Ofcom yesterday said it’s consulting on proposed revisions to general procedures for investigating breaches of broadcast licences.

Ofcom has a duty to secure the wide availability of TV and radio services throughout the UK and to help it carry this out, it grants broadcasting licences with specific licence conditions attached.

“We enforce these licence conditions in line with our published General Procedures, which were last updated in April 2017. Since then, there have been developments in the types of broadcasters we regulate, changes in our approach to regulation, and an increase in our caseload. In this context, we are now reviewing our General Procedures to ensure they remain fit for purpose,” the British communications regulator stated in a media statement.

In brief, Ofcom is proposing to do the following:

# Publish a new and more detailed administrative priorities framework;

 clarify our position on sharing information about complaints with the broadcaster no longer inform complainants directly of the outcome of its assessments

# Set a time limit for making complaints.

Ofcom is also proposing a number of changes to restructure, simplify and clarify the procedures to make them easier to follow.