Ministers to kick off hunt for successor to Ofcom chair Lord Grade

Ministers are to footwear disconnected the hunt for a caller seat of the communications regulator arsenic Lord Grade of Yarmouth prepares to bow retired aft a azygous word astatine the helm.

Sky News has learnt that the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) - which present leads oversight of Ofcom successful Whitehall - is drafting up proposals to motorboat a recruitment process successful the coming months.

Lord Grade, the seasoned broadcast enforcement who held elder posts astatine the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, has served arsenic Ofcom seat since May 2022.

His four-year word is not owed to extremity for different 11 months, and determination was nary proposition this play that helium would permission the relation up of that point.

Insiders said, however, that determination was small imaginable of him seeking to beryllium reappointed for a 2nd word successful the job.

The present non-affiliated peer's assignment to the station successful 2022 came aft a arguable recruitment process and was signed disconnected by Nadine Dorries, the past Tory civilization secretary.

Responsibility for Ofcom committee appointments has switched since past from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Peter Kyle, the subject secretary, authorised the recruitment of Tamara Ingram, an advertizing manufacture stalwart, arsenic Ofcom's lawman chair, past November.

The hunt for a caller Ofcom seat volition travel aft a important hold of its remit to encompass areas specified arsenic online harms.

Both DCMS, which has work for the media industry, and the Department for Business and Trade besides person important engagement with Ofcom.

As good arsenic a relation successful appointing directors to the committee of state-owned Channel 4, which is hunting some a seat and main executive, Ofcom regulates companies specified arsenic Royal Mail, arsenic good arsenic the BBC.

This week, the watchdog said it was pursuing enactment against the formerly publically owned postal services institution implicit its nonaccomplishment to deed statutory transportation targets.

Ofcom besides regulates the UK telecoms industry, making it 1 of the largest economical regulators successful Britain.

Mr Kyle said this week that Ofcom should besides hole to beryllium fixed regulatory oversight of the fast-growing information centre industry.

One of the tasks of Lord Grade's successor is apt to beryllium semipermanent enforcement enactment succession planning.

Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom's main executive, has held the relation since 2020, though determination is nary denotation that she intends to measurement down successful the abbreviated term.

It was unclear this play whether immoderate of Ofcom's existing committee members mightiness question to instrumentality implicit from Lord Grade.

Its slate of non-executive directors includes precocious appointed Lord Allan of Hallam, a erstwhile MP, and Ben Verwaayen, the erstwhile BT Group main executive.

Mr Verwaayen is owed to measurement down from the Ofcom committee astatine the extremity of the year.

The hunt for Ofcom's adjacent seat volition travel amid a propulsion led by Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves to shingle up Britain's economical regulators arsenic they question ways to region reddish portion from the backstage sector.

DSIT has been contacted for comment, portion Ofcom declined to comment.