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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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, if he will provide a timeframe for the lifting of covid-19 restrictions on the events industry.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We recognise the events industry’s disappointment at the delayed reopening of large business conferences and exhibitions.
We have always been clear that our roadmap to recovery is dependent on continued progress against the virus. Due to the sharp rise in cases over recent weeks, we needed to pause the planned 1st October reopening of business conferences and exhibitions.
Meetings of up to 30 for training, education and work purposes can still take place in permitted venues, as per the Covid-19 Secure guidance for the visitor economy. Since 11 July, a range of outdoor events have been able to take place, although again this is subject to COVID secure guidelines.
We are also aware that many in the sector support the notion of an events reopening roadmap. We continue to engage with stakeholders, including through the Visitor Economy Working Group and the Events Industry Senior Leaders Advisory Panel, to assess how we can best support the sector’s safe reopening. The business events pilots we carried out in September will ensure that the correct advice and guidance is put in place to help larger events reopen when it is safe to do so.
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, if the Government will allow the events industry to reopen under similar restrictions to other businesses that have been allowed operate during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We recognise the events industry’s disappointment at the delayed reopening of large business conferences and exhibitions.
We have always been clear that our roadmap to recovery is dependent on continued progress against the virus. Due to the sharp rise in cases over recent weeks, we needed to pause the planned 1st October reopening of business conferences and exhibitions.
Meetings of up to 30 for training, education and work purposes can still take place in permitted venues, as per the Covid-19 Secure guidance for the visitor economy. Since 11 July, a range of outdoor events have been able to take place, although again this is subject to COVID secure guidelines.
We are also aware that many in the sector support the notion of an events reopening roadmap. We continue to engage with stakeholders, including through the Visitor Economy Working Group and the Events Industry Senior Leaders Advisory Panel, to assess how we can best support the sector’s safe reopening. The business events pilots we carried out in September will ensure that the correct advice and guidance is put in place to help larger events reopen when it is safe to do so.