Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1351322

registered interest
date	18/08/2021
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	Mobile Phones: Fees and Charges
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 he will ask Ofcom to (a) make an assessment of the cost orientation of the EU roaming charges introduced by (i) EE and (ii) Vodafone and (b) require that Vodafone informs customers who are upgrading or changing their service with Vodafone that they will lose the right to free roaming in the EU as a result.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	40905
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/09/2021 answer text <p>Since the end of the Transition Period on 31 December 2020, the UK has no longer been part of the EU Roaming Regulation known as ‘Roam Like at Home’. This means it is a commercial decision for mobile operators as to whether they impose a surcharge on their consumers travelling abroad to the EU for their mobile phone usage.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>As per Ofcom regulations, providers must make sure their contract terms are fair and transparent. They must also tell customers about changes to their contracts. Where those changes will particularly disadvantage customers, providers must give them at least a month’s notice and the right to exit their contracts without being penalised.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Further requirements to prevent roaming bill-shock include providers publishing roaming charges on their website and sending alerts with pricing information when customers start roaming. They must also apply a default £45-a-month (exc VAT) cut-off limit on data roaming unless customers choose to extend this. Our advice is that consumers check with their operators before travelling abroad.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 08/09/2021 12:17:02 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1349594

registered interest
date	22/07/2021
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	Cybersecurity: Small Businesses
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 12 July 2021 to Question 28185, for what reason the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2021 did not publish data on micro and small businesses for questions relating to the Cyber Essentials Scheme as it had in previous years.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	38258
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2021 answer text <p>When we published the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cyber-security-breaches-survey-2021" target="_blank">Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2021</a> we purposely focused on the impact of additional guidance issued by NCSC in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: guidance on <a href="https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/home-working" target="_blank">home working</a> and <a href="https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/video-conferencing-services-security-guidance-organisations" target="_blank">video conferencing services</a>; and guidance on <a href="https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/moving-business-from-physical-to-digital" target="_blank">moving business online</a>, as we considered these to be the priority topics of interest at that time. As a result, we did not publish the data on awareness of Cyber Essentials for micro and small businesses.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Overall for businesses in 2021, 14% of businesses were aware of Cyber Essentials, in line with 2020 (13%). The figures on micro and small businesses from the 2021 Survey followed the same trend as previous years. As in previous years, awareness of Cyber Essentials was lower for micro (12%) and small (22%) businesses than medium (45%) and large businesses (50%).</p><p><strong><p><p></strong></p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 09/09/2021 11:13:38 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1349294

registered interest
date	21/07/2021
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	Radio Frequencies: Carbon Emissions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in the context the decision of regulators in (a) Germany and (b) the Republic of Ireland to enable radio spectrum allocation to facilitate the transition to net zero, what recent assessment his Department has made of the viability of the allocation of radio spectrum to the energy network operators to accelerate decarbonisation of the UK economy.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	37467
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2021 answer text <p>This Government is committed to reaching our net zero targets. Our Nationally Determined Contribution to cut emissions by 78% by 2035 is the most ambitious in the world. Harnessing the potential of spectrum will be crucial to helping us do this.</p><p>Ofcom is responsible for managing and authorising spectrum use and DCMS will continue to work with Ofcom on the potential allocation of spectrum to energy networks and other users so as to help us reach our net zero targets.</p><p>As outlined in its <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/216640/statement-plan-of-work-202122.pdf" target="_blank">Plan of Work 21/22</a>, Ofcom is reviewing the role of spectrum in supporting energy distribution networks to meet Government targets on carbon neutrality and manage new distribution models. Ofcom is working with energy operators and other stakeholders in the sector to understand future spectrum requirements, and closely follows the progress of other international spectrum regulators in enabling smart grids.</p><p /> <p>DCMS Officials have attended industry-led events regarding the allocation of radio spectrum to the energy network operators and have met with representatives from the Strategic Telecoms Group of the Energy Networks Association (ENA) and the Joint Radio Company (JRC), a joint venture between the ENA and National Grid, to discuss the radio spectrum needs of the UK gas and electricity network operators. DCMS is also in close contact with BEIS on this issue.</p><p>The Government will continue to work with Ofcom and other key stakeholders to help find a suitable, sustainable spectrum solution for energy networks.</p><p /> <p> </p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman grouped question UIN 37468 question first answered 10/09/2021 10:13:37 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1349296

