Pre-legislative scrutiny of the Draft Media Bill

Culture, Media and Sport Committee Closed Legislative scrutiny
Opened: 19 Apr 2023 Closed: 5 Feb 2024 Parliament page
The DCMS Committee is inviting views on a draft Bill aimed at modernising broadcasting legislation to help public service broadcasters meet the challenges created by the growth of on-demand services and new technology. The Government’s draft Media Bill , published last month, would broaden how broadcasters can meet their public … Read more
30 Recommendations
5 Conclusions
2 Reports
4 Oral sessions
1 Letter
4 Events
Activity timeline 12 events
21 Nov
2023
Correspondence
17 Nov
2023
Report published
22 Sep
2023
Report published
21 Jul
2023
Report published
4 Jul
2023
Oral evidence
4 Jul
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
27 Jun
2023
Oral evidence
27 Jun
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 5, Palace of Westminster
20 Jun
2023
Oral evidence
20 Jun
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
6 Jun
2023
Oral evidence
6 Jun
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 4 sessions
4 Jul 2023
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Colin Browne · Voice of the Listener and Viewer Kate Biggs · Ofcom Kate Davies · Ofcom Robert Specterman-Green · Department for Culture, Media and Sport Rt Hon Sir John Whittingdale MP · Department for Culture, Media and Sport
27 Jun 2023
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Alistair Law · Sky Anna Hatfield · Amazon Benjamin King · Netflix Lewis Walmesley-Browne · techUK Richard Stern · TuneIn Rosie Johnston-Luff · Google
20 Jun 2023
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Clare Sumner CBE · BBC Elin Morris · S4C John Morrison · MG Alba Martin Steers · UK Community Radio Network Matt Payton · Radiocentre Paul Oldfield · BBC
6 Jun 2023
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Khalid Hayat · Channel 4 Magnus Brooke · ITV Mitchell Simmons · Paramount
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bill: Final Report HC 1807 22 Sep 2023 21
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill: Radio Measures HC 1287 21 Jul 2023 14 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
7 results
Clear
2 Recommendation Accepted
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill:…
Amend proposed power to regulate localness requirements to require Ofcom consultation.
DCMS says that its intention is to use the power to make regulations regarding digital radio stations’ localness requirements only in consultation with Ofcom and other stakeholders. We cannot envisage a scenario in which it would be necessary for the … Read more
Government Response
The government accepted the recommendation and has already amended the Bill to require consultation with Ofcom when making regulations regarding localness requirements.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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5 Recommendation Accepted
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill:…
Urgently pursue technical engagement with stakeholders and provide progress update.
The radio industry and platforms raised legitimate concerns about the extent to which the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has examined the implications of the legislation. That the Department did not publish a full impact assessment for the radio … Read more
Government Response
The government asserts that it has extensively engaged with stakeholders on policy and technical details throughout the process, including making changes in response to concerns raised. Furthermore, it confirms that a full Regulatory Impact Assessment on Part 6 of the Bill has now been published and rated fit-for-purpose, directly addressing a key concern.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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6 Recommendation Accepted
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill:…
Proactively keep challenges of finding radio in in-car systems under close review.
The future risks to radio are not confined to voice-activated devices. Platforms can make it very hard for car drivers to find radio, simply by self-preferencing their own or others’ content and leaving listeners to swipe through later pages to … Read more
Government Response
The government accepted the recommendation and committed to proactively keep the issue of in-car infotainment systems and their impact on radio access under review.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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7 Recommendation Accepted
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill:…
Redraft power to amend radio selection service definition, requiring Ofcom consultation.
The Secretary of State’s power to amend the definition of a radio selection service is crucial for the future-proofing of the regulatory scheme, including for in-car systems as well as for new and emerging technologies. While we welcome Ofcom’s horizon-scanning … Read more
Government Response
The government accepted the recommendation and has already amended the Bill to require the Secretary of State to consult Ofcom before amending the definition of a radio selection service.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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8 Recommendation Accepted
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill:…
Amend Bill to enable Ofcom to de-designate legacy devices from provisions.
There is broad agreement between platforms and broadcasters on the need for provision in the Bill to ensure legacy devices can be exempted from requirements on radio selection services. We believe that allowing Ofcom to exempt some previously- designated devices … Read more
Government Response
The government accepted the recommendation and amended the Bill to include a specific process for radio selection services (RSS) to apply for de-designation of legacy devices.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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11 Recommendation Accepted
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill:…
Require statutory consultation with Ofcom and industry before designating radio selection services.
The Department told us that it intended to consult Ofcom and other stakeholders before changing the statutory conditions for designating a radio selection service but this does not appear in the Bill. If the Government intends to carry out consultation … Read more
Government Response
The government accepted the recommendation and amended the Bill to make consultation with Ofcom and industry stakeholders a statutory requirement before the Secretary of State makes secondary legislation on radio selection services.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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13 Recommendation Accepted
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill:…
Include explicit power to amend internet radio service definition, requiring Ofcom report and affirmative procedure.
We recommend that the Bill include an explicit power to amend the definition of an internet radio service. This would enable the current definition, which specifies that only stations providing online live simulcasts of their broadcast radio service and which … Read more
Government Response
The government accepted the recommendation and amended the Bill to include an explicit power to amend the definition of an internet radio service, requiring a report from Ofcom and affirmative parliamentary procedure, as recommended.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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Government Response AI assessment · 14 of 30 classified
Accepted 7
Accepted in Part 2
Acknowledged 2
Rejected 3
Total 30 recs + 5 conclusions
Correspondence 1 letter
21 Nov 2023 To committee Letter from Kate Biggs, Director of Public Policy, Ofcom, relating to Ofcom’s response to the Committee’s Draft Media Bill Reports, dated 15 November 2023
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