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1700949

	registered interest
	date	15/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept id	216
	answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	hansard heading	Telecommunications: Infrastructure
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to require broadband companies to gain the consent of (a) the local authority and (b) residents before erecting telephone poles.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	21525
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2024 answer text <p>Telegraph poles play an important role in delivering efficient and cost-effective coverage and connectivity to communities, particularly in hard to reach areas without costly and disruptive roadworks, or where existing infrastructure cannot be used.</p><p> </p><p>Permitted development rights allow telegraph poles and lines to be deployed without requiring case-by-case approval from the local planning authority, and we have no plans to introduce legislation to change permitted development rights for telegraph poles.</p><p> </p><p>However, we are aware of the concerns that residents in some parts of the country have about the deployment of telegraph poles. There are existing measures to minimise pole deployment and avoid inappropriate siting, and we are also taking further action to respond to those concerns.</p><p> </p><p>For example, the Electronic Communications Code (Conditions and Restrictions) Regulations 2003 (“the 2003 Regulations”) set out the legal requirements operators must adhere to.</p><p> </p><p>Already, Local Planning Authorities should be notified 28 days before poles are installed in many circumstances as set out in the 2003 Regulations, and can impose conditions on this installation which operators must adhere to provided that the conditions are reasonable. The 2003 regulations also state that operators should share infrastructure where practicable.</p><p> </p><p>There is also a Code of Practice in place, which provides guidance on ways operators can ensure new installations are placed appropriately, and that local authorities and communities are to be engaged with regarding proposed installations.</p><p> </p><p>Ofcom can take enforcement action in respect of breaches of the restrictions and conditions contained in the 2003 regulations. Ofcom have also stated that they would investigate any cases where poles are sited in a way which is not consistent with the requirements and guidelines in place – including where they block residents’ drives or where operators systematically fail to engage with local planning authorities’ suggestions. We encourage Local Planning Authorities to make complaints to Ofcom if they feel these criteria apply.</p><p> </p><p>I recently met with Melanie Dawes, CEO of Ofcom, to discuss this, and to explore ways DSIT and Ofcom can work together to raise awareness of statutory roles and responsibilities and ensure better compliance.</p><p> </p><p>I also wrote to all fixed line operators on 14 March, setting out the government’s concerns and emphasising the importance of infrastructure sharing. Specifically, I have asked them to do everything possible to share existing telegraph poles before installing new ones.</p><p> </p><p>Separately, DSIT is considering how revisions to the Cabinet Siting and Pole Siting Code of Practice might be delivered to promote better working practices.</p><p> </p><p>I met interested MPs on Monday 25 March 2024, and I remain keen to hear and understand the concerns shared by MPs and their constituents. I am also meeting fixed-line operators to discuss these concerns.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 19/04/2024 08:12:45 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1470670

	registered interest
	date	15/06/2022
	answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	10
	answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	Broadband
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with the Home Secretary on the effect of rules for recruiting and hiring workers from the EU on the roll out of superfast broadband.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	18771
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2022 answer text <p>The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has regular discussions with the Home Secretary about the Points-Based Immigration System to ensure that our Skilled Worker route provides generous catering for the telecommunications sector to attract the workers it needs, provided that skills, salary and English language requirements are met.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 21/06/2022 12:07:15 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1461950

	registered interest
	date	11/05/2022
	answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	10
	answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	Broadband: Birmingham
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of household's access to ultrafast full fibre broadband in Birmingham.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	600
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2022 answer text <p>Thanks to the government's work to promote competition and investment and bust barriers in the UK telecoms market, over 93% premises in Birmingham can now access the fastest gigabit-capable networks.</p><p>The commercial rollout is continuing at record pace, and for those premises where private sector deployment is not viable without subsidy, our £5bn Project Gigabit will contribute to nationwide coverage, with Birmingham and the Black Country set to benefit in phase 3 of the programme.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez grouped question UIN 601 602 question first answered 17/05/2022 12:07:27 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1461951

