Ultrafast Broadband: Devon and Somerset

Chris Elmore Excerpts

Tuesday 11th January 2022 Westminster Hall

[Chris Elmore (Ogmore) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Rees, and to see the Welsh so well represented in a debate on Somerset and Devon. I will start by paying tribute to the hon. Member for North Devon (Selaine Saxby): I can sense her frustration, and that of many other colleagues on the Government Benches, with the scale of the challenge that is faced across rural communities in Devon and Somerset and beyond. We could talk to many Members from rural parts of the United Kingdom—whether the north of Scotland, the south coast, or the beautiful counties of Somerset and Devon—who would express the frustration of their constituents with the delays in rural broadband roll-out.

As I said to the Minister just last week, I want to be clear that as the newly appointed shadow Minister for media, data and digital infrastructure, I will do all I can to bring together Members from all parties in this place to help deliver the digital revolution our communities are crying out for. Simply put, we cannot sit idly by while other nations outflank and out-manoeuvre us in the cyberspace race. As Members may know—I will come back to the question that my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Luke Pollard) raised about the ambitious manifesto that we have put forward—I have long campaigned on digital safety and connectivity. Indeed, speaking as a Welsh MP with a semi-rural seat, the constituency of Ogmore, the digital disparity in Britain could not be more stark from my own casework and lived experience of living in my constituency. In Ogmore, download speeds lag behind the rest of the UK, with gigabit availability paltry at 13.3%: downloadability is further behind in my constituency than in that of the hon. Member for North Devon and many other MPs who have spoken today. I say to the hon. Lady that in a very genuine sense, I get it, and really want to make sure that when Labour forms the next Government, we improve connectivity and broadband roll-out across the United Kingdom.

As has been mentioned, the pandemic has accelerated our economy’s digital evolution in ways that we could not have foreseen, especially in rural communities such as those in Devon and Somerset. Businesses, families, schools, and a plethora of previously in-person clubs and gatherings have had to embrace the virtual realm—some to thrive, others to survive—and amid that mass migration online, all Members taking part in this debate will have first-hand experience of constituents contacting us about poor broadband connectivity. Poor rural broadband is no longer a mere frustration—a first-world problem, as such things are often badged on social media. Poor connectivity does not just impact the ability to stream entertainment or to game online: it is now a barrier to learning, healthcare or running a household. In many cases, the internet is people’s sole means of engaging with friends and loved ones, so the anger of those who have shoddy connections comes from a place of deep disappointment, now transformed into a source of real anger. After years of being promised ultrafast broadband, swathes of the country are still without. It is imperative that those promises are delivered across all nations and regions of the UK. Only when that happens can the Government talk meaningfully about having levelled up our infrastructure.

The Labour party has long embraced the white heat of technology. We know that harnessing the power of the perpetual digital revolution can unlock people’s aspirations and transform our nation’s economy for the better. Labour knows that because in Government we did not just talk a good game, we delivered on it. The last UK Labour Government established the Communications Act 2003, charting a path for the UK’s emergence into the digital world for the decade. By 2009, Labour had overseen the roll-out of first-generation broadband to around 13 million UK households at a pace that few believed possible. We did that with an unapologetic focus on growing connectivity and a clear story about why we were doing it: to create wealth and prosperity for all parts of the UK, including communities in Somerset and Devon.

Since March 2020, we have lived through a period of extraordinary change in how we interact with each other, and how we work and do business. Digital networks have enabled us to see loved ones, access school resources and book our weekly shop virtually. Words such as “Zoom” and “Teams” now act as shorthand for meetings, whether or not we enjoy them. Had this pandemic struck 30 years ago, none of this would have been achievable. In truth, if it had struck 20 years ago, we would have been similarly hamstrung. It is therefore unconscionable that some communities are still living in the 1990s when it comes to their internet connections.

A Government failure to harness the power to direct rapid roll-out of superfast broadband continues to blight our country and many rural communities. When the Conservative party came to power in 2010, it inherited a world-leading position from the UK Labour Government. What followed was a decade of shambolic mismanagement, writ large for all to see, with false promises, missed targets and shifting goalposts—goodness me, there have been many! There were dial-up solutions when high-speed decisions were sorely needed.

The much-heralded reset that was pledged in 2019 by the then incoming Prime Minster turned to dust in record time. We were promised full-fibre broadband by 2025, and the previous target of 2033 was branded “laughably unambitious” by the Prime Minister. As has become the norm with this Prime Minister and his Government, however, their target was subsequently downgraded to full gigabit broadband by 2025. Although Ministers assured the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee that the commitment was still there, within weeks that target was again downgraded to 85% gigabit broadband by 2025. That decision would be laughable if its impact did not seriously affect so many communities.

Rural broadband roll-out is yet another example of incompetent management by the Government. Not too long ago, the Government waxed lyrical about their fabled rural broadband scheme and gigabit voucher scheme, but as the hon. Member for North Devon mentioned, those schemes have more relaunches than users. Things that looked good on paper, such as grants of up to £3,500 for small and medium-sized enterprises and £1,500 for residents, were in reality more akin to pyramid schemes, as they were dependent on onerous administration and were available only to support group schemes where residents came together.

Isolated households in more rural communities are still being excluded from the scheme. Whether in my rural constituency or in those of other Members who have spoken, I can tell the Minister that the voucher scheme is not working for many communities—not just for isolated stand-alone properties, but for small hamlets and villages. There are just too many examples of the scheme not working, or of constituents thinking that they can be part of the scheme but being told that they cannot or that it does not work in that particular area. I say sincerely that the Government need to resolve this issue, because it is one of the biggest obstacles to communities coming together to improve the broadband roll-out.

