Moved by
Lord Foster of Bath
88: After Clause 51, insert the following new Clause—
“OFCOM Chair discharging duties under this Act
(1) Before appointing an individual as Chair of OFCOM, the Secretary of State must ensure that their preferred candidate appears before relevant select committees of both Houses of Parliament to set out how they would discharge their duties under this Act.
(2) If a relevant select committee of either House publishes a report concluding that the candidate should not be appointed, and the Secretary of State decides to proceed with the appointment, they must make a statement to either House about why they are proceeding with the appointment, including but not limited to—
(a) an assessment of that candidate’s ability to act independently in discharging their duties under this Act, and
(b) a response to any findings or recommendations made in a report by a relevant select committee.”
Member's explanatory statement
This amendment seeks to increase parliamentary scrutiny of proposed OFCOM chairs in discharging their duties under this Act.