Before we begin today's look at the Digital Economy Bill (I've still got a lot of catching up to do, but I hope I'm up to date before it becomes an Act, otherwise I'll look silly), I'd like to draw your attention to BBC's Panorama, available here on the iPlayer. I haven't seen it yet, but Pete informed me via the comments that it's concerned with the exact thing that I've been poring over for the last month or so. This'll probably be the first that most British people have heard of this, which shows somewhat how little interest everyday people have in the drafting of laws that could put them in big trouble. Anyway, give it a watch. In case you don't, then, just like the umpteen hours of debates, I'll give you a review, maybe tomorrow.

Clause 7 : Initial obligations code by OFCOM in the absence of an approved code. The theme at the beginning of the debate on this one was that of haste. The Bill obviously needs to get passed pretty quickly, as an election's coming soon, so we have even less time than normal to get through it. Lord Howard of Rising warned, however, that "too much haste can lead to mistakes and, indeed, some would argue that this Bill is an example of that".

Nevertheless, Amendment 84 was proposed by the government and, of course, agreed to. This dealt with notifying the European Commission, which takes time - something the government clearly doesn't have, as they want to get this thing on the road as soon as possible.

This is related to the re-enacting of the Video Recordings Act, which was necessary as the European Commission was not informed way back in 1984, and so anyone who was prosecuted for selling adult videos to kids had no right to be, as the VRA was not enforceable. They obviously want to make sure that this doesn't happen with this Bill. The amendment gives Ofcom an extension to coming up with their new code, in order to make sure that the EC can receive it. They still want it done quick, mind, but they have to cover all the bases. The Tories and Lib Dems (via Lord Howard of Rising and Lord Clement-Jones respectively) weren't thoroughly convinced, but they let it through.

Something to point out before I move on. I'm learning things all the time throughout this process - that's mainly why I'm reviewing it on this blog, for my own benefit - and one thing that is very clear is that the Committee Stage may involve people proposing amendments, but that doesn't mean they actually want the amendment to succeed. They just want an opportunity to speak on a matter of concern. Of course, they obviously want the Bill to be changed somehow, but not necessarily with the words they suggest: perhaps they want the government (in this case) to go away and think about it, and maybe come up with their own amendment. A phrase
that's popped up frequently is that of a "probing amendment" - an amendment that just wishes to ask questions, not change anything. The amendment is just an excuse to speak. Just some info for those out there who aren't aware of it.

There was a bit of concern about whether all these new powers will be taken up by Ofcom, or if a new body will be created. As Lord Howard of Rising put it, the "material that we have recently been given appears to confirm that the new body is still unconfirmed - if my English is not too upside down". The Tories hate 'quangos' - quasi non-governmental organisation, or a body that has some power but is not necessarily connected to the government - and the Lord continued that Labour "have a record of creating quangos and a seemingly unabated appetite for more". Lord Young of Norwood Green described that as a "harsh accusation". Baroness Buscombe retorted that, with the Labour Lord not wanting more powers for Ofcom but also not wanting a quango, he has "almost lost the will to live". Joining in with this joking around, Lord Young insisted that "I have not lost the will to live. Fancy being deprived of the sheer pleasure of listening to the noble Baroness enunciating my poor performance in these areas, or the ineffectiveness of the superb briefing notes supplied by my superb Bill team".

All of this fun was rounded off by Lord Howard of Rising as he withdrew his amendment, by saying that he was "rather worried about [Lord Young of Norwood Green]'s health. He seems to be looking all right; I just hope he will make it through the rest of this evening - perhaps even for the rest of the debate. It looks as if we have a long hard road ahead in this Committee, and I would hate to think that he would not make it".

Clause 7 passed - Amendment 98 agreed