Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the impact of poor internet connectivity on rural communities in Herefordshire.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The government is committed to delivering lightning-fast, reliable broadband to everyone in the UK, including in Herefordshire. Extensive delivery of gigabit-capable broadband is under way in Herefordshire currently through contracts under the government’s Superfast Broadband Programme which are managed by the Fastershire broadband partnership which covers Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.
The government will ensure near-universal access to gigabit broadband through the £5 billion Project Gigabit programme. Given the current active delivery within Herefordshire, the regional supplier procurement for the area has a targeted start date of February - April 2023, before a contract commencement date of January - March 2024. Earlier local supplier procurements are also available as an option. In addition, communities in Herefordshire which are not in scope for commercial coverage are able to use the government’s gigabit voucher scheme to gain early gigabit coverage.
For very hard to reach premises which are unlikely to be cost-effective to reach with fixed gigabit broadband, the government is reviewing the responses to its call for evidence which closed in the summer in order to determine the best possible options for improving broadband connectivity.
Evidence on the impacts of superfast broadband is contained in the Evaluation of the Superfast Broadband Programme.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support the rollout of fibre broadband in Herefordshire.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The government is committed to delivering lightning-fast, reliable broadband to everyone in the UK, including in Herefordshire. Extensive delivery of gigabit-capable broadband is under way in Herefordshire currently through contracts under the government’s Superfast Broadband Programme which are managed by the Fastershire broadband partnership which covers Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.
The government will ensure near-universal access to gigabit broadband through the £5 billion Project Gigabit programme. Given the current active delivery within Herefordshire, the regional supplier procurement for the area has a targeted start date of February - April 2023, before a contract commencement date of January - March 2024. Earlier local supplier procurements are also available as an option. In addition, communities in Herefordshire which are not in scope for commercial coverage are able to use the government’s gigabit voucher scheme to gain early gigabit coverage.
For very hard to reach premises which are unlikely to be cost-effective to reach with fixed gigabit broadband, the government is reviewing the responses to its call for evidence which closed in the summer in order to determine the best possible options for improving broadband connectivity.
Evidence on the impacts of superfast broadband is contained in the Evaluation of the Superfast Broadband Programme.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help improve internet connections in Herefordshire.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The government is committed to delivering lightning-fast, reliable broadband to everyone in the UK, including in Herefordshire. Extensive delivery of gigabit-capable broadband is under way in Herefordshire currently through contracts under the government’s Superfast Broadband Programme which are managed by the Fastershire broadband partnership which covers Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.
The government will ensure near-universal access to gigabit broadband through the £5 billion Project Gigabit programme. Given the current active delivery within Herefordshire, the regional supplier procurement for the area has a targeted start date of February - April 2023, before a contract commencement date of January - March 2024. Earlier local supplier procurements are also available as an option. In addition, communities in Herefordshire which are not in scope for commercial coverage are able to use the government’s gigabit voucher scheme to gain early gigabit coverage.
For very hard to reach premises which are unlikely to be cost-effective to reach with fixed gigabit broadband, the government is reviewing the responses to its call for evidence which closed in the summer in order to determine the best possible options for improving broadband connectivity.
Evidence on the impacts of superfast broadband is contained in the Evaluation of the Superfast Broadband Programme.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to make an announcement on Ofcom's review of the Terms of Trade.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The independent television production sector in this country is a fantastic success story, generating around £3 billion in revenue each year. I have considered carefully Ofcom’s report on the television production sector and decided that the regulations continue to be effective and play a key role in supporting a diverse and vibrant production sector. We have therefore decided to make no change.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the combined effect of poor mobile phone signal and poor broadband provision on rural communities and businesses.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Government recognises the importance of a good broadband and mobile connectivity to rural communities and businesses. We are meeting the challenge by:
- Rolling out superfast broadband to over 40,000 premises a week and investing £10m to develop options for the most remote areas;
- Tackling mobile partial not-spots through an agreement with mobile network operators that is legally binding and guarantees £5bn commercial investment by 2017. Each operator will cover 90% of the UK’s landmass, halving partial not-spots and cutting complete not-spots by almost two-thirds;
- Investing £150 million to bring mobile services to remote areas of the UK with no mobile coverage.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department had with the Football Association on the changes to the Owners and Directors Test introduced on 1 August 2014; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Helen Grant - Shadow Solicitor General
I meet regularly with the Football Association to discuss a range of issues, including the efficacy of the Owners’ and Directors’ Test. I expect that robust ownership rules should be consistently applied across the professional game with strong FA oversight.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the oral contribution from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport of 4 September 2014, Official Report, columns 520-2, on non-league football, what discussions he has had with the Football Association on strengthening the owners and directors test.
Answered by Helen Grant - Shadow Solicitor General
I meet regularly with the Football Association to discuss a range of issues, including football governance, and the efficacy of the Owners’ and Directors’ Test.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the oral contribution from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport of 4 September 2014, Official Report, columns 520-2, on non-league football, what discussions his Department has had with the Football Association (FA) on the possible contravention of FA rules and regulations by Hereford United Football Club and the Southern League; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Helen Grant - Shadow Solicitor General
I meet regularly with the Football Association to discuss a range of issues, including football governance.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to monitor the delivery of the Mobile Infrastructure Project and to bring adequate mobile telephone coverage to people living in remote and rural areas.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
I hold regular meetings with supplier Arqiva to discuss the Mobile Infrastructure Project and officials in BDUK are in regular contact with Arqiva to monitor and assess progress.