Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information) Bill

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, for returning to the issue. I recognise his motivation: as he graphically said, people might fall between the cracks and would not receive help. He is concerned that people should be covered as far as possible. We listened carefully in Committee but, as we said then, the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, ought not to exaggerate the number of people in the categories to which he refers. The help scheme is restricted; there will not be a huge number of eligible people. He talked about people moving to a new area after switchover schemes had been completed; but the elderly, for example, have a much lower propensity to move than the rest of the population, for the obvious reasons of their emotional commitment to their home and the disturbance involved in moving. We do not see the potential for the massive social problem that there might be if the scheme applied to the whole population. The noble Lord will also appreciate the problems arising as a result of the technological basis of the scheme. The help scheme will be implemented on a region-by-region basis—by independent television regions—as digitalisation takes place. The regions will follow the order of switchover. It is not possible to organise the scheme on a basis other than seriatim across the country, as it will take several years to complete. We have tried, therefore, to tie the eligibility period to switchover in each ITV region. In a process that lasts several years, we could not make a more elastic commitment. The help scheme agreement sets out that the eligibility period begins eight months before the first analogue services in a region cease and extends until one month after the final analogue transmitters in the region are switched off. We have not opted for a single qualifying date in each region, such as six months before switchover; although that would be simpler, it would exclude people who began receiving the qualifying disability benefits some months before switchover. We are mindful of the noble Lord’s point that the scheme should be flexible. The one-month run-on beyond switchover is also important to ensure that people can claim for a short period once analogue services disappear. We recognise that some people will slip through the net, as the noble Lord suggested. The final date on which applications from eligible households will be accepted will be one month after switchover. Someone moving to a converted area from a region that has not yet converted to digital will not qualify for the help scheme. They will need to make their own arrangements. The noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, says that that is unfair. As in Committee, he gave examples of what he regarded as its unfairness. However, we will require the scheme operator to have in place infrastructure long after switchover occurs in any one region. It is a big operation and the caravan moves on. Switchover will take place by ITV area. The process will take place over a set period and then the whole operation will move to the next region, as we have clearly identified. The noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, says that in a few residual cases—we maintain that there are likely to be few—there should be a continuing function in the region that has already completed the switchover. The cost of that would be significant, and we do not think that it is merited by the likely size of the problem. I hear what the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, says and understand his motivation. In an ideal world we would like people to be aware of the system from the day it starts and to be eligible for help at any stage during the process. Indeed, the noble Lord would prefer an extended period after completion to mop up what is left. We live in the real world. This is a big operation, and the vast majority of people will know well in advance that switchover is to occur. They will have time to apply for help and to regularise their position. There is a period beyond actual switchover when they can still apply. It is unrealistic, however, for us to have an entirely open-ended situation. The costs of that would be huge, and we do not believe they are merited by the numbers that are likely to be involved. This is a case where the noble Lord’s principles have to meet the real world. I know that always hurts him, but we find ourselves in this position from time to time. We have a scheme that we think will meet the requirements of our people. We would want to be reassured on this matter. I cannot think of anything more likely to enrage a population than for a signal to be switched off when they have not been informed; to see their television set die on them when they have not been warned nor given the ability to get help when they were entitled to it. We will ensure that the scheme is scrupulous on those issues. Reality intrudes, though, which is why we have a limited period for exception in each region that the scheme moves through.