Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Digital Landlines: Rural Communities

Wednesday 14 May 2025 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Markus Campbell-Savours raised a case where a landline call saved a life in a rural area with poor mobile signal.
  • Damian Hinds questioned awareness in very rural areas with poor broadband and mobile coverage about the effects of changes, especially during power cuts.
  • The Minister acknowledged Damian Hinds's interest and referenced a recent Westminster Hall debate on the topic.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Markus Campbell-Savours Lab Penrith and Solway
NHS Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

A constituent of the MP, Dominic, experienced a medical emergency that was managed through a 50-minute landline call during a power cut. The case highlights concerns about vulnerable individuals in rural areas lacking reliable communication methods.

Question

Dominic’s aortic aneurysm burst at his rural home five years ago. With no phone signal in their stone-built house, it was a 69-minute landline call to emergency services that helped his wife keep him alive while they waited for an ambulance. As Dominic waits for more open heart surgery, can the Minister reassure his family that we are doing all we can to mitigate the risks to him and other vulnerable people during power cuts?

Answer from The Minister for Data Protection and Telecoms (Chris Bryant)

I certainly can. I send my best wishes to my hon. Friend’s constituent. He said that it is a stone-built house; he is absolutely right that there are particular difficulties with mobile signal in stone-built houses—I live in one myself, in Porth in the Rhondda. One thing that we have done recently, as a result of the pressure that I have put on people, is to ensure that the battery back-up power is not just the Ofcom-guaranteed one-hour minimum, but considerably longer, and that is what lots of the operators are now providing.

Answered
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Q2 Damian Hinds Con East Hampshire
Energy Agriculture & Rural Affairs Environment
Context

There is a lack of awareness in very remote areas where broadband coverage and mobile phone signal are poor, especially during extended power outages.

Question

What awareness is there in very rural areas where there is not great broadband coverage and very poor indoor mobile phone coverage—sometimes no coverage at all—of the effect of this change, particularly in places where there are frequent and sometimes extended power cuts? When can we expect a full national awareness campaign?

Answer from The Minister for Data Protection and Telecoms (Chris Bryant)

I welcome the right hon. Gentleman’s comments—I am glad that he is expressing an interest in this issue. He took part in a Westminster Hall debate on it only a few weeks ago, when I was a bit grumpy with him, for which I apologise. He makes some good points. He may not be aware of the campaign, which is already up and running, so obviously the awareness campaign needs to do a bit more work to make him aware of the awareness.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister did not provide a specific timeline for the national awareness campaign or clarify if it was fully operational and effective in reaching rural areas.

How: Under Consideration

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