Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information) Bill

moved Amendment No. 3: 3: Clause 1, page 1, line 15, leave out paragraph (a) The noble Lord said: My Lords, I shall speak also to the other amendments in the group. I add my thanks to those of the noble Lord, Lord Howard, and the noble Viscount, Lord Astor, to the Minister for making sure that we are debating the Bill on Report with the scheme in our hands. Of course, it has considerable drawbacks for the Minister who can be interrogated on the detail of the scheme during the debate. I am sure that there are downsides from his point of view, but it is extremely helpful for noble Lords to make sure that there is a satisfactory scheme and that we understand what its impact will be. This amendment, which I put down in Grand Committee, is a marker designed to show that we still do not believe that the Government have made the case for BBC licence fee payers paying for digital switchover. Why they should pay £600 million from the licence fee, and not the general taxpayer, still eludes us. I rather took that impression from what the noble Viscount, Lord Astor, had to say as well. The way in which the scheme is constructed makes it clear that the BBC, effectively, is unnecessary, except for paying the bill. Nearly everything in terms of the project can be done by the contractor. In fact, the BBC’s press release seems to make a big distinction between policy and project. I shall be asking the Minister more about that in a moment. All that the BBC seems to be there for is to pay money to the contractor. In Committee, the noble Lord, Lord Davies, said that the BBC had to do this because broadcasting technology had changed. Moreover, he said: "““The help scheme will … be most effective if it is fully integrated with the wider programme of work, which is best done by linking it with the wider responsibilities of the BBC for building digital Britain set out in the new BBC charter and agreement””.—[Official Report, 22/3/07; col. GC 252.]" That is rather circular: it is more or less saying that it is because the Government have decided that that is what should be done. I do not think that there was any real, rational argument behind that. It was interesting to hear what the Minister had to say about the rationale for the scheme given to the EU. We have always argued that this is a social assistance programme and that it is appropriate for the Government to pay for it, not the BBC. What argument is being made to the EU in order to get this through the competition authorities? It is ““assistance of a social character””—I took down the Minister’s words. I believe that the logic is flawed. I do not believe that I will be able to persuade the Government, especially not with an agreement between the BBC and the DCMS in my hand. It would be only realistic to accept that, but I want the Minister to know that in my view the arguments have not been made correctly. It would be useful for the Minister to explain why there is this distinction between the policy review group and the project board. Certainly to the outside, uninitiated observer, that is not at all clear. So there is that confusion and, even more peculiar, in the lightof that confusion the BBC Trust is set up in this agreement as the adjudicator to decide what functions properly fall on the board side or on the policy side. Again, that is a very peculiar way of doing things. Why is there not an integrated way of doing it? If the BBC is genuinely part of this operation and not simply a pass through to the contractor, why are not the board and the policy review group combined? I think we would all like to know a great deal more about that side of things from the Minister. I begto move.