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Broadband: Rural Communities — [Peter Dowd in the Chair]

13 December 2023

Lead MP

Chris Loder

Responding Minister

John Whittingdale

Tags

EconomyForeign AffairsCulture, Media & SportScience & TechnologyBusiness & TradeAgriculture & Rural AffairsLocal Government
Word Count: 13236
Other Contributors: 10

At a Glance

Chris Loder raised concerns about broadband: rural communities — [peter dowd in the chair] in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.

Key Requests to Government:

The MP requests for a more equitable approach towards rural communities with respect to Government targets and schemes, ensuring that the remaining 15% and 1% who lack gigabit availability by 2025 and 2030 respectively do not continue to be disadvantaged. He calls for action against anti-competitive practices among providers.

How the Debate Unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:

Lead Contributor

Opened the debate
The MP is concerned about the inequality, isolation and exclusion caused by poor rural broadband. He criticises Ofcom for not adequately representing rural areas' experiences and highlights that West Dorset has a significant 5G coverage gap with 100% of it being a 5G notspot or partial notspot. The digital phone switchover is seen as problematic due to inadequate connectivity, especially affecting elderly individuals. Only 83% of people in rural areas have fixed broadband compared to 98% in urban areas, impacting small businesses and the economy negatively.

Government Response

John Whittingdale
Government Response
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I thank all hon. Members who have taken part in the debate. The fact that we have had such strong attendance is, I think, an indication of the importance that Members from across the country attach to this issue... Already today, more than 79% of premises can access gigabit-capable networks, up from 6% in January 2019. When I took up my position in May, we were at 76%, so the figures are still rising every day. Obviously, as we seek to hit the target, it becomes harder, because we are dealing with harder-to-reach premises, but the UK is building gigabit networks faster than any EU country... Our funding has already enabled gigabit connections to over 900,000 premises, and we forecast the figure to be over 1 million by the end of March next year. Of those premises, over 700,000 were classified as sub-superfast, so the vast majority of our investment is going into the communities that need it most... The Government were clear from the start that we would allow migration from copper to voice over internet protocol on full fibre only as long as we were absolutely sure that those customers who relied on copper—particularly the most vulnerable and especially those with, for instance, telecare devices—were properly protected. Unfortunately, there have been a couple of incidents in which telecare customers have found that their devices have not worked, which is completely unacceptable... Let me turn to the constituencies of hon. Members who have contributed to the debate. My hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset will be aware that, according to the latest statistics, 97% of premises in West Dorset have access to superfast speeds. That is in line with the national average, but I accept that, in terms of future-proofing, we are looking to extend gigabit coverage, which still stands at only 45% in West Dorset... The situation in Tiverton and Honiton has been raised by the hon. Member for Tiverton and Honiton (Richard Foord) not just in this debate, but in the past. Again, I am conscious that there are patches in his constituency that have not been reached. We think that 230 premises do not have a broadband speed of 10 megabits per second or indoor 4G coverage, and those are obviously ones that we are concentrating on... The hon. Member for Rhondda raised the important issue of the public switched telephone network, which, as he mentioned, we also debated this morning... I want to address one or two points that other Members raised in the debate... I shall endeavour not to delay the House for too much longer because I am aware that debates are backing up—like a queue of buses or something. I want to touch on the position in Scotland, to respond to the hon. Member for Angus (Dave Doogan)... Hon. Members have also rightly touched on the importance of mobile coverage and the efforts made to extend 4G coverage... The wider issue of take-up is terribly important because, to get expressions of interest and bids from the out-net to obtain contracts under Project Gigabit will depend on being able to attract customers to take that up when it becomes available, and we are looking at other ways in which we can promote take-up. Finally, the hon. Member for Rhondda raised an issue that features quite a lot in my postbag, which is telegraph poles.
Assessment & feedback
Summary accuracy

About Westminster Hall Debates

Westminster Hall debates are a chance for MPs to raise important issues affecting their constituents and get a response from a government minister. Unlike Prime Minister's Questions, these debates are more in-depth and collaborative. The MP who secured the debate speaks first, other MPs can contribute, and a minister responds with the government's position.