Office of Public Sector Information
(1) The Secretary of State must prepare and lay before Parliament regular reports on the carrying out by him of the functions to which this section applies.
(2) This section applies to the Secretary of State’s functions under the following enactments—
(a) this Act;
(b) the Office of Communications Act 2002 (c. 11);
(c) the enactments relating to the management of the radio spectrum so far as not comprised in this Act;
(d) the 1990 Act;
(e) the 1996 Act.
(3) The first report under this section must relate to the period which—
(a) begins with 19th March 2002 (the date of the passing of the Office of Communications Act 2002); and
(b) ends with the period of twelve months beginning with the first date to be appointed for the purposes of section 2 of this Act.
(4) Every subsequent report must relate to the period of twelve months beginning with the end of the period to which the previous report related.
(5) The obligation under this section to prepare and lay a report before Parliament is an obligation to do that as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of the period to which the report relates.
(6) Where a report for the purposes of this section relates to a period the whole or a part of which falls before the time when the whole of this Act is in force, the functions referred to in subsection (2) are to be taken as excluding all functions under the specified enactments that will have ceased to be functions of the Secretary of State when the whole of this Act is in force.
(1) It shall be the duty of OFCOM—
(a) to carry out regular reviews of the operation, taken together, of all the provisions to which this section applies; and
(b) to send a report on every such review to the Secretary of State.
(2) This section applies to—
(a) the provisions of Schedule 2 to the 1990 Act;
(b) the provision made by or under Schedule 14 to this Act;
(c) the provisions of sections 280 and 281 of this Act;
(d) whatever provision (if any) has been made under section 283 of this Act; and
(e) the provisions of Part 3 of the Enterprise Act 2002 (c. 40) so far as they relate to intervention by the Secretary of State in connection with newspapers or other media enterprises.
(3) The first review must be carried out no more than three years after the commencement of this section, and subsequent reviews must be carried out at intervals of no more than three years.
(4) The report to the Secretary of State on a review must set out OFCOM’s recommendations, in consequence of their conclusions on the review, for the exercise by the Secretary of State of—
(a) his power to make an order under section 348(5);
(b) his powers to make orders under Schedule 14;
(c) his powers under sections 282 and 283; and
(d) his powers under sections 44(11), 58(3) and 59(6A) of the Enterprise Act 2002 (media mergers).
(5) OFCOM must publish every report sent by them to the Secretary of State under this section in such manner as they consider appropriate for bringing it to the attention of persons who, in their opinion, are likely to be affected by it.
(1) It shall be the duty of OFCOM to prepare and publish a statement containing the guidelines they propose to follow in determining the amount of penalties imposed by them under provisions contained in this Act or any other enactment apart from the Competition Act 1998 (c. 41).
(2) OFCOM may from time to time revise that statement as they think fit.
(3) Where OFCOM make or revise their statement under this section, they must publish the statement or (as the case may be) the revised statement in such manner as they consider appropriate for bringing it to the attention of the persons who, in their opinion, are likely to be affected by it.
(4) Before publishing a statement or revised statement under this section OFCOM must consult both—
(a) the Secretary of State, and
(b) such other persons as they consider appropriate,
about the guidelines they are proposing to include in the statement.
(5) Before determining how to publish a statement or revised statement under this section OFCOM must consult the Secretary of State.
(6) It shall be the duty of OFCOM, in determining the amount of any penalty to be imposed by them under this Act or any other enactment (apart from the Competition Act 1998 (c. 41)) to have regard to the guidelines contained in the statement for the time being in force under this section.
(7) References in this section to penalties imposed by OFCOM under provisions contained in this Act include references to penalties which the BBC is liable to pay to OFCOM by virtue of section 198(3).
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, information with respect to a particular business which has been obtained in exercise of a power conferred by—
(a) this Act,
(b) the enactments relating to the management of the radio spectrum (so far as not contained in this Act),
(c) the 1990 Act, or
(d) the 1996 Act,
is not, so long as that business continues to be carried on, to be disclosed without the consent of the person for the time being carrying on that business.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to any disclosure of information which is made—
(a) for the purpose of facilitating the carrying out by OFCOM of any of their functions;
(b) for the purpose of facilitating the carrying out by any relevant person of any relevant function;
(c) for the purpose of facilitating the carrying out by the Comptroller and Auditor General of any of his functions;
(d) for any of the purposes specified in section 17(2)(a) to (d) of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (c. 24) (criminal proceedings and investigations);
(e) for the purpose of any civil proceedings brought under or by virtue of this Act or any of the enactments or instruments mentioned in subsection (5); or
(f) for the purpose of securing compliance with an international obligation of the United Kingdom.