registered interest
date	21/07/2021
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	Radio Frequencies: Carbon Emissions
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 recent assessment his Department has made of the role of Ofcom in incentivising decarbonisation through the award of radio spectrum to energy network operators; and whether officials in his Department have (a) met and (b) plan to meet representatives of UK energy network operators to discuss the allocation of radio spectrum to accelerate decarbonisation of the UK energy system.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	37468
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2021 answer text <p>This Government is committed to reaching our net zero targets. Our Nationally Determined Contribution to cut emissions by 78% by 2035 is the most ambitious in the world. Harnessing the potential of spectrum will be crucial to helping us do this.</p><p>Ofcom is responsible for managing and authorising spectrum use and DCMS will continue to work with Ofcom on the potential allocation of spectrum to energy networks and other users so as to help us reach our net zero targets.</p><p>As outlined in its <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/216640/statement-plan-of-work-202122.pdf" target="_blank">Plan of Work 21/22</a>, Ofcom is reviewing the role of spectrum in supporting energy distribution networks to meet Government targets on carbon neutrality and manage new distribution models. Ofcom is working with energy operators and other stakeholders in the sector to understand future spectrum requirements, and closely follows the progress of other international spectrum regulators in enabling smart grids.</p><p /> <p>DCMS Officials have attended industry-led events regarding the allocation of radio spectrum to the energy network operators and have met with representatives from the Strategic Telecoms Group of the Energy Networks Association (ENA) and the Joint Radio Company (JRC), a joint venture between the ENA and National Grid, to discuss the radio spectrum needs of the UK gas and electricity network operators. DCMS is also in close contact with BEIS on this issue.</p><p>The Government will continue to work with Ofcom and other key stakeholders to help find a suitable, sustainable spectrum solution for energy networks.</p><p /> <p> </p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman grouped question UIN 37467 question first answered 10/09/2021 10:13:37 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1347778

registered interest
date	16/07/2021
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	Telecommunications: Infrastructure
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 May 2021 to Question 5194 on Telecommunications: Infrastructure, what estimate he has made of the average rental payment to landowners; and what assessment he has made of the the impact of rental payments on digital connectivity.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	34492
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2021 answer text <p>It is not possible to provide estimates of the average rental payments to landowners as these are commercial matters.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The price paid for rights to install digital infrastructure is, in the first instance, a matter for negotiation between operators and site providers. But reforms relating to the legislation underpinning these rights were introduced in 2017. Those changes were intended to strike a balance between ensuring individual landowners do not incur losses and making network deployment and maintenance more cost effective. In our view, prices being paid for rights to install communications apparatus prior to 2017 were too high and reflected the increase in demand that had taken place for digital services. With digital communications becoming an increasingly critical part of daily life, changes were made to the valuation regime to address this. The pricing regime now in place is more closely aligned to those for utilities like water, electricity and gas. The recent consultation on further changes to the Code made it clear that the government is not revisiting the valuation regime introduced in 2017.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Responses to the recent consultation are currently being considered. We will carefully consider the impact of our proposals on all stakeholders and will carry out a full assessment of the impacts, in line with the usual processes.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Discussions are regularly held between the department and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on a range of issues including telecoms matters. However, I have not had specific conversations regarding the impact of the changes to rental negotiations on local government finances and the provision of public services.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman grouped question UIN 34493 question first answered 22/07/2021 13:49:59 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1347779

registered interest
date	16/07/2021
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	Telecommunications: Infrastructure
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 May 2021 to Question 5194 on Telecommunications: Infrastructure, what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposed changes to the Electronic Communications Code on average rental income for site owners who lease their land to telecommunications companies for infrastructure; and what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the impact of the changes to rent negotiations on local government finances and the provision of public services.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	34493
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2021 answer text <p>It is not possible to provide estimates of the average rental payments to landowners as these are commercial matters.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The price paid for rights to install digital infrastructure is, in the first instance, a matter for negotiation between operators and site providers. But reforms relating to the legislation underpinning these rights were introduced in 2017. Those changes were intended to strike a balance between ensuring individual landowners do not incur losses and making network deployment and maintenance more cost effective. In our view, prices being paid for rights to install communications apparatus prior to 2017 were too high and reflected the increase in demand that had taken place for digital services. With digital communications becoming an increasingly critical part of daily life, changes were made to the valuation regime to address this. The pricing regime now in place is more closely aligned to those for utilities like water, electricity and gas. The recent consultation on further changes to the Code made it clear that the government is not revisiting the valuation regime introduced in 2017.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Responses to the recent consultation are currently being considered. We will carefully consider the impact of our proposals on all stakeholders and will carry out a full assessment of the impacts, in line with the usual processes.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Discussions are regularly held between the department and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on a range of issues including telecoms matters. However, I have not had specific conversations regarding the impact of the changes to rental negotiations on local government finances and the provision of public services.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman grouped question UIN 34492 question first answered 22/07/2021 13:49:59 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1347794

