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A quick update (we’re all hard at work this end) – the Bill’s Second Reading debate in the House of Lords will take place on Wednesday, currently scheduled to start at around 3.30 pm.
For those unfamiliar with Parliamentary procedures, more information about Second Reading debates can be found here. (And for the especially interested, the debate will be live on Parliament TV.)
For recent coverage of the Parliamentary passage of the Bill, you might be interested in the coverage of last week’s debates on the Queen’s Speech in the House of Lords (video | Hansard).
We’ll be back with more after Second Reading.
(Update: Bill now read for a second time in the House of Lords – ‘a wide-ranging discussion was held’, as they say in Parliament. The Hansard record of the debate is up on the Parliament website here.)
Hi! This is an update from the Digital Economy Bill team. On Wednesday, the Queen’s Speech confirmed that the Digital Economy Bill will be part of the Government’s programme for this session of Parliament – the one that takes us to the next General Election.
Today, the Bill is published. It is made up of the actions in the Digital Britain Final Report that need primary legislation. That means it covers a really wide range of areas – from digital radio, to copyright reform, to spectrum, and then some – all focused on supporting the nation’s digital future. But it doesn’t deal with those things that didn’t need primary legislation, such as broadband and local newspapers. And, it doesn’t deal with the Next Generation Levy, which will be in the Finance Bill 2010.
Stephen Timms introduces the Bill (Biography)
We think the Bill does some really important things, helping businesses and consumers to make the most of the ‘digital economy’ – the creative industries, digital communications, and public service broadcasting. We want people to understand the Bill. Understandably there will be a wide range of views – and we’ve certainly had some lively responses to our consultations on some of the issues. There has already been a lot of debate over what the Bill – it’s more than just unlawful file sharing and regional news. So how can we answer your questions on the Bill? We’d suggest, as a first port of call, the factsheets we’ve written to explain the key points on each area.