Even more concerning are the National Audit Office reports, which suggest that when the superfast roll-out programme was launched in the UK, it enabled suppliers to prioritise easier-to-reach premises, leaving rural areas—the hardest and most expensive places to reach—as de facto second-class locations. We have heard during the debate, particularly from the hon. Member for North Devon, that we should perhaps be looking at roll-out from the outside in. In Devon, broadband is better in the two cities, Exeter and Plymouth, but outside those places, the rate drops off. Is there any correlation between the idea that rural communities are simply left behind by this Government and the idea that they are not focused on for improving broadband output?

Such an approach will only continue to increase and widen the town and city divide. Members should note that in January 2021, the Public Accounts Committee published its “Improving Broadband” report, which highlighted that more than 1.6 million households—mostly in rural communities—cannot yet access superfast speeds. There is now a genuine concern not only that rural areas will have access to gigabit broadband speeds later, but that they will have to pay more as well.

As we heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport, it cannot be right to install the pipework if residents are unable even to purchase the box to have the broadband, let alone the equipment to use the services. The Government must acknowledge that if we are to improve the superfast roll-out, there must be the availability and resources for constituents who are living in poverty in rural parts of the United Kingdom such as Somerset and Devon. The resources must be made available to them to ensure they can access the improvement, if it is there.

How can it be right that small villages and towns have to pay the price for the Government’s failure? Some £5 billion was promised by the UK Government to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to the 20% of premises in the UK that are hardest to reach. We would welcome that ambition with open arms, if it was real, but, as with everything from this Government, it simply is not. It is an unholy mess of snake oil mixed with smoke and mirrors. A fraction of the promised cash—£1.2 billion—is now slated for use. Were I feeling unkind, that could be described, using the Prime Minister’s own words, as “laughably unambitious”.

Meanwhile, it grows ever clearer that legislative changes made in 2017 are holding back 5G connectivity in many communities across the country. Those who perpetuate the myth that superfast broadband can rest solely on the laying of fibre-optic cabling are as misguided as they are wrong; 5G is a crucial pillar to support any decent broadband infrastructure. I join the calls of the hon. Member for Newton Abbot (Anne Marie Morris) and my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport for the Minister to take back to the Department for Transport the idea of improving connectivity along the railway line that leads into the south-west. That sounds like a very good scheme to me, and it would be good to support it on a cross-party basis.

The Government have set their own target for the majority of the population being covered by 5G by 2027. Stop me if you have heard this before, Ms Rees: the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee has warned that parts of the country may be left behind, with poorer mobile connectivity exacerbating the digital divide. How can we believe that the UK Government will get to grips with this issue when cross-party Committee after Committee points out missed targets and overhyped rhetoric? Indeed, shockingly, 8% of the UK still has no 4G coverage. The Department does not have the ambition to bring about the change that is so desperately needed. We talk about superfast broadband, with some communities having connectivity issues that go back some 20 years. When it comes to improving mobile technology, many communities do not even have 4G. It is simply unacceptable.

Digital inequality is stark not just between areas and regions, but within them. Research from Citizens Advice last summer found that 2.5 million people were behind on their broadband bills, with young people and those with children under 18 three times more likely to be behind. That statistic is particularly worrying given the central role, mentioned by nearly every Member today, that digital connectivity has played in children’s education since the onset of the pandemic. The fundamental unseriousness with which the Government approach the issue is shown by the fact that their last digital inclusion strategy was published in 2014, which was a totally different era given the speed and complexity of technological change.

Given the utter lack of ambition shown by the Conservative Government, it falls to the Labour Party to deliver the new and fresh ideas on how to fix this problem, and we stand ready. As part of the “Our Digital Future” report, we consulted with industry groups, experts and a broad range of stakeholders to ensure that our country is at the forefront of digital accessibility and the cyber-space race. Our report set out how we can reduce digital inequalities by placing greater emphasis on data research and analysis in the curriculum, and treating broadband not as a luxury, but as a right, as we do water and electricity. It is about time that broadband became part of the statutory requirement for buildings, as important as electricity, water and gas.

The tectonic shift that the world economy has faced due to the pandemic should act as the wake-up call needed for this Government. Business has changed and new opportunities have arisen. According to the annual TechNation report, our tech sector contributes £149 billion, which underlines its importance. If we truly want an innovation-led economy in a world that continues to shift online, having reliable and accessible broadband is paramount. Labour is embracing this new future and is committed to reducing digital exclusion.

Without digital literacy, our security is threatened by cyber-criminals who exploit the transition to online payments and banking. In a connected world, our prosperity is at risk when thousands of businesses and millions of consumers do not have access to the internet at ultrafast speeds.

Finally, when the Government plan to deliver less than a quarter of the money promised to roll out gigabit-capable broadband to rural areas, they do not treat those areas with sufficient respect. We also call on the Government to review the electronic communications code 2017 to assess its impact on 4G and 5G roll-out and on the sports clubs, volunteer groups and churches that host phone masts to ensure that any new legislation introduces a level playing field to speed up—not hinder—the roll-out of new telecoms infrastructure.

Ultimately, my party and I place security, prosperity and respect at the heart of everything we do, but the UK Government’s shortcomings risk our country falling short of those guiding principles. We do not need any further bluster. We do not need any more eye-popping promises that wither away by the end of the day’s news cycle. We certainly do not need any further denial of the scope and scale of the problems we face.

We hear the frustration from the Minister’s own party at the inactivity of 11 years of a tired Conservative Government, who have simply not delivered on what was inherited from the last Labour Government. They could do so much better at delivering on broadband, for not just these two counties but rural communities across the United Kingdom. It must be a national mission to fix Britain’s endemic connectivity problem and finally to harness the transformative power of superfast broadband to bring us together, secure our individual aspirations and deliver greater prosperity for every part of every nation and region of the United Kingdom.