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Written Question
Broadband: Tatton
Thursday 26th January 2023

Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of progress on the rollout of superfast broadband in Tatton constituency.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Over 95 per cent of premises in the constituency of Tatton are already able to access a superfast connection. Further non-superfast premises are gaining access to gigabit-capable connections through continued delivery under the Connecting Cheshire programme.

Later this year we will launch a Project Gigabit procurement in Cheshire, covering an estimated 74,000 premises, including those that still do not have access to superfast broadband.

More immediate support for premises in rural areas is also available through our Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme.


Written Question
Equity Actors' Union
Friday 15th July 2022

Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with representatives of Equity on the standards of services it provides to its members.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

DCMS has regular contact with Equity, and with other trade unions representing the arts and culture sector. Equity also sat on the Department’s Events and Entertainment Working Group.

In May this year the Minister for Arts met representatives from Equity to discuss aspects of the Universal Credit system and their impact on Equity members. Lord Parkinson also attended a freelancers roundtable in June organised by the Cultural Learning Alliance at which Equity was present.


Written Question
Equity Actors' Union: Fees and Charges
Friday 15th July 2022

Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with members of Equity on the payment of repeat fees and the retention of those fees by that union.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

DCMS has regular contact with Equity, and with other trade unions representing the arts and culture sector. Equity also sat on the Department’s Events and Entertainment Working Group.

In May this year the Minister for Arts met representatives from Equity to discuss aspects of the Universal Credit system and their impact on Equity members. Lord Parkinson also attended a freelancers roundtable in June organised by the Cultural Learning Alliance at which Equity was present.


Written Question
Equity Actors' Union
Friday 15th July 2022

Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has received representations on the scope of activities being undertaken by Equity.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

DCMS has regular contact with Equity, and with other trade unions representing the arts and culture sector. Equity also sat on the Department’s Events and Entertainment Working Group.

In May this year the Minister for Arts met representatives from Equity to discuss aspects of the Universal Credit system and their impact on Equity members. Lord Parkinson also attended a freelancers roundtable in June organised by the Cultural Learning Alliance at which Equity was present.


Written Question
Telecommunications: Infrastructure
Wednesday 26th May 2021

Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)

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 include provisions in the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill, announced in the Queen's Speech, to quicken the process by which wayleaves are granted.

Answered by Matt Warman

We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish the Government response in due course. This will include our proposals for measures to ensure that the Electronic Communications Code continues to support the faster deployment of digital infrastructure. We expect any legislative measures to be taken forward in the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill.


Written Question
Telecommunications: Infrastructure
Wednesday 26th May 2021

Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when his Department plans to publish the Government's response to the consultation into the Electronic Communications Code.

Answered by Matt Warman

We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish the Government response in due course. This will include our proposals for measures to ensure that the Electronic Communications Code continues to support the faster deployment of digital infrastructure. We expect any legislative measures to be taken forward in the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill.


Written Question
Broadband
Monday 24th May 2021

Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the economic merits of full-fibre broadband roll out in the context of the findings of the CEBR report, Ultra Fast Full Fibre Broadband: A Platform for Growth, published April 2021.

Answered by Matt Warman

The Government notes the CEBR report, commissioned by Openreach, which predicts a huge productivity boost from nationwide gigabit connectivity, suggesting a £59 billion boost to the UK’s Gross Value Added (GVA) by 2025.

Increased productivity is one of reasons why the Government remains committed to delivering national gigabit connectivity as soon as possible. Today, over two in five premises can access gigabit-capable networks, up from just one in ten in November 2019. By the end of the year, 60% will have access, and by 2025 the Government is targeting a minimum of 85% gigabit-capable coverage, working with industry to reach as close to 100% as possible.

On the report’s suggestion that 270,000 people could move from urban to more rural areas as a result of changing attitudes towards home working, the Government recognises the importance of strong digital connectivity in rural areas. That is why we are investing £5bn to ensure those living in hard-to-reach areas get the gigabit connectivity they deserve. This is consistent with the Government's wider ambition to level-up the UK.


Written Question
Broadband: Rural Areas
Tuesday 23rd March 2021

Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the practicability of rolling out fibre broadband in rural and hard-to-reach areas.

Answered by Matt Warman

The government remains committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible and is investing £5bn to deliver gigabit-capable broadband in the hardest to reach parts of the UK.

To achieve this, the government has published the first phase of its gigabit procurements, as part of Project Gigabit. These initial procurements will deliver gigabit capable networks to an estimated one million homes and businesses in areas that are harder to reach.

In addition, the government has implemented a number of other measures to help people in rural and hard to reach areas upgrade their broadband connection including Gigabit Broadband Vouchers and the broadband Universal Service Obligation.

For the most remote premises, the government has also published a call for evidence to explore all possible options for improving broadband connectivity. The evidence provided will allow us to develop our understanding of these areas and seek more information on demand, benefits, barriers and future technology approaches.


Written Question
Broadband
Friday 23rd October 2020

Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress his Department has made with Building Digital UK in rolling out full-fibre broadband throughout the UK.

Answered by Matt Warman

According to Thinkbroadband, currently 27.1% of premises have access to gigabit-capable broadband - up from 0.9% in 2016. 17.1% of premises have access to full fibre connections.

The Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) programme is investing £278 million to stimulate commercial investment in full fibre networks in both rural and urban locations across the whole of the UK. There are 36 projects ongoing across the UK, 34 of which are in delivery.

The Superfast Programme has delivered superfast broadband to 5.3 million premises, which constitutes 17% of all households in the UK. In 2019, the majority of delivery on the Superfast Programme moved from Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) to Fibre to the Premise (FTTP). For example, for the financial quarter April-June 2020, ~90% (27k premises out of 30k) of delivery through the programme was FTTP. The Superfast Programme, therefore, is now a significant contributor to the government’s gigabit ambitions, as well as satisfying its commitment to Superfast coverage.


Written Question
Broadband
Thursday 22nd October 2020

Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much of the UK has one gigabit capability; and what assessment he has made of the geographical distribution of one gigabit capability in (a) towns, (b) cities and (c) rural areas.

Answered by Matt Warman

Building Digital UK (BDUK) uses information collected from Ofcom’s Connected Nations Report. This dataset distinguishes between urban and rural premises, and an easy to read version can be found in the Commons Library (https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/constituency-data-broadband-coverage-and-speeds/).

However, Connected Nations does not yet hold information on specific Gigabit connectivity and therefore we use the next best source, Thinkbroadband, which does provide gigabit statistics. According to Thinkbroadband, at this moment in time 27.2% of the UK have access to gigabit capable speeds, up from 0.9% in 2016. A full list of Gigabit availability by area can be found here: http://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/england.