Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help improve (a) 4G and (b) 5G coverage in (i) Suffolk Coastal constituency and (ii) Suffolk.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This Government is taking steps to improve both 4G and 5G coverage across the country.
In the East of England our £1bn agreement with the industry to deliver the Shared Rural Network programme (SRN) will see 4G coverage from all four Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) rise to 93% of the geographic landmass, up from 90% when the programme began in 2020.
In Suffolk Coastal, 4G coverage already stands at 81% geographic coverage from all four MNOs and almost 100% from at least one MNO. While the SRN is focused on areas with poorer coverage, it is not the only focus for infrastructure investment for mobile connectivity. In addition, the MNOs independently invest around £2 billion annually across the UK in enhancing and improving their networks.
According to Ofcom’s Connected Nations report, basic, non-standalone, 5G is available outside 74% of premises in the Suffolk Coastal constituency from at least one MNO. In the Wireless Infrastructure Strategy, published in April 2023, we announced a new ambition for nationwide coverage of higher quality standalone 5G in all populated areas by 2030. The strategy includes a series of measures to help the private sector invest in 5G networks by supporting investment and driving the take-up of innovative, 5G-enabled tech by businesses and the public sector.
The Department provides extensive guidance for local authorities and operators to help facilitate broadband and mobile deployment through the Digital Connectivity Portal. We have also taken steps to make it easier and cheaper for operators to deploy 4G and 5G. This includes reforming the planning system in England. Alongside this, measures within the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022, will support the deployment of wireless infrastructure, including 4G and 5G.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an estimate of the proportion of households that have access to broadband in Suffolk Coastal constituency.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
According to Ofcom’s December 2023 Connected Nations report, over 95% of premises in the Suffolk Coastal constituency have access to a superfast connection, with 37% having access to a gigabit-capable connection. Only 2% of premises are unable to access a decent fixed broadband connection and may be able to get an improved connection through the Broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO).
The Broadband USO gives individuals the right to request a decent broadband connection. Consumers are deemed not to have a decent broadband connection if their current connection falls below 10Mbps download and 1Mbps upload; the cost of accessing a decent broadband connection is higher than £56.20 per month and they are not due to be connected by an existing government scheme within the next 12 months.
Consumers whose connections would cost more than the reasonable cost threshold covered by the USO (of £3,400), can choose to pay the excess cost (with crowdfunding options available).
The Government is rolling out Project Gigabit, a £5 billion mission to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to 99% of UK premises by 2030. This constituency is included in the Project Gigabit contract for Suffolk that was signed by the supplier CityFibre in June 2023.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential economic impact of funding provided by her Department to projects in Suffolk Coastal constituency in the last four years.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
UK Research and Innovation spend in Suffolk in financial year 2020-21 (the latest available data) was £1.71 million, of which £1.6 million was from Innovate UK (IUK).
In December 2023, in collaboration with New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, IUK launched the New Anglia Local Action Plan to give Norfolk and Suffolk innovators and entrepreneurs improved access to expertise, tools and support to help them grow. For example, Haverhill-based Keronite has used an IUK grant to develop a highly efficient, low-impact solution to water treatment.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help provide broadband connections to rural communities in Suffolk.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
According to the independent website Thinkbroadband.com, 98% of premises in the county of Suffolk can access a superfast broadband connection. Furthermore, over 68% of premises are able to access a gigabit-capable connection, up from just 4% in December 2019.
In June 2023 we announced that a Project Gigabit contract had been awarded to the supplier CityFibre. This contract has a value of over £100 million, covering 79,500 hard-to-reach premises in Suffolk that would otherwise miss out on a gigabit-capable connection. The supplier has completed the initial planning and survey work for this contract and the first connections are expected to be made this summer. We expect the contract to be completed by December 2028.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will have discussions with the Leader of the House on bringing forward a debate on the National Transport Strategy.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The scheduling of parliamentary business is not a matter for the Department for Transport.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the number of foster care placements in (a) Suffolk Coastal constituency and (b) Suffolk.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is investing over £36 million this Parliament to deliver a fostering recruitment and retention programme, so that foster care is available for more children who need it. This will boost approvals of foster carers, as well as taking steps to retain the foster carers we have.
Suffolk County Council is participating in this programme and is working in a regional cluster group, ‘Foster East’, which is led by Norfolk.
Greater financial support for foster carers will help improve the experiences of all children in care. For the second year running, the department is uplifting the National Minimum Allowance (NMA) above the rate of inflation. For 2024/25, the NMA will increase by 6.88%. This is on top of a 12.43% NMA increase in 2023/24.
In addition, the department estimates that changes to tax and benefit allowances will give the average foster carer an additional £450 per year, as well as simplifying the process for self-assessment returns for most foster carers.
The department will also build on its investment since 2014 of over £8 million to help embed the Mockingbird programme, which is an innovative model of peer support for foster parents and the children in their care where children benefit from an extended family environment.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will instruct the Meteorological Office to publish the (a) actual and (b) forecast data on wind in relation to Orwell Bridge in Suffolk every day.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Met Office provides public site-specific weather forecasts for numerous locations in the UK, which are available on the Met Office website and app. The nearest site-specific forecast is for Suffolk Ski Centre, which is adjacent to Orwell Bridge. The Met Office has a network of weather observing stations around the UK and the latest observations are available on the Met Office website. The Met Office does not have a weather observing station at Orwell Bridge. The nearest is at Wattisham. The Met Office provides a commercial forecasting service to national highways to aid decision making on speed limits and closure of Orwell Bridge due to high winds, to help keep bridge users safe.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase nursery staff in Suffolk, in the context of the Government's plans to expand the number of free childcare places.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has launched a range of new workforce initiatives to boost early years staff numbers. The department's £6.5 million-backed recruitment campaign ‘Do something BIG. Work with small children’ is raising the status of early years to boost recruitment of talented staff. The department has also launched Skills Bootcamps for Early Years, which enables learners across the country, including in Suffolk, to progress on an accelerated Level 3 Early Years Educator Apprenticeship.
On top of this, the department has launched a pilot to test whether financial incentives help to boost recruitment, and have made it easier for managers to make the most of the skills of their existing staff through changes to the Early Years Foundation Stage, including the removal of the Level 2 maths requirement for staff to count in Level 3 child to staff ratios. A link to the statutory framework can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2.
Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. The department has regular contact with each local authority in England, including Suffolk, about the sufficiency of childcare in their area, including their work to support Early Years (EY) workforce recruitment and retention.
The department will continue to monitor the recruitment of EY staff alongside the sufficiency of childcare provision and are committed to continuing to work with the sector to understand how the department can further support EY workforce recruitment and retention.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications to the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2023 have been (a) made and (b) approved in Suffolk Coastal constituency.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Sustainable Farming Incentive has a rolling application window and as of 16 April the RPA has received 94 applications of which 91 agreements have been offered and 75 accepted for the Suffolk Coastal Constituency.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of provision of NHS dentists in Suffolk Coastal constituency.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 7 February, we published Faster, simpler and fairer: our plan to recover and reform NHS dentistry, which is backed by £200 million and will fund around 2.5 million additional appointments. The plan sets out our actions to improve dental access for patients across the country to address the challenges facing NHS dentistry, including in Suffolk.
From 1 April 2023, the responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to all integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board is responsible for having local processes in place to identify areas of need and determine the priorities for investment across the ICB area.
NHS Dental Statistics, published by NHS Digital, provides data on dental activity in England. The latest annual report is available online at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-dental-statistics