Lord Leong (Lab)

My noble friend makes a good point. Ofcom is consulting on the guidance to help providers understand the ways of apportioning revenue in a “just and reasonable” manner. Its guidance will hopefully be published in the last quarter of this year. Until such time, I am sure there will be further guidance for providers along the way. To come back to the scrutinising of legislation, ongoing parliamentary scrutiny is crucial. Indeed, the Online Safety Act requires Ofcom’s codes to be laid in Parliament for scrutiny. The Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee continues to provide vital scrutiny of statutory instruments and has drawn special attention to several instruments that my department has laid in the past few months. It identified the instrument we are debating today as an instrument of interest. The Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee and the Lords Communications and Digital Committee also play a vital role in scrutinising the regime. Finally, the Secretary of State is required under Section 178 of the Act to review the effectiveness of its regulatory framework between two and five years after key provisions of the Act come into force. A report of the outcome of this review will be published and laid before Parliament. Ofcom has said in response to the SLSC that it will review the information from providers and is able to use its powers to require further information under Section 100 of the Act should it need further details to scrutinise the approach taken by the provider—that is to do with the “just and reasonable” method. Ofcom has stated that it has access to sufficient expertise to make this assessment. The noble Viscount, Lord Camrose, asked about exemptions. Under the Act, Ofcom has the power to make or revoke exemptions and this must be approved by the Secretary of State. Ofcom is proposing to exempt service providers whose UK referral revenue is less than £10 million. We will consider that carefully before deciding whether to approve the exemption. I am sure noble Lords will know that about 60 companies would probably fall within the bracket of the Ofcom fees regime—the majority of which are non-UK companies. I am sure noble Lords will also know that most of these companies have revenues in excess of £250 million. I would have thought that there are not many companies with revenue of less than £10 million. In the last 12 months, we have seen key elements of the Online Safety Bill progressed and implemented. Many of Ofcom’s powers are now in effect. Platforms are now legally required to protect children from harmful content, including rolling out highly effective age assurance to tackle pornography, suicide, self-harm and eating disorder content. This instrument will bring us one step closer to a fully implemented online safety regime, ensuring that companies raising revenue from online services cover the cost of regulation—not taxpayers—and take responsibility for keeping our children safe online.