Postal Services Bill

My Lords, I want to make a couple of quick comments and ask a couple of questions of the Minister. I do not have the scope to get clarity myself. Is it possible to constrain Ofcom’s powers to review by setting a clear period of time in which a review may not take place? We have a problem with the European postal services directive, which requires that the regulator responds to the needs of users. In other words, it has five years in which it cannot provide the response required under the directive. We have a possible problem with that. I also looked quickly at the Communications Act 2003, which sits alongside this new legislation. Most of its content is about Ofcom’s regulation of television and radio, and so on. However, it also has a series of general obligations for Ofcom, which presumably apply to every activity in which Ofcom participates. These again require—as I read them; others may have a different view, but I think probably not—an ongoing process of review, so we have a potential conflict between two pieces of legislation. Does that exist? It would obviously add to the complication. Having been in the other place, which I know is not always a good thing to say about oneself when in your Lordships’ House, I know that the chances that any Member of the House of Commons would allow an affirmative resolution to reduce the universal service obligation have got to be pretty close to zero. Frankly, I could think of nothing more suicidal in whatever election that individual has to face next. Some people may not consider that to be the strongest possible lock but, frankly, I find it hard to think of a stronger one. Far stronger, as far as I can see, than any legislation is the power of realpolitik that would apply under these circumstances.