Digital Economy Act 2017

Territorial extent and application

78. Schedule 1 of the Act concerns the electronic communications code and extends to the whole of the United Kingdom. Telecommunications is a reserved matter. The code provides for disputes to be settled by the Sheriff Court in Scotland and the County Court in Northern Ireland but also provides powers for the Secretary of State to in future confer jurisdiction on the Lands Tribunal for Scotland and the Lands Tribunal in Northern Ireland respectively. The Scottish Ministers have the power to make rules and fees in relation to the Lands Tribunal for Scotland so far as exercisable within devolved competence. In the event of conferral of jurisdiction on the Lands Tribunal for Scotland, new rules and fees will be required in respect of a reserved matter: the code. The Act specifically provides Scottish Ministers with additional powers to make tribunal fees and rules in relation to the code. The Act does not provide equivalent powers for Northern Ireland because adequate powers already exist on the statute book.
79. Section 31 relates to an extension of the Public Lending Right to include remote loans of e-books and e-audio-books by public libraries. The Public Lending Right Act 1979 ("the 1979 Act") extends to whole of the United Kingdom and the government would like the extension of the Public Lending Right to apply throughout the UK. The subject matter of the 1979 Act is not devolved in respect of Scotland and Wales but is transferred to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
80. Sections 36 and 37 provide powers for the disclosure of information to and from gas suppliers licensed under the Gas Act 1986 and electricity suppliers licensed under the Electricity Act 1989. The licensing regime under those Acts does not extend to Northern Ireland. Legislative competence in respect of gas and electricity, with some exceptions, has been transferred to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Sections 36 and 37 only extend to England, Wales and Scotland. These provisions relate to matters concerning energy and fuel poverty, some of which is devolved to the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales.
81. Sections 38 and 39 provide powers for the disclosure of information to and by water and sewerage undertakers wholly or mainly in England or in Wales. Sections 38 and 39 only extend to England and Wales. Once the relevant provisions of the Wales Act 2017 are commenced, the devolution settlement in Wales will move to the national boundary from the "wholly or mainly" model. Subsection (11) of section 45 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 enables the Secretary of State to make necessary amendments to this Chapter in consequence of this.
82. Section 46 provides powers for civil registration officials to disclose certain information to other public authorities. Legislative competence in respect of civil registration has been devolved to the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly, but not under the Government of Wales Act 2006. The new powers only extend to England and Wales with the exception of provisions enabling consequential amendments that extend to the whole of the United Kingdom. The powers might be used by a registration official in England and Wales to share registration data with a department or public authority performing reserved functions in Scotland, and there may also be good reason for a devolved body in Scotland or Northern Ireland to receive such information. The Act does not, however, provide for sharing with devolved public authorities in Scotland and Northern Ireland but there is the power to add such bodies by regulation in future. Section 47 allows provisions that are consequential on section 46 to be made by regulations.
83. Other than sections 36 to 39 and 46, Part 5 applies to the whole of the United Kingdom. Public authorities that may be authorised by regulations to share information may include public authorities for whom the devolved legislatures have legislative competence. Where the provisions relate to such public authorities, or to persons providing them with services, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly or the National Assembly for Wales are given powers to authorise the sharing of information by adding such persons to the Schedules by regulations
84. Section 99 provides the Minister for the Economy in Northern Ireland with the power to appoint a member of the Ofcom board and a requirement for Ofcom to lay its annual report and accounts before Northern Ireland ministers, who shall then lay them before the Northern Ireland Assembly. This provision will require legislative consent from the Northern Ireland Assembly before it can be commenced.
85. Sections 105 and 106 concern the secondary ticketing market, and provide for amendments to the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The secondary ticketing measures in this Act apply to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
86. Section 114 provides for a free educational entitlement to qualifications in information technology. This measure extends to England and Wales only though it only applies to England as education and training are transferred to the National Assembly for Wales and devolved to the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
87. All of the remaining provisions in the Act extend and apply to the whole of the United Kingdom. In the view of the UK Government, all the remaining provisions of the Act are not within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales or the Northern Ireland Assembly.
88. See the table in Annex A for a summary of the position regarding territorial extent and application in the United Kingdom.