Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the diversity of the market in relation to 5G infrastructure in the UK; and what plans they have, if any, for the diversification of that market.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The Government recognises the importance of diversity in the 5G infrastructure supply chain. That is why the Government published a 5G Supply Chain Diversification Strategy in November 2020.
This strategy sets out three core strands of activity to address the lack of diversity in UK 5G supply chains. These are: i) Protecting incumbent suppliers to ensure the resilience of our networks in the short term; ii) Attracting new scale suppliers to the UK market to increase diversity and competitiveness in the medium term; iii) Accelerating the development and deployment of open interface technologies in the RAN in order to reduce barriers to entry and diversify the supply chain in the long run.
The Government has also established a Diversification Taskforce, comprising key industry and academic figures and led by Lord Livingstone of Parkhead, to design and execute targeted measures for each of these strands. The Government has announced an initial investment of £250m to fund these targeted measures and deliver our long-term vision of a diverse, competitive, and healthy market for 5G infrastructure.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the technical capabilities of Ofcom to implement the Telecommunications (Security) Bill under the revised powers proposed for Ofcom in that Bill.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Ofcom will have the staff, equipment and resources it needs to carry out its role following passage of the Bill. Ofcom’s annual budget is approved by its Board and must be within a limit set by the government. This will be adjusted to take account of the increased costs it will incur, due to its enhanced security role.
The National Cyber Security Centre will also provide expert advice to Ofcom in support of Ofcom’s role in the new regime.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any possible future negative impacts of the revision of procurement plans in July on the UK’s 5G roll-out targets.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport was clear in his statement to the House of Commons on 14 July that the position on Huawei will have implications for rollout, that that was a necessary cost to ensure the security of our 5G networks and protect our national security. We expect the sector to do as much as possible to minimise the effects of this decision, and the Government remains focused on the UK becoming a world leader in 5G mobile technology, and for consumers and businesses to see the benefits of 5G as fast as possible.
Our ambition, therefore, remains for the majority of the UK population to have access to a 5G signal by 2027. To support this ambition, the Government is investing £200 million in a 5G Testbeds and Trials programme. The Mobile Network Operators are similarly focussed on rolling out commercial 5G coverage across the UK and, as a result, it is currently available in over 100 UK towns and cities.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of when the UK will have a fully functional 5G infrastructure in place.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport was clear in his statement to the House of Commons on 14 July that the position on Huawei will have implications for rollout, that that was a necessary cost to ensure the security of our 5G networks and protect our national security. We expect the sector to do as much as possible to minimise the effects of this decision, and the Government remains focused on the UK becoming a world leader in 5G mobile technology, and for consumers and businesses to see the benefits of 5G as fast as possible.
Our ambition, therefore, remains for the majority of the UK population to have access to a 5G signal by 2027. To support this ambition, the Government is investing £200 million in a 5G Testbeds and Trials programme. The Mobile Network Operators are similarly focussed on rolling out commercial 5G coverage across the UK and, as a result, it is currently available in over 100 UK towns and cities.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether commitments in the UK–Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement provide grounds for a legal challenge to the UK’s measures for the protection of personal data under the Data Protection Act (2018); and what assessment they have made of whether the UK's existing data regulations meet the requirements specified in Article 8.84 of that Agreement.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
UK domestic data protection laws enshrined in the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR are unchanged by the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which recognises the importance of protecting personal data and commits both parties to “maintain a legal framework that provides for the protection of personal information”.
Under CEPA article 8.84, the UK may adopt measures restricting data flows to achieve a legitimate public policy objective, including personal data protection.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations will apply to companies operating in the UK after the end of the transition period for the UK’s departure from the EU; and if so, what plans they have to inform such companies of the implications.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
During the transition period (until 31 December) there is no change to the current data protection regime, and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will continue to apply.
At the end of the transition period, the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EUWA) will retain the GDPR in UK domestic law, while the legislation implementing the Law Enforcement Directive (LED) (Part 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018) will also be preserved.
We have made Regulations under the EUWA to make necessary and appropriate changes to the retained legislation so that the UK’s data protection law continues to function effectively after the transition period. This will mean that the UK continues to have the same high data protection standards.
The UK has legislated to allow for the free flow of personal data to continue to the EU/EEA, Gibraltar and third countries currently in receipt of EU adequacy decisions at the end of the transition period. We are also seeking EU data adequacy decisions under both the GDPR and the LED, which would allow for the continued free flow of data to the UK. However, if the UK does not have these adequacy decisions in place at the end of the transition period, organisations will need to put in place alternative transfer mechanisms to allow for the continued lawful transfer of personal data from the EU/EEA to the UK.
Guidance can be found on GOV.UK and the ICO website regarding steps organisations may be required to take relating to data protection and data flows by the end of the transition period.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the UK’s broadband speed ranking.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The average broadband speed in the UK rose by 18% last year according to Ofcom’s annual report, which is available here, and attached: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0038/194897/uk-home-broadband-performance.pdf. The average home speed is now 64Mbps, up from 54.2Mbps the year before. This was largely due to the growing availability and take-up of superfast and ultrafast full-fibre and cable services.
To improve broadband speeds, the government is committed to providing nationwide gigabit-capable broadband as soon as possible. Gigabit-capable connectivity can provide speeds of at least 1,000Mbps, and is reliable and future-proof. 26% of the UK (or 7.5 million) premises are able to access these speeds, and 16% of the UK has access to full fibre.
BT Openreach has a target to connect 20 million premises with full fibre by the mid to late-2020s, and Virgin Media has pledged to upgrade its entire network to gigabit-capable by the end of 2021. These initiatives will provide UK citizens with a world class, future-proof digital infrastructure system, as well as helping to drive the UK up the broadband speed table at the same time.