Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what information his Department holds on the proportion of premises which do not have access to 4G coverage from at least one provider.
Answered by Margot James
We do not hold any information on the proportion of premises which do not have access to 4G coverage from at least one mobile network operator. Coverage information is reported by Ofcom, the independent regulator, who have not published such a figure. They have, however, reported that 99% of UK premises have indoor data coverage (3G or 4G) from at least one mobile operator and 85% from all four operators.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the one per cent rise from 2016-17 on the (a) wage levels in real terms, (b) living standards and (c) disposable income of workers in the Information Commissioner's Office to the end of this Parliament.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The July 2015 budget announced an average 1% pay award for public sector workforces from 2016/17. This is set out in Civil Service Pay Guidance, which is issued each year following negotiation with the Trade Unions.
Pay restraint is one of the many difficult choices the Government has had to make to put the public finances back on track and makes a significant contribution to protecting jobs and maintaining public services.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to ensure that the Information Commissioner's Office and similar organisations do not award pay rises of more than one per cent to senior staff.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The July 2015 budget announced an average 1% pay award for public sector workforces from 2016/17. This is set out in Civil Service Pay Guidance, which is issued each year following negotiation with the Trade Unions.
Under the terms of the Framework Agreement between the ICO and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Information Commissioner has responsibility for determining the pay and conditions of his staff, including his senior staff. In doing this, he is required to comply with overarching government pay guidance, including on pay restraint.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress has been made on the BBC Charter Renewal process.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
Good progress is being made on the BBC Charter Review programme.
The consultation launched in July received an incredible 192,000 responses. We are committed to reading and analysing all of the responses and reached 150,000 earlier this month.
In addition, I have commissioned further reviews and research, including an independent review of governance and regulation led by Sir David Clementi.
In the coming months my department will work towards publishing proposals for the future of the BBC.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to bring forward proposals to ensure service level agreement requirements incorporated into broadband supplier contracts with their customers ensure a reasonable minimum speed of download is maintained and commensurate with the advertised product.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Ofcom Code of Pratice on Broadband Speeds, effective from October 2015, requires internet service providers (ISPs) to give customers clear and accurate information on home broadband speeds, including the maximum speeds they can achieve, the estimated speed on the customer’s line, and factors that may slow down the speed, such as any fair use or traffic management policies.
ISPs must have systems in place to find the cause of speed problems, take steps to fix any issue they are responsible for, and explain to customers if they can do anything to improve the situation. As a result of the October 2015 revised code, customers can terminate contracts at any time without penalty if they receive speeds significantly below the ‘minimum guaranteed access line speed'; previously customers could only terminate within the first three months.