(3) Each of the following is a relevant person for the purposes of this section—
(a) a Minister of the Crown and the Treasury;
(b) the Scottish Executive;
(c) a Northern Ireland department;
(d) the Office of Fair Trading;
(e) the Competition Commission;
(f) the Consumer Panel;
(g) the Welsh Authority;
(h) a local weights and measures authority in Great Britain;
(i) any other person specified for the purposes of this subsection in an order made by the Secretary of State.
(4) The following are relevant functions for the purposes of this section—
(a) any function conferred by or under this Act;
(b) any function conferred by or under any enactment or instrument mentioned in subsection (5);
(c) any other function specified for the purposes of this subsection in an order made by the Secretary of State.
(5) The enactments and instruments referred to in subsections (2) and (4) are—
(a) the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 (c. 54);
(b) the Marine, &c., Broadcasting (Offences) Act 1967 (c. 41);
(c) the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1967 (c. 72);
(d) the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 (c. 29);
(e) the Fair Trading Act 1973 (c. 41);
(f) the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (c. 39);
(g) the Competition Act 1980 (c. 21);
(h) the Telecommunications Act 1984 (c. 12);
(i) the Consumer Protection Act 1987 (c. 43);
(j) the 1990 Act;
(k) the 1996 Act;
(l) the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1998 (c. 6);
(m) the Competition Act 1998 (c. 41);
(n) the Enterprise Act 2002 (c. 40);
(o) the Consumer Protection (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 (S.I. 1987/2049 (N.I. 20));
(p) the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988 (S.I. 1988/915).
(6) Nothing in this section—
(a) limits the matters that may be published under section 15, 26 or 390;
(b) limits the matters that may be included in, or made public as part of, a report made by OFCOM by virtue of a provision of this Act or the Office of Communications Act 2002 (c. 11);
(c) prevents the disclosure of anything for the purposes of a report of legal proceedings in which it has been publicly disclosed;
(d) applies to information that has been published or made public as mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (c).
(7) Nothing in this section applies to information obtained in exercise of the powers conferred by section 196 of the 1990 Act (powers of entry and search).
(8) Information obtained by OFCOM in exercise of functions which are exercisable by them concurrently with the Office of Fair Trading under Part 1 of the Competition Act 1998 is subject to Part 9 of the Enterprise Act 2002, and not to the preceding provisions of this section.
(9) Section 18 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (c. 24) (restriction on disclosure of information for overseas purposes) shall have effect in relation to a disclosure by virtue of subsection (2)(d) as it applies in relation to a disclosure in exercise of a power to which section 17 of that Act applies.
(10) A person who discloses information in contravention of this section is guilty of an offence and shall be liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine, or to both.
(11) No order is to be made containing provision authorised by subsection (3) or (4) unless a draft of the order has been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House.
(12) In this section “legal proceedings” means civil or criminal proceedings in or before any court, or proceedings before any tribunal established by or under any enactment.
(1) This section applies where provision made (in whatever terms) by or under an enactment specified in subsection (2) authorises or requires—
(a) a notification to be given to any person; or
(b) a document of any other description (including a copy of a document) to be sent to any person.
(2) Those enactments are—
(a) this Act;
(b) the Office of Communications Act 2002 (c. 11);
(c) the enactments relating to the management of the radio spectrum (so far as not contained in this Act);
(d) Schedule 2 to the Telecommunications Act 1984 (c. 12);
(e) the 1990 Act; and
(f) the 1996 Act.
(3) The notification or document may be given or sent to the person in question—
(a) by delivering it to him;
(b) by leaving it at his proper address; or
(c) by sending it by post to him at that address.
(4) The notification or document may be given or sent to a body corporate by being given or sent to the secretary or clerk of that body.
(5) The notification or document may be given or sent to a firm by being given or sent to—
(a) a partner in the firm; or
(b) a person having the control or management of the partnership business.
(6) The notification or document may be given or sent to an unincorporated body or association by being given or sent to a member of the governing body of the body or association.
(7) For the purposes of this section and section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978 (c. 30) (service of documents by post) in its application to this section, the proper address of a person is—
(a) in the case of body corporate, the address of the registered or principal office of the body;
(b) in the case of a firm, unincorporated body or association, the address of the principal office of the partnership, body or association;
(c) in the case of a person to whom the notification or other document is given or sent in reliance on any of subsections (4) to (6), the proper address of the body corporate, firm or (as the case may be) other body or association in question; and
(d) in any other case, the last known address of the person in question.
(8) In the case of—
(a) a company registered outside the United Kingdom,
(b) a firm carrying on business outside the United Kingdom, or
(c) an unincorporated body or association with offices outside the United Kingdom,
the references in subsection (7) to its principal office include references to its principal office within the United Kingdom (if any).
