§ The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Tessa Jowell):I am pleased to announce that the videoon-demand industry has made excellent progress with the development of a binding code of practice to apply when video-on-demand services are de-regulated, and have written to me with details of that Code. I am satisfied that the Code represents a system that will provide adequate protection for children, and to subscribers to video-on-demand services. I have asked the industry to keep me informed of its progress in establishing the self-regulatory system set out in the Code, so that it can come fully into effect on enactment of the relevant provisions of the Communications Bill.
I have placed copies of the Code of Practice in the libraries of both Houses and the text is also available on the DCMS Departmental website at www.culture.gov.uk.