Member

The noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, and others asked whether organisations would risk wasting their time on this process, if they are not going to be found to be eligible. While Ofcom will not commence full assessment of the content of a complaint, including its admissibility, until it has determined whether an entity is eligible, it may need to cross-reference to the super-complaint when making such a determination. For example, it may need to look at the complaint itself when considering whether the entity can be relied on to have due regard to any guidance published by Ofcom. Therefore, it is necessary for entities to submit both their eligibility evidence and their complaint at the same time. However, to ensure that there is no wasted time in the process, we encourage informal engagement with Ofcom to ensure that would-be super-complainants understand the eligibility requirements and minimise the risk that their time is wasted. As I say, we will continue to ensure that those eligibility criteria are kept under review.