(9) In this section—
“document” includes anything in writing; and
“notification” includes notice;
and references in this section to giving or sending a notification or other document to a person include references to transmitting it to him and to serving it on him.
(10) This section has effect subject to section 395.
(1) This section applies where—
(a) section 394 authorises the giving or sending of a notification or other document by its delivery to a particular person (“the recipient”); and
(b) the notification or other document is transmitted to the recipient—
(i) by means of an electronic communications network; or
(ii) by other means but in a form that nevertheless requires the use of apparatus by the recipient to render it intelligible.
(2) The transmission has effect for the purposes of the enactments specified in section 394(2) as a delivery of the notification or other document to the recipient, but only if the requirements imposed by or under this section are complied with.
(3) Where the recipient is OFCOM—
(a) they must have indicated their willingness to receive the notification or other document in a manner mentioned in subsection (1)(b);
(b) the transmission must be made in such manner and satisfy such other conditions as they may require; and
(c) the notification or other document must take such form as they may require.
(4) Where the person making the transmission is OFCOM, they may (subject to subsection (5)) determine—
(a) the manner in which the transmission is made; and
(b) the form in which the notification or other document is transmitted.
(5) Where the recipient is a person other than OFCOM—
(a) the recipient, or
(b) the person on whose behalf the recipient receives the notification or other document,
must have indicated to the person making the transmission the recipient’s willingness to receive notifications or documents transmitted in the form and manner used.
(6) An indication to any person for the purposes of subsection (5)—
(a) must be given to that person in such manner as he may require;
(b) may be a general indication or one that is limited to notifications or documents of a particular description;
(c) must state the address to be used and must be accompanied by such other information as that person requires for the making of the transmission; and
(d) may be modified or withdrawn at any time by a notice given to that person in such manner as he may require.
(7) An indication, requirement or determination given, imposed or made by OFCOM for the purposes of this section is to be given, imposed or made by being published in such manner as they consider appropriate for bringing it to the attention of the persons who, in their opinion, are likely to be affected by it.
(8) Subsection (9) of section 394 applies for the purposes of this section as it applies for the purposes of that section.
(1) The Secretary of State may by order make provision specifying, for the purposes of the enactments specified in section 394(2), the manner of determining—
(a) the times at which things done under those enactments by means of electronic communications networks are done; and
(b) the places at which such things are so done, and at which things transmitted by means of such networks are received.
(2) The provision made by subsection (1) may include provision as to the country or territory in which an electronic address is to be treated as located.
(3) An order made by the Secretary of State may also make provision about the manner of proving in any legal proceedings—
(a) that something done by means of an electronic communications network satisfies the requirements of the enactments specified in section 394(2) for the doing of that thing; and
(b) the matters mentioned in subsection (1)(a) and (b).
(4) An order under this section may provide for such presumptions to apply (whether conclusive or not) as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
(1) The Chancellor and Council of the Duchy of Lancaster may, if they think fit, agree with a person who provides a public electronic communications network for the sale, and absolutely make sale, for such sum of money as appears to them sufficient consideration for the same, of any land which—
(a) belongs to Her Majesty in right of the Duchy of Lancaster; and
(b) is land which that person seeks to acquire for, or in connection with, the provision of his network.
(2) In this section “public electronic communications network” has the same meaning as in Chapter 1 of Part 2.
(1) The Telecommunications Act 1984 (c. 12) shall be amended as follows.
(2) In Part 5 (transfer of undertakings of British Telecommunications), the following provisions (which include spent provisions) shall cease to have effect—
(a) section 60;
(b) section 61(1) to (6);
(c) section 62;
(d) section 63(1) to (4);
(e) sections 64 to 67;
(f) section 69 to 71;
(g) sections 72(2), (4) and (5); and
(h) section 73.
(3) In section 68(2) (liability of Secretary of State on winding up), after “any outstanding liability of the successor company” there shall be inserted “for the payment of pensions”.
(4) In Part 7 (miscellaneous and supplemental) the following provisions shall cease to have effect—
(a) section 93 (grants to promote interests of disabled persons); and
(b) section 97 (contributions by local authorities towards the provision of telecommunications facilities).
There shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament—
(a) any expenditure incurred by the Secretary of State for or in connection with the carrying out of any of his functions under this Act; and
(b) any increase attributable to this Act in the sums which are payable out of money so provided under any other Act.