registered interest
date	16/07/2021
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, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of CircleLoop which placed the UK 28th in the world for broadband speeds; and what steps he is taking to accelerate full-fibre and 5G rollout.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	34500
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/07/2021 answer text <p>CircleLoop’s 'Connected Countries’ report ranks countries using average download speed data, rather than the maximum speed available. Given the pace of the gigabit rollout in the UK, it is understandable that in some cases consumers may wish to wait until their current contract ends before seeking higher speeds.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The government remains committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible. Today, over two in five premises can access gigabit-capable networks, up from just one in ten in November 2019. By the end of the year, 60% will have access to a gigabit network, and we are on track to achieving a minimum of 85% gigabit-capable coverage by 2025.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>It is the government's view that the best way to achieve nationwide gigabit coverage is to remove barriers to deployment and create a competition-friendly environment in areas where deployment is commercially viable, while focussing government funds on the 20% of the country where commercial deployment is unlikely. To support the hardest-to-reach areas, we have launched Project Gigabit, our £5bn programme to ensure these areas receive gigabit coverage within the same timescales as the rest of the country.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>5G Network deployment plans are a matter for the mobile network operators, but the government is undertaking a number of actions to support this. We will shortly publish our response to the consultation on potential reforms to the Electronic Communications Code, which sought views on how we can better facilitate the deployment of new networks, including 5G. Alongside this, we have also consulted on reforms to the planning system to support 5G deployment and extend mobile coverage, and we intend to publish our response to the consultation and bring forward legislation in the Autumn.</p><p>We are confident that through these actions we will achieve our 5G rollout ambitions for the majority of the population to have access to a 5G signal by 2027.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 26/07/2021 15:45:45 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1347420

registered interest
date	15/07/2021
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	Cybersecurity: Housing
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 he will bring forward legislative proposals in the forthcoming Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill to protect smart homes from the risk of scanning and hacking attempts.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	33913
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2021 answer text <p>The protections set out in the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill will make smart homes more resilient against cyber threats. New minimum security requirements will apply to all in-scope consumer connected products sold in the UK. The Bill will protect consumers from cyber attacks by preventing the sale of insecure devices with default passwords which are easy to hack and ensuring they are made aware at point of sale about how long smart home devices will receive security updates.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 20/07/2021 10:54:51 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1347423

registered interest
date	15/07/2021
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	Internet: Sales
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 his Department has to engage with the complexities of supply chains to support product (a) security and (b) longevity through the upcoming Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	33914
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/07/2021 answer text <p>The government has engaged extensively with cyber security subject matter experts and industry to ensure that the cyber security measures in the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill take into account the complexities of connected product supply chains. The Bill will ensure that organisations throughout the supply chain play a role in preventing insecure products from being made available in the UK, through enforceable minimum security requirements.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>New security requirements will ensure consumers are made aware at point of sale about how long devices like smart televisions, phones and speakers, will receive security updates. By requiring transparency on the longevity of support, we will reform the security culture of the supply chain for consumer connected products.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 19/07/2021 15:32:51 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1344343

registered interest
date	06/07/2021
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	Cybersecurity: Small Businesses
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Answer of 14 September 2020 to Question 87545 on Small Businesses: Cybercrime, how many SME businesses have taken up the Government's Cyber Essentials scheme to date.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	28185
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/07/2021 answer text <p>At the end of June 2021, 70,859 Cyber Essentials certificates have been awarded to organisations in the UK, including 55,645 to small and medium sized organisations. This includes an increase of 20,438 (17,477 to SMEs) in the overall number of certificates awarded since the end of August 2020. 12,566 certificates have been awarded so far this year, including 10,721 to SMEs. For a smaller number of older certificates (pre-2017) we do not have information available on the size of the organisation.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>On 12 May 2021 at CYBERUK 2021, the government announced the launch of the Cyber Essentials Readiness Tool. The interactive tool provides a bespoke action plan to organisations to improve their cyber security and will help SMEs prepare for Cyber Essentials certification.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>On 10 September 2020 the government announced a £500,000 fund to help SME businesses in the healthcare sector improve their digital resilience. The funding package, which has now been completed, supported 170 SMEs to work towards achieving Cyber Essentials certification and take other steps to improve their cyber security, helping to ensure they can continue providing vital products and services to deal with the current pandemic.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 12/07/2021 14:37:53 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah