Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 the number of additional telecoms infrastructure sites that will be required to deliver high-quality standalone 5G coverage to all populated areas by 2030.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Government’s ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. It is for the mobile network operators to determine how best to deploy the required infrastructure to achieve this.
The need for additional sites will be determined based on a number of variables, including their existing site portfolios and areas of current network congestion. It is likely that additional sites will be required to deliver our ambition, but the mobile network operators are assessing this as part of their commercial delivery plans.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Mobile Market Review will include a comprehensive national audit of telecoms sites covering (a) site type, (b) ownership, (c) legal status, (d) deployment status, (e) notices to quit, and (f) site removals to (i) help understand the evolution of mobile infrastructure and (ii) inform future policy decisions.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Mobile Market Review (MMR) will consider sector-wide investment challenges and technological innovations across the mobile sector and the impact these have on investment in widespread high-quality connectivity over the next decade. It will assess what more Government can do to ensure the policy and regulatory framework supports innovation and investment over the long-term.
The Electronic Communications Code and a national audit of telecoms sites is not within scope of the Review.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Mobile Market Review will assess the (a) impact of the Electronic Communications Code and (b) cumulative effect of (i) legal and (ii) commercial reforms introduced since 2017.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Mobile Market Review (MMR) will consider sector-wide investment challenges and technological innovations across the mobile sector and the impact these have on investment in widespread high-quality connectivity over the next decade. It will assess what more Government can do to ensure the policy and regulatory framework supports innovation and investment over the long-term.
The Electronic Communications Code and a national audit of telecoms sites is not within scope of the Review.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if her Department will take steps to review its guidance for (a) local authorities and (b) telecommunication operators entitled Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development in England, published in March 2022.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The department published the Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development in England to provide guidance to local authorities and network operators on siting, design and community engagement for wireless infrastructure installations.
The department regularly engages with local authorities and network operators in relation to telecommunications infrastructure deployments and encourages operators to follow the Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development.
This autumn we will publish a call for evidence to assess the merits of planning reform for the telecoms sector.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what oversight mechanisms are in place to ensure that government monitoring of public social media content does not infringe upon freedom of expression and privacy rights.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Government firmly believes that people must be able to debate and discuss issues freely. The rights of citizens freedom of expression and access to journalism are essential to any functioning democracy.
For example, the Department for Science Innovation & Technology’s National Security Online Information Team (NSOIT) analyses social media to identify and assess potential information threats to UK public safety and national security. The NSOIT’s commitment to protecting freedom of expression is embedded in its compliance policies and practices which are available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether any third-party contractors have been engaged to assist with the monitoring of social media content.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Government follows a fair and open tender process towards all contracts. Information on contracts awarded by the department to third-party contractors is available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what his policy is on the (a) storage, (b) retention and (c) use of data collected from social media monitoring activities by (i) government departments and (ii) affiliated agencies.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology complies with UK data protection legislation, ensuring data is used fairly, and handled appropriately. That includes data collected from social media monitoring activities.
For example, DSIT’s National Security Online Information Team (NSOIT) conducts targeted open-source analysis to identify and assess potential threats within its ministerially agreed remit of public safety and national security. NSOIT has a privacy notice which sets out how data will be stored, retained and used in the course of its work and this is available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, for what purposes government agencies monitor social media activity by members of the public; and whether there are limits on the scope of such monitoring.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the National Security Online Information Team (NSOIT) leads the department’s operational response to information risks to UK audiences within its ministerially defined remit which concerns public safety and national security. The NSOIT has compliance policies and procedures in place, in accordance with all applicable legislation, to ensure that individuals are not monitored and their rights are respected. Its privacy notices are available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Openreach and (b) CityFibre on delays in full fibre line installations to businesses based in the Farnham and Bordon constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Farnham and Bordon constituency is set to benefit from three live Project Gigabit contracts: the Hampshire and East & West Sussex contracts, being delivered by CityFibre, and the West and Mid Surrey contract being delivered by Openreach. These contracts are targeted at premises that are not expected to receive a gigabit-capable connection as part of a broadband supplier’s commercial rollout, and we are in regular contact with both suppliers to monitor their progress against planned delivery milestones.
Where a delay is reported as part of a supplier’s commercial rollout, we cannot intervene as we are bound by Subsidy Control regulations. However, we keep commercial plans under review and will continue to refresh our plans for reaching any remaining premises in line with the government’s ambition for nationwide gigabit coverage by 2032.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of geographic differences in full fibre availability on local economic development.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Digital infrastructure is a powerful driver of economic growth and development. In 2023, the telecoms services industry contributed around 2.5% to UK real GVA, up from 0.3% in 2010.
Geographical areas with lower levels of full fibre availability are less likely to benefit economically than areas with higher levels of full fibre availability. Government interventions, alongside the commercial market, are addressing this disparity. Evidence from the government’s Superfast programme showed that for every £1 spent on connections to premises left behind by the market, up to £4.57 was generated in economic and social benefits. Employment in the local areas benefiting from the programme also increased by 0.88%. We expect Project Gigabit to continue to drive local economic growth and development in areas which stand to benefit from the programme.
Building Digital UK also publishes independent evaluations of its programmes at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/building-digital-uk-research-portal