(1) This section applies (subject to section 401) to the following amounts—
(a) an amount paid to OFCOM in respect of a penalty imposed by them under Chapter 1 of Part 2 (including a penalty imposed by virtue of section 191(5));
(b) so much of an amount paid to OFCOM under numbering conditions in respect of an allocation of telephone numbers as is an amount determined by reference to an indication given in response to an invitation such as is mentioned in section 58(5)(a);
(c) an amount paid to OFCOM in pursuance of an obligation imposed by or under the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1998 (c. 6);
(d) an amount paid to OFCOM in respect of a penalty imposed by them under section 175;
(e) a cash bid amount paid to OFCOM under a Broadcasting Act licence for the first year falling within the period for which the licence is in force;
(f) an amount paid to OFCOM under such a licence for a subsequent year as the amount equal to a cash bid amount increased by the appropriate percentage;
(g) an amount paid to OFCOM under such a licence as an amount representing a percentage of relevant revenue for an accounting period;
(h) an amount paid to OFCOM in respect of a penalty imposed by them under Part 1 or 3 of the 1990 Act, Part 1 or 2 of the 1996 Act or Part 3 of this Act.
(2) Where OFCOM receive an amount to which this section applies, it must be paid into the appropriate Consolidated Fund; but this subsection does not apply to an amount which is required by OFCOM for making an adjustment in respect of an overpayment.
(3) The reference in subsection (2) to the payment of an amount into the appropriate Consolidated Fund—
(a) in the case of an amount received in respect of matters appearing to OFCOM to have no connection with Northern Ireland, is a reference to the payment of the amount into the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom;
(b) in the case of an amount received in respect of matters appearing to OFCOM to have a connection with Northern Ireland but no connection with the rest of the United Kingdom, is a reference to the payment of the amount into the Consolidated Fund of Northern Ireland; and
(c) in any other case, is a reference to the payment of the amount, in such proportions as OFCOM consider appropriate, into each of those Funds.
(4) OFCOM must, in respect of each financial year, prepare an account showing—
(a) the amounts to which this section applies that have been received by them during that year;
(b) the sums paid into the Consolidated Funds of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland respectively under this section in respect of those amounts;
(c) the aggregate amount of the sums received by them during that year that is retained in accordance with a statement of principles under section 401 for meeting the costs of carrying out functions mentioned in subsection (4) of that section during that year;
(d) the aggregate amount that they estimate will fall to be so retained out of amounts due to them and likely to be paid or recovered; and
(e) the cost to OFCOM of carrying out during that year the functions in respect of which amounts are or are to be retained in accordance with such a statement.
(5) OFCOM must send that account to the Comptroller and Auditor General not later than the end of the month of November following the financial year to which it relates.
(6) The Comptroller and Auditor General must examine, certify and report on the account and lay copies of it, together with his report, before each House of Parliament.
(7) References in this section to penalties imposed by OFCOM under Part 3 of this Act include references to penalties which the BBC is liable to pay to OFCOM by virtue of section 198(3).
(8) In this section—
“the appropriate percentage” has the same meaning as in section 19 of the 1990 Act;
“cash bid amount” means an amount specified in a cash bid for a Broadcasting Act licence or the amount determined by OFCOM for the purposes of any provision of the 1990 Act or this Part to be what would have been the amount of a cash bid for a licence;
“financial year” has the same meaning as in the Schedule to the Office of Communications Act 2002 (c. 11);
“numbering conditions” means conditions the setting of which is authorised by section 58 or 59; and
“relevant revenue” means any of the following—
the amount which for the purposes of section 19, 52(1), 102(1) or 118 (1) of the 1990 Act is the amount of qualifying revenue for an accounting period;
the amount which for the purposes of section 13(1) or 55(1) of the 1996 Act is the amount of multiplex revenue for an accounting period; or
an amount which for the purposes of paragraph 7 of Schedule 10 to this Act is the amount of qualifying revenue for an accounting period.
(1) OFCOM have power to make a statement of the principles under which they may retain any or all of the amounts paid to them in pursuance of obligations imposed by or under the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1998 (c. 6).
(2) Where such a statement of principles authorises the retention of an amount, OFCOM are not required to pay it into the appropriate Consolidated Fund in accordance with section 400.
(3) Principles contained in a statement made by OFCOM under this section must be such as appear to them to be likely to secure, on the basis of such estimates of the likely costs as it is practicable to make—
(a) that, on a year by year basis, the aggregate amount of the amounts retained by OFCOM does not exceed the amount required by OFCOM for meeting the annual cost to OFCOM of carrying out the functions mentioned in subsection (4);
(b) that the amounts retained by OFCOM are objectively justifiable and proportionate to the costs in respect of which they are retained; and
(c) that the relationship between meeting the cost of carrying out those functions and the amounts retained is transparent.
(4) Those functions are—
(a) OFCOM’s functions under the enactments relating to the management of the radio spectrum except those specified in subsection (5); and
(b) the function of taking any steps that OFCOM consider it necessary to take—
(i) in preparation for the carrying out of any of the functions mentioned in paragraph (a) of this subsection; or
(ii) for the purpose of facilitating the carrying out of those functions or otherwise in connection with carrying them out.
Communications Act 2003