	registered interest
	date	11/05/2022
	answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	10
	answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	Broadband: Birmingham
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many homes have access to ultrafast full fibre broadband in Birmingham.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	601
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2022 answer text <p>Thanks to the government's work to promote competition and investment and bust barriers in the UK telecoms market, over 93% premises in Birmingham can now access the fastest gigabit-capable networks.</p><p>The commercial rollout is continuing at record pace, and for those premises where private sector deployment is not viable without subsidy, our £5bn Project Gigabit will contribute to nationwide coverage, with Birmingham and the Black Country set to benefit in phase 3 of the programme.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez grouped question UIN 600 602 question first answered 17/05/2022 12:07:27 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1461953

	registered interest
	date	11/05/2022
	answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	10
	answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	Broadband: Birmingham
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has to help increase access to ultrafast full fibre broadband in Birmingham.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	602
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2022 answer text <p>Thanks to the government's work to promote competition and investment and bust barriers in the UK telecoms market, over 93% premises in Birmingham can now access the fastest gigabit-capable networks.</p><p>The commercial rollout is continuing at record pace, and for those premises where private sector deployment is not viable without subsidy, our £5bn Project Gigabit will contribute to nationwide coverage, with Birmingham and the Black Country set to benefit in phase 3 of the programme.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez grouped question UIN 600 601 question first answered 17/05/2022 12:07:27 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1457770

	registered interest
	date	14/04/2022
	answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	10
	answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	Channel Four Television: Privatisation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the privatisation of Channel 4 on his policies on levelling up in the context of that station’s employment scheme for disadvantaged people living outside London and the relocation of its headquarters to Leeds.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	153725
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2022 answer text <p>The Government values Channel 4’s work in developing skills and talent pipelines, particularly in the nations and regions, through schemes like 4Skills. The Government would expect any new owner to have a business interest in continuing to support the development of talent and skills across the UK creative industries.</p><p>The Government will set out the future plan for Channel 4 in a White Paper shortly.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez grouped question UIN 153724 question first answered 25/04/2022 10:38:10 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1457773

	registered interest
	date	14/04/2022
	answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	10
	answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	Channel Four Television: Privatisation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the ability of Channel 4 to compete with Netflix and Amazon following the privatisation of that station.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	153728
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2022 answer text <p>The arrival in the UK of global media and streaming groups means that Channel 4, as with other public service broadcasters (PSBs), faces growing competition for audiences, programmes and talent from new global groups with greater spending power. Netflix, for example, spent £779m on UK original productions in 2020, over two times more than Channel 4.</p><p>Channel 4 and these global streamers are necessarily different, but the markets Channel 4 operates within have been radically changed by the arrival of such competitors, and Channel 4 will need different tools to succeed in the future.</p><p>Under its current ownership model, Channel 4 has limited ability to borrow money or raise private sector capital by issuing shares. The current setup also effectively stops Channel 4 from making its own content. This means Channel 4 is heavily reliant on advertising revenues which are cyclical and also moving to digital platforms - linear TV ad revenues fell 31% from 2015 to 2020.</p><p>Private ownership could allow Channel 4 to diversify its revenue through greater access to capital and an ability to make and own content. This would drive investment at greater pace into content and technology, allowing it to compete more effectively with the likes of Netflix and Amazon without losing what makes Channel 4 so distinctive. The required investment to do this at scale and pace is best provided under private ownership, rather than leaving taxpayers exposed to the associated risk under public ownership.</p><p>The Government will set out the future of Channel 4 in a White Paper shortly.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 25/04/2022 10:40:11 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1457769

	registered interest
	date	08/04/2022
	answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	10
	answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	Channel Four Television: Privatisation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps ensure that Channel 4 will commit to implementing programmes similar to the 4Skills scheme once that station has been privatised.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	153724
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2022 answer text <p>The Government values Channel 4’s work in developing skills and talent pipelines, particularly in the nations and regions, through schemes like 4Skills. The Government would expect any new owner to have a business interest in continuing to support the development of talent and skills across the UK creative industries.</p><p>The Government will set out the future plan for Channel 4 in a White Paper shortly.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez grouped question UIN 153725 question first answered 25/04/2022 10:38:10 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe