Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many new 4G mobile signal masts have been constructed in Enfield North constituency under the Shared Rural Network; and if she will list the mobile network operators responsible for their construction.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Shared Rural Network (SRN) will extend mobile coverage to 95% of the UK landmass, addressing the digital divide by improving 4G coverage in the areas that need it most. Enfield North, the London Borough of Enfield and London itself already have very good 4G coverage, with 100% of the constituency area being covered with 4G by all four mobile network operators, and as such will not be targeted by the SRN programme.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Shared Rural Network on 4G mobile signals across (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Shared Rural Network (SRN) will extend mobile coverage to 95% of the UK landmass, addressing the digital divide by improving 4G coverage in the areas that need it most. Enfield North, the London Borough of Enfield and London itself already have very good 4G coverage, with 100% of the constituency area being covered with 4G by all four mobile network operators, and as such will not be targeted by the SRN programme.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many (a) schools and (b) students were participating in CyberFirst programmes in (i) Enfield North constituency, (ii) the London Borough of Enfield and (iii) London as of 1 September 2023.
Answered by George Freeman
The National Cyber Security Centre delivers a range of initiatives through CyberFirst, including a schools and colleges recognition programme, the undergraduate bursary scheme, and the CyberFirst Girls Competition for 12-13 year olds. As part of this effort, DSIT also delivers the Cyber Explorers platform for 11-14 year olds.
In London there were 431 teams from 46 schools entered the CyberFirst Girls Competition last year. A further 204 schools participate in the Cyber Explorers online platform, including 7 in the London Borough of Enfield and 5 in the Enfield North constituency.
There have been 122 undergraduate students accepted on the CyberFirst bursary scheme studying at universities in London. A further 4,387 learners are registered on Cyber Explorers in London, including 70 in the London Borough of Enfield and 22 in the Enfield North constituency. A total of 328 students have applied to attend a CyberFirst summer course at Royal Holloway University.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate she has made of the number of people in Enfield North constituency who do not use digital services.
Answered by John Whittingdale
According to the latest data from Think Broadband:
In the Enfield North constituency, 92% of premises have access to a gigabit-capable connection, and 98% of premises have access to a fixed superfast (>30 Mbps) connection. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not hold data at a constituency level of the services purchased by households.
In the London Borough of Enfield, 98% of premises have access to a superfast connection, 92% have access to a gigabit capable connection, and only 0.4% of premises have a fixed connection that is below the USO minimum (
In London, 98% of premises have access to a superfast connection, 82% of premises have access to a gigabit-capable connection, and 0.32% of premises are below the USO minimum.
In England, 98% of premises have access to a superfast connection, 76% of have access to a gigabit-capable connection, and 0.69% of premises are below the USO minimum.
The Department does not hold data on the number of people in the Enfield North constituency who do not use digital services. However, according to data from the Lloyds Consumer Digital Index, 3% of those living in London have no foundation level digital skills.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what comparative assessment she has made of digital connectivity in Enfield North constituency and the rest of (a) the London Borough of Enfield, (b) London and (c) England.
Answered by John Whittingdale
According to the latest data from Think Broadband:
In the Enfield North constituency, 92% of premises have access to a gigabit-capable connection, and 98% of premises have access to a fixed superfast (>30 Mbps) connection. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not hold data at a constituency level of the services purchased by households.
In the London Borough of Enfield, 98% of premises have access to a superfast connection, 92% have access to a gigabit capable connection, and only 0.4% of premises have a fixed connection that is below the USO minimum (
In London, 98% of premises have access to a superfast connection, 82% of premises have access to a gigabit-capable connection, and 0.32% of premises are below the USO minimum.
In England, 98% of premises have access to a superfast connection, 76% of have access to a gigabit-capable connection, and 0.69% of premises are below the USO minimum.
The Department does not hold data on the number of people in the Enfield North constituency who do not use digital services. However, according to data from the Lloyds Consumer Digital Index, 3% of those living in London have no foundation level digital skills.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate she has made of the number of people who have access to the internet in Enfield North constituency in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by John Whittingdale
According to the latest data from Think Broadband:
In the Enfield North constituency, 92% of premises have access to a gigabit-capable connection, and 98% of premises have access to a fixed superfast (>30 Mbps) connection. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not hold data at a constituency level of the services purchased by households.
