Broadcasting Act 1990

155 Consideration of complaints

(1) Subject to the provisions of section 154, every complaint made to or issued by the Council under that section shall be considered by them either without a hearing or, if they think fit, at a hearing (and any such hearing shall be held in private unless the Council decide otherwise).

(2) Before the Council proceed to consider a complaint they shall send a copy of it—

(a) to the relevant person; and

(b) where the relevant programme was included in a licensed service, to the appropriate regulatory body.

(3) Where the relevant person receives from the Council a copy of the complaint, it shall be the duty of that person, if so required by the Council—

(a) to provide the Council with a visual or sound recording of the relevant programme or any specified part of it, if and so far as he has such a recording in his possession;

(b) to provide the Council with a transcript of so much of the relevant programme, or of any specified part of it, as consisted of speech, if and so far as he is able to do so;

(c) to provide the Council with copies of any documents in his possession, being the originals or copies of any correspondence between him and the complainant in connection with the complaint;

(d) to furnish to the Council a written statement in answer to the complaint.

(4) Where a hearing is held in respect of a complaint, the following persons shall be given an opportunity to attend and be heard, namely—

(a) the complainant;

(b) the relevant person;

(c) where the relevant programme was included in a licensed service, the appropriate regulatory body;

(d) any person not within any of paragraphs (a) to (c) who appears to the Council to have been responsible for the making or provision of that programme; and

(e) any other person who the Council consider might be able to assist at the hearing.

(5) In a case where the Council have made a determination in respect of any complaints under subsection (6) of section 154, subsection (4)(a) above shall be construed as referring to such one or more of the persons who made those complaints as the Council may determine; and in relation to a complaint issued by the Council under subsection (7) of that section, subsection (4) above shall have effect as if paragraph (a) were omitted.

(6) The Council may, if they think fit, make to any person who attends a hearing in connection with a complaint such payments as they think fit by way of travelling allowance or subsistence allowance where expenditure on travelling or, as the case may be, on subsistence is necessarily incurred by him for the purpose of enabling him so to attend.

(7) In this section “the relevant person” means—

(a) in a case where the relevant programme was broadcast by a broadcasting body, that body; and

(b) in a case where the relevant programme was included in a licensed service, the licence holder providing that service.