Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of complaints received about different broadband providers alleged to have breached the voluntary code of conduct within the Revised Cabinet and Pole Siting Code of Practice, published in November 2016.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
It is for the independent regulator, Ofcom, to investigate any complaints about telegraph poles sited in a way which is not consistent with the requirements and guidelines in place. Local Planning Authorities are best placed to refer any complaints to Ofcom.
I am aware of public concerns about the deployment of new broadband infrastructure. I have met both with individual operators and industry trade bodies to voice my concerns. In response, the industry has recently published the Telecommunications Poles Working Group Best Practice Recommendations, which are available on the Internet Services Providers’ Association website.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has made a comparative assessment of the proportion of work that broadband providers have been able to carry out by laying (a) ducting and (b) overhead cables.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government does not undertake formal assessments of the delivery methods employed by broadband operators. Where and how operators deploy their networks is a commercial matter.
Existing regulations require operators to use underground lines where reasonably practicable, with certain exceptions.
In its Connected Nations 2024 report, Ofcom states that “providers have ordered around 176,000 km of duct routes (101,000 km of which has been delivered) and approximately 1.2 million attachments to poles (750,000 of which have been delivered) to deploy networks.”
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many staff are currently deployed as part of Ofcom's online safety small but risky taskforce.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has regular meetings with Ofcom on matters relating to online safety, including on how it will enforce against non-compliant providers.
Ofcom established the Small but Risky (SBR) task force to address the unique risks posed by these services. The task force sits in Ofcom’s Online Safety Group. Ofcom has previously stated that there are 202 full-time equivalent posts in that wider Group. Ofcom published details of the taskforce’s work, including its priorities, in a letter to the Secretary of State on 11 September 2024.
Ofcom started enforcing the Online Safety Act in March. Sections 149 and 150 of the Act require publication of enforcement action. As an independent regulator, Ofcom does not report directly to government but publishes bulletins of all enforcement actions. Ofcom has confirmed that some companies are currently under investigation and some small services with harmful content have voluntarily blocked access to their sites for UK users since the Act came into effect.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he expects Ofcom to publish updates on the (a) progress and (b) outcomes of the investigations conducted by the online safety small but risky taskforce.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has regular meetings with Ofcom on matters relating to online safety, including on how it will enforce against non-compliant providers.
Ofcom established the Small but Risky (SBR) task force to address the unique risks posed by these services. The task force sits in Ofcom’s Online Safety Group. Ofcom has previously stated that there are 202 full-time equivalent posts in that wider Group. Ofcom published details of the taskforce’s work, including its priorities, in a letter to the Secretary of State on 11 September 2024.
Ofcom started enforcing the Online Safety Act in March. Sections 149 and 150 of the Act require publication of enforcement action. As an independent regulator, Ofcom does not report directly to government but publishes bulletins of all enforcement actions. Ofcom has confirmed that some companies are currently under investigation and some small services with harmful content have voluntarily blocked access to their sites for UK users since the Act came into effect.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many online platforms the Ofcom online safety small, but risky, taskforce has engaged with to date.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has regular meetings with Ofcom on matters relating to online safety, including on how it will enforce against non-compliant providers.
Ofcom established the Small but Risky (SBR) task force to address the unique risks posed by these services. The task force sits in Ofcom’s Online Safety Group. Ofcom has previously stated that there are 202 full-time equivalent posts in that wider Group. Ofcom published details of the taskforce’s work, including its priorities, in a letter to the Secretary of State on 11 September 2024.
Ofcom started enforcing the Online Safety Act in March. Sections 149 and 150 of the Act require publication of enforcement action. As an independent regulator, Ofcom does not report directly to government but publishes bulletins of all enforcement actions. Ofcom has confirmed that some companies are currently under investigation and some small services with harmful content have voluntarily blocked access to their sites for UK users since the Act came into effect.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what criteria is used by Ofcom's online safety small but risky, taskforce to identify which online platforms pose a sufficient risk to warrant (a) engagement, (b) investigation and (c) enforcement action.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has regular meetings with Ofcom on matters relating to online safety, including on how it will enforce against non-compliant providers.
Ofcom established the Small but Risky (SBR) task force to address the unique risks posed by these services. The task force sits in Ofcom’s Online Safety Group. Ofcom has previously stated that there are 202 full-time equivalent posts in that wider Group. Ofcom published details of the taskforce’s work, including its priorities, in a letter to the Secretary of State on 11 September 2024.
Ofcom started enforcing the Online Safety Act in March. Sections 149 and 150 of the Act require publication of enforcement action. As an independent regulator, Ofcom does not report directly to government but publishes bulletins of all enforcement actions. Ofcom has confirmed that some companies are currently under investigation and some small services with harmful content have voluntarily blocked access to their sites for UK users since the Act came into effect.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has had discussions with Ofcom on which external stakeholders have been consulted by Ofcom's online safety small but risky taskforce.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has regular meetings with Ofcom on matters relating to online safety, including on how it will enforce against non-compliant providers.
Ofcom established the Small but Risky (SBR) task force to address the unique risks posed by these services. The task force sits in Ofcom’s Online Safety Group. Ofcom has previously stated that there are 202 full-time equivalent posts in that wider Group. Ofcom published details of the taskforce’s work, including its priorities, in a letter to the Secretary of State on 11 September 2024.
Ofcom started enforcing the Online Safety Act in March. Sections 149 and 150 of the Act require publication of enforcement action. As an independent regulator, Ofcom does not report directly to government but publishes bulletins of all enforcement actions. Ofcom has confirmed that some companies are currently under investigation and some small services with harmful content have voluntarily blocked access to their sites for UK users since the Act came into effect.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make it his policy to require (a) unused and (b) decommissioned (i) laptops, (ii) mobile phones and (iii) other public sector devices to be donated to device banks.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Digital inclusion is a priority for the Government and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is committed to extending the life of its equipment and devices, to reduce our environmental impact and provide more people with access to devices. Device donation is one of the issues we shall be looking at as we develop our approach on digital inclusion.