In the London Borough of Enfield, 98% of premises have access to a superfast connection, 92% have access to a gigabit capable connection, and only 0.4% of premises have a fixed connection that is below the USO minimum (
In London, 98% of premises have access to a superfast connection, 82% of premises have access to a gigabit-capable connection, and 0.32% of premises are below the USO minimum.
In England, 98% of premises have access to a superfast connection, 76% of have access to a gigabit-capable connection, and 0.69% of premises are below the USO minimum.
The Department does not hold data on the number of people in the Enfield North constituency who do not use digital services. However, according to data from the Lloyds Consumer Digital Index, 3% of those living in London have no foundation level digital skills.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department holds data on the number of BT telephone boxes in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London as of 6 June 2023.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not hold any data on the number of BT public telephone boxes in any given area. This is due to the fact that the public telephone box network is privately owned.
Having consulted externally with BT the Department can provide the following figures:
Public payphones in:
Enfield Borough: 70
London: 2718
Any request for further data should be directed to the provider.
There are clear principles that BT must comply with under its Universal Service obligations, as set out in the telephony Universal Service Order, established in 2003. BT must provide public call boxes to meet the reasonable needs of users in terms of geographical coverage, the number of public call boxes and the quality of call box services. The criteria for ‘reasonable needs’ include that the public call box in question is the only one within 800 metres; there are at least 500 households within 1 kilometre, and at least 12 calls have been made from the public call box within the previous 12 months.
At least 70% of public call boxes must also offer cash payment facilities.
If BT wishes to remove a public call box, it must also notify the relevant local authority in writing, allowing 90 days for a response.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate her Department has made of (a) the number of businesses and (b) the number of businesses without fibre-optic broadband in (i) Enfield North constituency and (ii) the London Borough of Enfield.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Whilst the Government does not hold data on the number of businesses at a constituency level, data from London Councils state that the number of registered businesses in the London Borough of Enfield is 14,285.
As Enfield is an urban area, it is not in receipt of any of the £5bn Project Gigabit funding. As such, the Government does not hold data at a constituency nor a borough level on the number of businesses that (a) are without fibre-optic broadband; and (b) who have requested fibre-optic broadband and do not currently have it. This is because it is a service that is delivered commercially by the private sector.
The Government is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible. By 2025 the Government is targeting a minimum of 85% gigabit-capable coverage.
Today, fewer than 8% of all premises in Enfield North and 8.5% of premises in the London Borough of Enfield do not have access to a gigabit-capable network; meaning the overwhelming majority - 92% of premises in Enfield North and 91.5% of premises in Enfield - already have gigabit coverage.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many businesses in (a) Enfield North constituency and (b) the London Borough of Enfield have requested fibre-optic broadband and do not currently have it.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Whilst the Government does not hold data on the number of businesses at a constituency level, data from London Councils state that the number of registered businesses in the London Borough of Enfield is 14,285.
As Enfield is an urban area, it is not in receipt of any of the £5bn Project Gigabit funding. As such, the Government does not hold data at a constituency nor a borough level on the number of businesses that (a) are without fibre-optic broadband; and (b) who have requested fibre-optic broadband and do not currently have it. This is because it is a service that is delivered commercially by the private sector.
The Government is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible. By 2025 the Government is targeting a minimum of 85% gigabit-capable coverage.
Today, fewer than 8% of all premises in Enfield North and 8.5% of premises in the London Borough of Enfield do not have access to a gigabit-capable network; meaning the overwhelming majority - 92% of premises in Enfield North and 91.5% of premises in Enfield - already have gigabit coverage.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the average waiting time was for the installation of fibre-optic broadband for businesses in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield, (c) London and (d) England in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible. By 2025, the Government is targeting a minimum of 85% gigabit-capable coverage. Today, 75% of premises can access gigabit-capable networks.
Whilst we monitor the progress of the gigabit roll-out, the Department does not hold data related to the average waiting time for the installation of fibre-optic broadband given the commercial nature of that information. It is worth mentioning that it is difficult to comment on an average because it may vary depending on the Communications Provider. In order to gauge the average waiting time for the installation of fibre-optic broadband, we encourage you to contact some of the various providers that offer services in Enfield North constituency; the London Borough of Enfield; and London, respectively.