Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the introduction 5G services on the accuracy of weather forecast predictions.

Defra Digital Data and Technology Services (DDTS) has been tracking, through its emerging technology scanning activity, the recent news on the potential impact of the introduction of 5G services on the accuracy of weather forecast predictions. Defra DDTS has not undertaken any assessment of this potential impact, and is not aware of any such assessment being undertaken within Defra.

The Environment Agency and the Met Office Flood Forecasting Service would be expected to undertake such an assessment, but this service is not within core Defra.