Broadband: Housing
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what information her Department holds on which businesses provide broadband connections on new housing developments.
Answer
The Building etc. (Amendment) (England) (No. 2) Regulations 2022 require developers of new build homes in England to install the gigabit-ready physical infrastructure necessary for gigabit-capable connections. Additionally, and subject to a £2,000 cost cap per premise, developers need to install a gigabit-capable connection. Where a developer is unable to secure a gigabit-capable connection within the cost cap, a next best technology connection available within the same cost cap must be installed. This means first a superfast connection, and then at least a broadband connection is required.
The requirements are technologically neutral and allow for existing and future wired and fixed wireless connectivity options, so as not to stifle technological innovation. This enables housing developers to make commercial decisions and secure connections from any network operator providing performance criteria are met. Ensuring facilitated connections are appropriate for a specific development.
Thinkbroadband statistics for homes built in 2023 indicate that 98% of new homes developed across the UK have access to a gigabit-connection through Fibre to the Premises (FTTP). The provision of Gigabit infrastructure for new build homes comes from many different network operators. Some housing developers have made arrangements to ensure that new build developments are served by multiple network operators providing access to numerous broadband service providers.
The Department does not hold data on the proportion of new build housing developments to which individual network operators provide broadband connections. Further information on the breakdown of the new build home broadband market is available from ISPreview(opens in a new tab).
Julia Lopez Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology), and Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport).
18th April 2024
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Digital Broadcasting: Rural Areas
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to safeguard the provision of digital terrestrial television and radio broadcast services beyond 2040 for communities in rural areas; and if she will make a statement.
Answer
I refer my honourable friend to the answer I gave on 5 June 2023 to her question UIN 186801.
Sir John Whittingdale MP, Minister of State at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport
8th September 2023
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Television Digital Broadcasting
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Media Bill on access to digital terrestrial television in the period to 2040.
Answer
The Government remains committed to the future of digital terrestrial television (DTT), the technology which underpins Freeview. Millions of households across the UK rely on DTT, particularly rural communities and older people.
We also recognise the crucial role that DTT services play in the wider UK broadcasting system, in particular in helping ensure that public service content continues to be widely available and free-to-air to all audiences.
For these reasons, the Government has already legislated to secure the continuity of DTT until at least 2034.
As the sector evolves, it is right that we continue to evaluate the future distribution of television services. To that end, and as set out in the Broadcasting White Paper, the Government has asked Ofcom to continue to track changes in DTT viewing and to undertake an early review on market changes that may affect the future of content distribution before the end of 2025.
Before any decisions about the future of terrestrial television are made, close consideration will be given to how any changes would impact audiences, and especially those who rely on DTT as their primary means of watching television.
Separately, the Media Bill will reform decades-old laws to turbocharge the growth potential of our world-leading public service broadcasters (PSBs). The Government has published impact assessments for the draft Media Bill and, as is usual practice, an updated set will be submitted to the Regulatory Policy Committee for independent scrutiny, and published when the Bill is introduced.
Sir John Whittingdale MP, Minister of State at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport
12th July 2023
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Holiday Accommodation:
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish the outcome of the consultation on developing a tourist accommodation registration scheme in England.
Answer
The Government has not yet published a consultation on developing a tourist accommodation registration scheme in England.
In June, DCMS issued a call for evidence on the benefits and challenges presented by the rise in short-term and holiday letting seen in England over the last 10 to 15 years. This will inform the development of appropriate policy options, which the government intends to consult on later in 2022. The call for evidence closed on 21 September and we are now carefully analysing 4,000 responses to this exercise, which will help inform next steps.
Julia Lopez MP, Minister of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
31st October 2022
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Phone Lines: Fibre
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) progress of the nationwide switch from copper phone lines to fibre and (b) resilience of fibre phone lines in rural areas.
Answer
The move from traditional to digital telephony, known as Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) migration, is being led by the telecoms industry and not the government.
While DCMS meets regularly with telecoms providers to discuss the progress of their migration, we do not assess overall progress given each provider has their own schedule and plans for the upgrade including how and when they will migrate customers. Regardless, telecoms providers have said they remain committed to the 2025 deadline.
Telecommunications equipment is usually highly resilient and major outages are extremely rare. However, in general, fibre connections are less affected than copper cables by environmental factors, such as temperature and electro-magnetic fluctuations.
Julia Lopez MP, Minister of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
23rd September 2022
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Tourism: Coronavirus
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he plans to take to support the tourism industry to rebuild following the covid-19 outbreak?
Answer
The Government is committed to helping the tourism industry through this crisis and beyond. We will continue to engage with stakeholders to assess how we can most effectively support the sector during the recovery period.
We have announced unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency. This includes employee support, business rates relief and grants for eligible hospitality and leisure businesses, plus £330bn worth of government backed and guaranteed loans. The Chancellor also announced a Bounce Back loan scheme to help small businesses access loans of up to £50,000, with a 100% government-backed guarantee for lenders.
Our immediate national priority is containing the spread of the virus. As soon as it is safe to do so, we will be encouraging people to book holidays and support tourism companies once again.
Nigel Huddleston MP, Minister for Sport, Tourism and Heritage
28th April 2020
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Tourism: Coronavirus
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to help people that are employed on regular seasonal contracts in the (a) tourism industry and (b) Royal National Lifeboat Institution during the covid-19 outbreak?
Answer
The Chancellor has set out unprecedented support for workers - including seasonal workers across the tourism industry - to protect them against the current economic emergency. This includes the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme.
After consultation with businesses, we have changed the cut-off date for employees to be employed and paid from 28 February to 19 March (the day before the Job Retention Scheme was announced). This means that over 200,000 more people will benefit.
This change expands the scheme to cover more workers, whilst keeping the fraud risks under control.
Nigel Huddleston MP, Minister for Sport, Tourism and Heritage
28th April 2020
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