During the third day of the House of Lords report stage into the Digital Economy Bill, Lord Clement-Jones once again drew attention to the Save Our Sound UK campaign, explaining that the programme-making and special events (PMSE) sector was unhappy with the way in which the Government had not made their intentions clear regarding compensation for the loss of spectrum and radio microphones.

Lord Clement-Jones quoted from a letter received from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Lord Young of Norwood Green: “Any package has to be consistent with the principles of leaving users no worse off than if the change had not taken place and also has to be consistent with State Aid principles and within Ofcom’s statutory powers. As you can appreciate, this is a difficult judgment. The Government will give this matter careful consideration when we have the relevant information from Ofcom”. The letter, he explained, was too broad and did not provide a great deal of comfort for the PMSE sector. Rather, specifics were called for, such as “where advance notice applies and no compensation is payable, where no notice was able to be given and where compensation does apply, and, in particular, the kinds of compensations which will be available.”

The Save Our Sound UK campaign continues to grow, and to date, 161 MPs have signed the Early Day Motion. Campaigners have also met with the responsible Minister, Stephen Timms, who has said that the Government was committed to leave users “no better or worse off” by the changes. Following the discussion in the Lords, Lord Young wrote to Lord Clement-Jones further explaining the Government’s views. Save Our Sound has produced a summary briefing document, in reference to this letter, which lists rebuttals to a number of implications inherent in the letter. The rebuttal briefing can be read here.

As the time for a decision draws nearer, Save Our Sound has issued a further press release, flagging up inconsistencies in the current approach, hoping to urge the Government to use whatever means necessary to deliver compensation based on what it will cost to replace the equipment with like-for-like alternatives. The press release can be read here.

More information about the Save Our Sound UK campaign can be found here.

The Digital Economy Bill is soon to have its second reading in the House of Commons. Information about the Bill can be read here.