My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Grantchester, for explaining his amendment, which seeks to introduce a statutory regulation by Ofcom of the code of practice for the Electronic Communications Code and to create a code adjudicator to examine breaches of the code of practice and impose sanctions. The Government understand the need to ensure that the Ofcom code of practice has real impact on industry behaviour. The Electronic Communications Code will modernise the way digital communications are deployed, and it is essential in this new market that the legitimate interests of all parties are respected.
Under paragraph 102 of the revised Electronic Communications Code, Ofcom has a duty to develop and publish a code of practice. The development of this code must be in consultation with key stakeholders, including both industry representatives and landowner interest groups. This ensures that relevant parties have the opportunity to directly influence industry standards of best practice.
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We also need to consider in the context of the Electronic Communications Code the role of the courts as the independent arbiter of code disputes. The legal framework underpins consensual agreements. Code rights cannot be exercised unless they are agreed with the site provider or imposed by the courts. This places the court in the position of adjudicator of code disputes. In arriving at their decisions the courts will of course consider the conduct of parties, both generally and in relation to what has been set out in an industry code of practice. So whether a party has complied with the code of practice will ultimately be subject to the scrutiny of the court.
Taken together these factors will ensure that compliance with the code of practice is always taken into account by parties negotiating agreements and by the court where agreement is not reached. An additional layer
of adjudication by a person other than the court is not necessary and would be a costly and burdensome duplication.
In the light of those assurances, I hope the noble Lord will not move his amendment. I thank him for his agreement to the government amendments.