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04|05|05

Minutes of the Fourth Meeting of the Ofcom Advisory Committee on Older and Disabled People 25 January 2005

Held at Riverside House, 2a Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1 9HA

Present

Mr Mike Whitlam (Chairman)
Janet Askham
Simon Cramp
Gareth Davies
Caroline Ellis
Sally Greengross
Fred Heddell
Jonathan Kaye
Lydia Thomas
Ross Trotter

In attendance (*for parts of the meeting)

Bradley Brady, Public & Political Relations Manager, Ofcom
*Juliette Brown, Programme Standards & Fairness Team, Ofcom
Kevin Carey, Member of Ofcom Content Board
*Geoff Delamare, Head of Strategy Planning, Ofcom
*Sarah Evans, Evaluation Manager, Ofcom
*Angela Oakley-Jones, Health and Safety Officer, Ofcom
*Alan Pridmore, Manager, Consumer Policy, Ofcom
Paul Rogers, Secretariat, Ofcom
*John Stables, Advertising Standards Authority
Bob Twitchin, Member of Ofcom Consumer Panel

Support

Julie Ross, P.A. to Simon Cramp
Lisa Cordaro, speech to text reporter

1. Apologies for Absence

1.1 Apologies were received from Denis Carter. The members would be joined by the Ofcom Board for lunch.

1.2 Angela Oakey-Jones briefed the members on the arrangements for evacuating the building in the event of an emergency and the refuge areas for use by wheelchair users. She offered to arrange a walk through of the procedure for everyone and noted that the Concierge was aware of procedures to follow in an emergency or drill. A member raised the fact that Ofcom had not fitted a flashing light alarm facility to alert deaf people; this would be referred to the appropriate Ofcom colleagues. The Chairman reminded Ms Oakey-Jones that the members had made a request for personal evacuation plans and she undertook to arrange for such plans to be put in place.

AP1 Angela Oakey-Jones to talk to Ofcom colleagues about flashing alarms for deaf people and to arrange for personal evacuation plans to be issued to members.

2. Minutes/Matters arising

2.1 The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed and signed by the Chairman.

2.2 Matters arising were discussed. The revised ACOD mission statement; was read out and approved by members. It was agreed that the mission statement should now be placed on the Ofcom website.

AP2 Bradley Bradley to arrange for the ACOD mission statement to be placed on the Ofcom website.

2.3 The Chairman said that he was awaiting a response from the Ofcom Board on the points made by members on the consultation on the revised Broadcast Code. The Code was due to be in place by late Spring and ACOD could expect a response around the time of publication.

2.4 A member asked whether members could be alerted to any discussions in Parliament which affected ACOD. Bradley Brady said that an internal weekly digest of political activities was produced. He offered to make the digest available to members.

AP3 Members to email Bradley Brady if they wish to receive the weekly political digest.

3. Broadcasters’ Equal Opportunities Toolkit

3.1 Juliette Brown attended the meeting to brief the members on progress with the ‘toolkit’, designed to assist broadcasters to meet their statutory obligations regarding disability, gender and race equality in training and employment, outlined under Section 27 of the Communications Act 2003. Ofcom would be seeking endorsement of the toolkit from the Disability Rights Commission, the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Commission for Racial Equality. It was planned to publish the guide in March; the guide would assist employers in drafting advertisements to fill job vacancies. It was agreed that members should have sight of an electronic copy of the final version of the guide.

AP4 Juliette Brown to provide electronic copy of final draft for circulation

3.2 A member thought that the toolkit should go beyond the minimum legal requirements and instead be a statement of best practice. Ms Brown explained that it was not possible to do this; Ofcom could only cover the areas set out in the Communications Act and reminded members that broadcasters would be subject to other legal requirements. Another member expressed their disappointment that ACOD’s advice had not been sought by Ofcom at an earlier stage when it would have been easier to influence the formulation of policy. The Chairman supported this view and emphasised the interest of the Committee in this subject.

4. Consumer Panel Report on Digital Switchover

4.1 Bob Twitchin briefed the members on the background to the publication of the Consumer Panel’s report on Digital Switchover in November 2004. In July 2004 the Consumer Panel was asked by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to consider what measures might be necessary to protect the interests of ‘the most vulnerable’ consumers during digital switchover. The Consumer Panel study, which took into account the findings of other research groups, concluded that the most vulnerable group were the ‘socially isolated’ (ie people with disabilities, older people or people with a low level of English literacy) and that it was very important that appropriate equipment was available at a reasonable cost so that disabled people could access digital services.

4.2 The members all welcomed the report. A member thought it very important that disabled people had access to interactive television. Another member hoped that information about the switchover would be explained very plainly so that people with hidden disabilities – such as those with learning disabilities – understood what was happening. A further member was concerned that people might purchase a digital television set unnecessarily instead of buying a digital decoder. They also thought that, because of the range of decoders available, some people might purchase cheaper equipment which did not provide the full range of services. A member warned of salesman selling inappropriate equipment to disabled customers in order to meet sales targets.

4.3 A member pointed out that a lot of older people did not claim the benefits that they were entitled to and therefore it would be difficult to identify all people who would need financial assistance. They thought it important that the appropriate advice agencies were encouraged to contact older people generally and that follow up arrangements were in place to ensure that older people and those members of ethnic minorities, whose understanding of English was poor, understood and used the equipment correctly. Another member said that the Consumer Panel had given a very strong message in its recommendation that the needs of disabled people, especially those with sight or hearing impairments, should be looked at quickly.

4.4 Kevin Carey warned that equipment manufacturers were not regulated and that potential problems could be overcome if manufacturers were to agree on a set standard. He also thought that, over time, technology would improve and that it would be therefore futile to set a specific standard which, by 2010, would be redundant. He advocated giving decoder equipment to those who were unable to afford it.

4.5 Bob Twitchin thanked the members for their views. He thought that the Consumer Panel would continue its involvement with digital switchover (DSO). He thought it would be helpful if ACOD were to provide him with a report of the discussion.

AP5 Paul Rogers to provide note of discussion to Bob Twitchin

4.6 The Chairman thought that DSO would be an important area of work for ACOD and that it would be involved with the Consumer Panel’s discussions with national bodies on areas of interest; he considered that the Committee should look at establishing a sub-committee to continue this area of work. This was agreed.

5. Strategic Telecoms Review

5.1 The Chairman said that time had been allowed in the agenda for members to discuss amongst themselves the consultation on Phase 2 of the Strategic Review of Telecommunications (STR) before meeting Dougal Scott from the policy team after lunch. The briefing sent to members explained that the STR took a broad look at the workings of the UK telecoms sector and assesses the benefits currently delivered to consumers, the future prospects for the sector and the potential impact of alternative regulatory approaches. Ofcom wished to promote effective competition at all levels; deliver equality of access, promote investment and in time adopt a light-touch economic regulation. Three options had been identified:

  1. Deregulate and rely solely on competition law to police the market
  2. Use the Enterprise Act to investigate breaches of competitive market conditions
  3. Ensure wholesale customers had real equality of access to BT’s network. Regulation would then be focused on enduring economic bottlenecks.

5.2 Ofcom’s preferred approach was option 3. Bradley Brady confirmed that the discussion could also include the future scope of Universal Service Obligations (USO) as this was raised as part of the STR.

5.3 Dougal Scott joined the meeting after lunch and was briefed on the points raised by members.

5.4 Mr Scott explained that USO in telecommunications was focused on fixed line telephony and was underpinned by EU directives. Ofcom could not redefine USO so that it covered mobile communications; that would be a matter for the government and the government in turn was bound by the EU. As to the imposition of USO on the provider with Significant Market Power, that would cease to be appropriate when the market became genuinely competitive. The members were sceptical that competition, left to itself, would meet the needs of older and disabled people. In order for this to happen, industry would need to take into account from the outset, the needs of what was a very substantial market.

5.5 It was agreed that Bradley Brady would prepare a draft response reflecting the views expressed by members for approval by the Committee.

AP6 Bradley Brady to circulate draft response

6. Universal Service Obligation Review

6.1 Alan Pridmore attended the meeting to listen to members views. Briefing had been sent to members explaining that the Universal Service Obligation (USO) ensured that basic fixed line services are available at an affordable price. USO was an obligation of two companies-BT and Kingston Communications Ofcom was reviewing both BT’s and Kingston’s USO to ensure that they continue to meet the needs of consumers. The review covers:

6.2 The Committee had been invited to attend an Ofcom Disability Seminar on the review of USO on 16 February. The Chair and the USO working sub-group (Ross Trotter, Simon Cramp, Caroline Ellis and Janet Askham) would work on ACOD’s response to the consultation, and circulate to all members for approval.

7. Ofcom Annual Plan 2005/06

7.1 Geoff Delamare and Sarah Evans attended the meeting to brief the members on Ofcom’s draft Annual Plan for 2005/06. The consultation on the Plan started on 20 January and would close on 3 March. Meetings would be held throughout the UK to seek the views of stakeholders. Two main areas of focus were outlined in the Plan - to enable markets to work more effectively and to protect citizens and consumers where the market cannot do so. Ofcom’s priorities for 2005/06 included:

7.2 The Plan had a three year perspective and was intended to give stakeholders a clear idea of Ofcom’s direction. The Chairman welcomed the opportunity to comment on the Plan. Following a brief discussion it was agreed that Lydia Thomas would coordinate a sub-group consisting of Janet Askham, Fred Heddell and Denis Carter to formulate a response to the consultation document, for agreement by the Committee.

8. Interactive Television Regulation

8.1 John Stables (Advertising Standards Authority) briefed the members on the progress for regulation of interactive television. The members were very interested in learning how gambling would be handled by Ofcom and the ASA once the Gambling Bill had passed through Parliament. It was explained to members that Ofcom’s role was restricted to the licensing of the providers of gambling interactive television services and did not extend to the point where one to one transactions took place. Once the Gambling Bill was passed the Gambling Commission will become the sole regulatory authority and its remit would likely include consumer protection. It was agreed that an update on the progress of the Gambling Bill would feature on the agenda for the April meeting.

9. Any other business

9.1 A paper from Peter Bourton on Ofcom’s duty to encourage availability of easily usable apparatus and services under Section 10 of the Communications Act had been circulated immediately prior to the meeting. This paper would be submitted to the Ofcom Board in late February and the members had until 8 February to comment on how Ofcom should fulfil its duty to encourage the availability of easily usable apparatus.

9.2 A member reported that the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit had published a report entitled ‘Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People’. They thought it important that ACOD should respond to the consultation and will arrange for a copy of the document to be emailed to members.

9.3 Bob Twitchin advised the members that the results of a Consumer Panel research project on consumer concerns and the state of consumer information should be available in March and he will discuss with the Chairman whether it should go on the agenda for the April ACOD meeting.

9.4 A member asked what action was being taken to reassure communications providers that access to emergency services under Voice Over IP would be reliable. It was agreed that Bradley Brady would arrange for Frank Philips to draft an update paper.

9.5 The date of the next meeting would be 13 April 2005.

9.6 The meeting ended at 5.00pm.

Mike Whitlam
Chairman


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