Schedule 4: Codes of practice under section 41: principles, objectives, content Section 44: Secretary of State’s powers of direction
Subsection (1) confers a power on the Secretary of State to direct OFCOM to modify a draft of a code of practice submitted to the Secretary of State under section 43(1), if the Secretary of State believes that modifications are required for the purpose of securing compliance with an international obligation of the United Kingdom.
	Subsection (2) confers a power on the Secretary of State to direct OFCOM to modify a draft code of practice submitted under section 43(1) if the Secretary of State believes that modifications are required for exceptional reasons relating to national security, public safety, public health, or relations with the government of a country outside the United Kingdom. This power can be used for any code other than a code relating to terrorism or CSEA.
	Subsection (3) confers a power on the Secretary of State to direct OFCOM to modify a draft terrorism or CSEA code of practice submitted under section 43(1) if the Secretary of State believes that modifications are required for reasons of national security or public safety, or for exceptional reasons relating to public health or relations with the government of a country outside the United Kingdom.
	Subsection (4) qualifies this power by providing that, where the Secretary of State has required OFCOM to review a draft code of practice under section 47(2), a direction may not be made under this section requiring OFCOM to modify a draft code of practice unless the Secretary of State believes modifications are required for reasons of national security or public safety.
	Subsection (5) allows the Secretary of State to direct OFCOM to modify a code of practice, following a review under section 47(2) where OFCOM have decided no change is required and have submitted a statement to that effect under section 47(3)(b), should the Secretary of State still believe that modifications are required for reasons of national security or public safety.
	Subsection (6) requires that any direction to OFCOM under subsection (5) must be given within a period of 45 days from the day on which OFCOM’s review statement is submitted to the Secretary of State, and must make particular reference to OFCOM’s review statement.
	Under subsection (7), a direction made under this section cannot require OFCOM to include a particular step to be recommended to providers of services regulated by Part 3 of the Act in a code of practice. The direction must set out the Secretary of State’s reasons for requiring modifications, except where setting out those reasons would be against the interests of national security, public safety, or the relations with the government of a country outside the United Kingdom. The Secretary of State must also, as soon as reasonably practicable publish the direction and lay it before Parliament - unless subsection (8) applies.
	Subsection (8) sets out that if the Secretary of State considers that publishing and laying a direction before Parliament would be against the interests of national security, public safety, or relations with the government of another country outside the United Kingdom then the direction does not have to be published and laid before Parliament. Instead, the Secretary of State must as soon as is reasonably practicable lay a statement before Parliament stating that a direction has been given, the kind of code to which it relates, and the reasons for not publishing it.
	Subsection (9) provides that OFCOM must as soon as reasonably practicable comply with a direction made under this section, and sets out what OFCOM must do when sending the modified draft code back to the Secretary of State. This includes publishing a document containing details of the direction - except if doing so would be against the interests of national security, public safety or relations with the government of a country outside the United Kingdom.
	Subsections (10) and (11) provide that the Secretary of State may direct OFCOM to make further modifications to the draft code of practice. Subsections (1) to (5) and (7) to (9) of this section apply to any further directions.
	Under subsection (12), once the Secretary of State is content that no further modifications are necessary, they must as soon as reasonably practicable lay the revised draft code of practice before Parliament, along with any document submitted by OFCOM detailing the direction or details of how the draft code of practice has been revised in response to the direction as mentioned in subsection (8)(c), as well as OFCOM’s review statement under subsection (5), if relevant.
	Subsection (13) allows the Secretary of State, with OFCOM’s agreement, to remove or obscure information in OFCOM’s statement, prior to laying it before Parliament, where the Secretary of State considers that its disclosure would be against the interests of national security, public safety, or relations with the government of a country outside the United Kingdom.
	Subsection (14) provides that the process set out in this section also applies to amendments to a code of practice submitted to the Secretary of State under section 43(1).
	Subsection (15) defines "terrorism or CSEA code of practice" in this section as a code of practice under section 41(1) or (2).