Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Lab)

As I have said, small organisations can get involved in the super-complaint process. The wording is designed as it is to allow new campaigning organisations, if you like, to come through, because this is a new territory that we are operating in, and we do not want to consult with or hear messages from just the usual, established organisations. I think that Ofcom will be sensitive about all this, but it will also, as we know, be able to enforce against small but risky services. Ofcom is looking at what is happening in the smaller sphere, if I can put it like that. Ofcom has already started enforcement action against some of the non-compliant small but risky services. For example, it is investigating whether small services such as 4chan are complying with the illegal safety duties. There are other small services that Ofcom is now taking action against as well. I hear what the noble Lord has said, and I am confident that Ofcom will want to hear from all voices, not just the large players in this sector. I should also say that Ofcom is subject to standard regulatory redress mechanisms, such as judicial review. The noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, asked when the guidance will be in place. The Government expect Ofcom to have finalised the guidance by quarter 1 of 2026. This instrument comes into force on 31 December 2025. The guidance does not need to be finalised before the regime can come into effect. The guidance will contain important and useful information, so complainants may wish to wait until the final guidance is published before submitting a complaint, and Ofcom will consult on that guidance. But those organisations who know exactly what consumer complaints they wish to pursue do not have to wait for the guidance. The noble Lord, Lord Wrottesley, and the noble Viscount, Lord Camrose, asked about Ofcom’s transparency and whether it will produce statistics on the evidence that it is acquiring. Ofcom recognises the importance of transparency around the work that it does and is considering how best to publish that information about super-complaints as it implements the new regime. Ofcom will publish responses to accepted super-complaints, including if they are rejected on admissibility grounds, and summaries of these complaints as required under the regulations. Again, Ofcom and the Government will continue to communicate and develop those risks and make sure that the codes are kept under review. It is about not just producing the reports but communicating to the wider public if new risks are identified. We all accept that one purpose of the super-complaints is to bring things to Ofcom’s attention of which it might not otherwise be aware to enable it to move quite quickly to address those issues.