab shop somewhere in Zone 3 and take your life into your own hands just commuting to work.

So, we here at OfcomWatch have never really made a big issue of what are reported to be the ‘high’ levels of pay at Ofcom. In fact, in some areas like consultations and the Ofcom Consumer Panel, we think that more money should be spent.

Anyway, the House of Commons Trade & Industry Committee, chaired by Peter Luff MP (an OW friend), issued its 12th annual report on the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) yesterday. The OFT-Ofcom relationship was featured quite heavily. Anyway, here is the money quote:

‘It came to our attention in our inquiry into the communications regulator Ofcom earlier this year that there is a clear disparity between the rewards Ofcom offers to its employees and the rewards that other regulatory bodies are able to offer. That Ofcom is funded by contributions from industry appears to enable it to offer enhanced packages to attract those with sufficient skills and experience. We share the concerns of OFT management over the lack of flexibility available to it in rewards packages. As the UK’s principal competition authority, the OFT needs to employ talented individuals to do its job. We recommend that the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform undertakes a review of the effect that the greater market power of Ofcom in attracting staff could be having on the effectiveness and balance of the overall UK competition regime.’

Interesting — does this mean OFT employees get more or Ofcom employees get less?

It’s also interesting when the Committee report that Ofcom have ‘market power’. Perhaps the DBERR will recommend that Ofcom be functionally separated into: OfMedia; OfTelecoms; OfSpectrum…