This section applies where the Secretary of State has received and considered a report submitted to him by OFCOM under section 229.
If—
he may by order provide that a licence for the time being in force that is of a description specified in the order is not to be renewable under section 216 or 222 from the end of the licensing period in which he received the report (but see subsection (7)) .
An order under this section preventing the renewal of a licence from the end of a licensing period must be made at least eighteen months before the end of that period.
The Secretary of State is not to make an order under this section preventing the renewal of a licence from the end of the initial licensing period unless he has fixed a date before the end of that period as the date for digital switchover.
Where the Secretary of State postpones the date for digital switchover after making an order under this section preventing the renewal of a licence from the end of the initial licensing period, the order shall have effect only if the date to which digital switchover is postponed falls before the end of that period.
Subsection (5) does not affect the power of the Secretary of State to make another order under this section after postponing the date for digital switchover.
An order under this section with respect to a Channel 3 licence must be an order of one of the following descriptions—
An order under this section does not affect—
No order is to be made containing provision authorised by this section unless a draft of the order has been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House.
Subsection (8) of section 224 applies for construing references in this section to the date for digital switchover as it applies for the purposes of that section.
In this section—