Secretary of State — OSA section175 role

In its own answer to1(a)-(c), PDF2, Ofcom confirms an initial internal planning document, says work commenced23October2024 following17October parliamentary and22October Secretary of State correspondence, and says final approval was completed between21May and26May2026. These are agency statements about its records, not the underlying planning document, letters or signed approvals. They establish a precise prior planning/approval trail to seek; they do not disclose the4August2025meeting or who approved the text. The requester-provided Belfast narrative onPDF1 is separately attributed and is not Ofcom's confirmation of every background claim.

There is a specifically added government input. Paragraphs3.11 and3.23 say an Ofcom public statement notice issued under a Secretary of State section175 direction should be considered alongside the provider's indicators. Paragraphs3.46-47 expressly connect this amendment to two stakeholders' questions about the interaction. Footnote29, PDF17, identifies Full Fact's response p17 and an Ofcom/DSIT meeting on4August2025. This is a regulator-attributed link between consultation/departmental engagement and an actual drafting change. It does not disclose what either participant asked or prove they proposed or controlled the resulting wording. Their underlying records are the discriminating evidence still to obtain.