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Monitoring and performance reporting to Ofcom

55 The effectiveness of the co-regulatory system will be judged by the degree to which the standards objectives, laid down in section 319(2) of the Act, are met in relation to broadcast advertising. The system must also have regard to Ofcom's general duties in section 3 of the Act.

56 In order for Ofcom to monitor the effectiveness of the system, ASA(B)/BCAP shall report to Ofcom, at a timetable to be agreed, on a number of agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) as outlined below.

Quantitative

Complaint response times

57 The intention is that complaints handling in the new arrangements will be no less prompt than under the Ofcom/ITC/RAu regimes; but a different system may be quicker at some things and slower at others. In particular, a feature of the new system will be the involvement of the ASA(B) council. This additional stage in the process will need to be taken into account when assessing performance against benchmarks for response times.

58 It is agreed by the Parties that benchmarks for average complaints turnaround times to be achieved by ASA(B) will be set at 80% of the average turnaround times achieved by the ITC in its last six months of operation. It is noted that data analysis has indicated that the following benchmarks would be broadly consistent with average turnaround times achieved by the ITC of:

Benchmarks for average complaints turnaround times to be achieved
5 working days	for straightforward complaints requiring no investigation
10 working days	for complaints where the advertisement must be viewed
8 weeks	for cases requiring standard investigations and contact with licensees
3 months	for complex cases, requiring high level and extended investigations. NOTE: Complex cases requiring resolution of disputes between competitors have typically taken longer than this to resolve.

ASA(B) will be expected to meet these benchmarks in respect of 80% of complaints during the probationary period or, if appropriate, during a shorter period by mutual agreement between the Parties. In accordance with paragraph 70 below, if factors subsequently emerge within or without the new system that may unavoidably influence turnaround times, ASA(B) and Ofcom will agree and publish revised targets.

Trend data on complaints received and handled

59 Trend data on complaints received and handled will not be associated with any particular target, but will give insight into the caseload and ASA(B)'s productivity.

Trend data on upheld complaints and complaints leading to sanctions

60 Again, trend data on upheld complaints and sanctions will not be associated with any particular target, but may indicate the extent to which the self-regulatory system is winning compliance with the Advertising Codes. Such trend data should provide an analysis of the percentage of advertisements broadcast on radio and television against which ASA(B) has intervened, either as a result of complaints or of staff monitoring. An otherwise inexplicable increase in this percentage would imply that the self-regulatory system was failing to convince the broadcasters and advertisers of the need to comply with the Codes.

61 ASA(B) will also ensure that Ofcom is kept abreast of the level of requests for review to the Independent Reviewer (see para. 19 above). However, not too much should be read into the number of such requests. A large number of such requests might indicate that something was indeed seriously amiss. But the number of appeal applications by advertisers or broadcasters against the ASA(B) council's decisions might indicate merely that the new system was becoming better known than the previous ITC/RAu complaints handling arrangement and that as a consequence more advertisers were prepared to try appealing in order to avoid an upheld judgement against them. It would not necessarily be the case that the total of appeals would show how successful ASA(B) had been in justifying its case for intervention.

Qualitative

62 Additionally, ASA(B) and BCAP will report quarterly to Ofcom under the following qualitative heads:

Policy initiatives and activity (including in those socially important areas where few complaints may be received)

63 ASA(B) and BCAP will undertake initiatives in sensitive sectors and to keep Ofcom informed.

Assessment of compliance in particularly contentious areas

64 ASA(B) and BCAP undertake to monitor compliance in any sensitive policy sectors, and in particular public policy sectors, which may be high on the public agendas of the moment, and to keep Ofcom informed.

Research undertaken (including public attitude surveys to determine the public's satisfaction with the degree and effectiveness of regulation)

65 ASA(B) and BCAP will be prepared to share the results with Ofcom of any Customer Satisfaction Surveys and Attitudes and Awareness research.

Code changes and rule reviews

66 BCAP will keep Ofcom informed of any upcoming proposals for either a review or a change to the codes and any external campaign aimed at changing the codes.

Assessment of internal performance

67 ASA(B) and BCAP will share the performance information with Ofcom on a quarterly basis.

Reports to Ofcom on significant external criticisms of the regulatory regime

68 As well as routine reporting, ASA(B) and BCAP will ensure that Ofcom are made aware of significant public affairs concerns as soon as they arise.

Assessment Reports by Ofcom to self-regulatory system

69 Ofcom will be obliged to keep ASA(B), BCAP and Basbof informed through its regular liaison meetings about any concerns it may have, or which have been brought to its attention, so that these can be addressed at an early stage

Running the performance monitoring programme

70 A probationary period of two years shall operate from the date of implementation of the new arrangements. After this time, complaint levels will be clearer and the parties will be better able to assess the volume be able to assess the volume of regulatory activity required of the self-regulatory system. During the probationary period, the Parties should take a pragmatic view of performance requirements that may turn out to be unrealistic if, for example, the level of complaints were significantly, and to a degree not currently predictable, higher in comparison with the aggregate of complaints received by the former regulators, the Independent Television Commission ('ITC'), the Radio Authority ('RAu') and the Broadcasting Standards Commission ('BSC') in their final year of operation. ASA(B) should not be penalised for performance factors beyond its control.

71 Once the probationary period has expired, ASA(B) undertakes to alert Ofcom formally if quantitative targets are exceeded for two consecutive quarters. In such circumstances, Ofcom may consider initiating remedial action as described below.

72 ASA(B) will also advise Ofcom if the forecast number of complaints about advertisements carried on licensed broadcast services is more than 20% above the aggregate of such complaints received by the former ITC, RAu and BSC in 2003. In such circumstances, the Parties may discuss whether the turnaround targets need to adjusted.

Performance reporting to Ofcom

73 The ASA Annual Report will be published in April of each year, reporting on the previous calendar year. It will contain a section dealing with the work processes and performance of ASA(B) and BCAP and Basbof. ASA(B) Ltd and BCAP Ltd's year end will be 31 December.

74 ASA(B) and BCAP will publish an annual statement in October of each year setting out its performance for the past period and its objectives and targets for the forthcoming calendar year. Performance information will update the results reported in the Annual Report for the previous year, drawing on the results for the first six months of the year.

75 The statement will inform Ofcom's own Annual Plan and will also fit with the Basbof business planning cycle. Public reporting against the KPI's would thus take place formally at year-end and at half-year.

76 Rolling Customer Satisfaction surveys will feed into the six-monthly public reporting (Annual Report and annual statement). Customer Satisfaction surveys will cover both complainants and advertisers/broadcasters. The interpretation of complainant satisfaction scores must take into account the fact that more than 75% of current customers have their complaint rejected by the system.

77 An annual Attitude and Awareness survey will feed into the annual statement.

78 The Chairman of ASA(B) (and, where appropriate, the Chairman of BCAP) will attend the Ofcom Board by invitation to discuss the ASA(B) part of the ASA Annual Report and also at such other times as may be appropriate for the consideration of advertising on licensed broadcast services.

79 Ofcom will report on ASA(B)/BCAP's and its own performance in relation to the new system in its annual report in July.