Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information) Bill

The philosophy behind the amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, is well accepted. I need to describe the position and then we can discuss subsequent matters, should they arise. In developing the help scheme, we wanted to simplify the basic eligibility rules as far as possible, bearing in mind the complexity that can quickly surround social security benefits. The help scheme will be implemented on a region-by-region basis. It is not possible to organise this in any other way, given the volumes involved and the need to give support close to the point of switchover. That means that an eligibility window needs to be tied to the event in each switchover region. We are opting for a qualification period starting from eight months before the final switchover date—the date that BBC1 services are removed in an area—until one month after switchover in order to be as generous as possible. We have not gone for a fixed date in a particular region as that would exclude people who became eligible for the qualifying disability benefits some months before switchover. Following discussions with the consumer expert group, we have opted for a date one month after BBC1 in analogue disappears. That will be the final date on which applications from eligible households will be accepted. Of course the scheme may need to continue helping people for, say, a couple of weeks to deal with post-switchover claims. This means that people meeting the eligibility criteria but moving into an area after that date will not qualify. They will need to make their own arrangements. Before the right reverend Prelate speaks, perhaps I may say in respect of disadvantaged people, and disabled partially-sighted people, as mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, Digital UK will set up voluntary networks to help disadvantaged people who have problems. Saying that people need to make their own arrangements and excluding those who I have just mentioned may seem unfair, but to extend this period would either widen the eligibility rules or require complex rules to deal with verification of previous addresses. Both approaches would add further complications and costs. More importantly, this would require the scheme operator to have infrastructure in place long after switchover in the region. Again, this would have cost implications. We believe that the priority should be on helping those affected at the point of switchover rather than people who move into an area subsequently. Those affected will still be able to make use of the communications available from Digital UK. Many of those affected may well already have converted to digital. It is also worth bearing in mind the very important point that these rules do not affect people who move within the same region, so we are probably talking about a small minority of those who are eligible, particularly if we are taking care of the disadvantaged and the disabled.