Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 June 2021 to Question 12253 on Broadband: Voucher Schemes, when his Department next plans to conduct a performance review of the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme.
Answered by Matt Warman
We monitor the performance of the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme as part of the day to day operation of the scheme. We also conduct a detailed performance review every 6 months. The next product review is due at the end of September/beginning of October. We are aiming to prepare the review towards the end of September which should see the evidence ready to be presented for assessment at the beginning October. However, this timeline may be subject to change.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 June 2021 to Question 12253 on Broadband: Voucher Schemes, what length of time his Department defines as a reasonable timeframe for premises to benefit from a commercially delivered gigabit programme.
Answered by Matt Warman
At the start of Project Gigabit we are prioritising areas that are not likely to receive commercial rollout, to ensure that the £5bn investment supports those communities that will otherwise not have access to gigabit capable connections.
Therefore, the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS) currently excludes premises that are likely to benefit from commercial plans. As Project Gigabit develops, assessments of commercial plans will continue to be made at a local level as part of the Project Gigabit pre-procurement processes (Open Market Review and Public Review). These processes will be used by the Department to determine whether commercial plans will deliver to premises within a reasonable time frame and define what that time frame is.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many premises in Ceredigion attempted to register for the Broadband Upgrade Fund but were deemed ineligible for that Fund.
Answered by Matt Warman
All visitors to the Broadband Upgrade Fund were encouraged to check their eligibility using a postcode tool on the home page. This instantly confirmed whether or not they were eligible. Only those who were deemed eligible were then able to register their interest through the site. Address details for ineligible premises were not collected so we are unable to confirm how many Ceredigion residents and businesses used the postcode tool and were deemed ineligible.
We do know that across all Broadband Upgrade Fund Pilot areas, a total of 17,717 premises were checked that were not eligible. This is reflective of the fact that the Broadband Upgrade Fund Pilot attracted significant media attention from outlets with a cross regional and national audience.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what length of time his Department constitutes in the near future for the purposes of determining premises eligible for support under the Gigabit Voucher Scheme.
Answered by Matt Warman
Ofcom, the market regulator, has identified areas where network providers are likely to build gigabit-capable connectivity via the Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review (WFTMR) they conducted in 2020. The decisions were a result of an extensive consultation programme with the market, and we have taken their view as a starting point for the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme. By using Ofcom’s classifications for assessing the likelihood of commercial investment in an area, it ensures the voucher scheme is consistent across the UK.
The data that is used to assess the eligibility criteria for the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS) changes according to the dynamic nature of commercial activity so postcodes or premises can come in and out of scope for a variety of reasons. We will continue to build on that view as we gather more data from Open Market Reviews and Public Reviews that are taking place over the coming months. As our understanding of network providers’ build plans develops, voucher eligibility will be reviewed. We will complete regular performance reviews of the voucher scheme and make adjustments where necessary.
As set out in the ‘Project Gigabit: Phase One Delivery Plan’, the GBVS is one part of the wider Project Gigabit, and it works alongside gigabit procurements as we work towards the target of gigabit-capable connectivity. Ineligibility for a voucher doesn’t mean that government support won’t be available in the future via other interventions; if it becomes clear that premises are unlikely to benefit from a commercially delivered gigabit programme within a reasonable timeframe, then DCMS will take action to address this market failure.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many proposals were received from alternative network providers to improve broadband connectivity in Ceredigion through the Broadband Upgrade Fund.
Answered by Matt Warman
A total of 50 approved areas of interest in Ceredigion were created by suppliers through the broadband Upgrade Fund website.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many premises in Ceredigion registered for the Broadband Upgrade Fund.
Answered by Matt Warman
1,840 eligible premises in Ceredigion were registered through the Broadband Upgrade Fund website.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans his Department has to review the effectiveness of the Broadband Upgrade Fund.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Broadband Upgrade Fund Pilot provided an opportunity to test an innovative approach to demand stimulation in the broadband market. The final stage of the Broadband Upgrade Fund completed in January 2021, and many suppliers are still in the process of engaging with communities to put together project proposals to submit to BDUK for approval. A full assessment of the effectiveness of the Broadband Upgrade Fund Pilot will be undertaken once there has been sufficient opportunity for proposals to turn into gigabit-capable connections.
This evaluation will look at the effectiveness of campaign elements, and the number of projects and gigabit-capable connections delivered that can be attributed to the Broadband Upgrade Fund.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many pre-registered packet applications his Department has received under the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme for projects located in Ceredigion.
Answered by Matt Warman
We currently have been able to find 5 registered projects submitted in Ceredigion.
The transition from community interest through to final project approval can take a number of months so we are expecting more projects to come through as a result of the Broadband Upgrade Fund pilot scheme.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Gambling Commission's investigation into BetIndex Ltd, the operators of Football Index, was initiated in response to rulings made by the Advertising Standards Authority regarding their breaches of Advertising Codes.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Gambling Commission requires operators to act in a way that meets the licensing objectives to be fair and open. They are also required to present their products in a way that is compliant with Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) rules regarding advertising and marketing. Where the ASA determines that an operator has breached these rules, the Commission can also consider whether further regulatory action is required as a result.
Following the rulings from the ASA in August and September 2019, Football Index was required to make clear both in a banner on each webpage and within the text that it was a betting product and should not be considered an investment vehicle. The Gambling Commission’s formal review into the licence under section 116 of the Gambling Act commenced in May 2020, and looked wider than breaches of the advertising codes.
The Gambling Commission suspended the licence of BetIndex Ltd, the operator of Football Index, on 11 March after learning of BetIndex’s plans to restrict customer access to account funds. Further information, including additional background to its regulatory action, is available at: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/news-action-and-statistics/News/betindex-update
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Gambling Commission on the Football Index's presentation of its product as a football stock market.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Gambling Commission has suspended the licence of BetIndex Ltd, the operators of Football Index, and a live investigation is ongoing. Further information, including an update on the status of customer funds, can be found on the Commission’s website: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/news-action-and-statistics/news/2021/BetIndex-update.aspx
The government is taking the collapse of Football Index and the concerns of those affected by it very seriously, and the Secretary of State and I have met the Gambling Commission to receive urgent updates. We are particularly keen to understand both how this situation came about and what lessons we can learn from these events.
It is a condition of a gambling operating licence that customers should be able to withdraw funds from their accounts. The Commission acted to suspend BetIndex’s licence on learning that the operator planned to freeze access to funds. Operators who hold customer funds must tell customers whether funds are protected in event of insolvency and the level of the protection offered. Football Index provides a medium level of customer funds protection, which means customer funds are kept in accounts separate from business accounts, and arrangements are made to ensure assets in the customer accounts are distributed to customers in the event of insolvency.
The government has launched a Review of the Gambling Act 2005 and has called for evidence on a range of issues across the sector, including the powers and resources of the Gambling Commission. The call for evidence closes on 31 March, and we will be led by the evidence received.