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1580958

registered interest
date	25/01/2023
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 and Mobile Phones: Rural Areas
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) broadband, and (2) mobile phone, connectivity in rural areas.
tabling member printed	Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
uin	HL5089
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2023 answer text <p>Over 73% of premises in the UK can now access gigabit-capable broadband, which is a huge leap forward from January 2019, when coverage was just 6%. The competitive and pro-growth regulatory environment we have created is enabling suppliers to expand their networks to reach more homes and businesses, and we are making excellent progress with Project Gigabit, delivering fast, reliable broadband to rural and hard-to-reach parts of the UK.</p><p>We are awarding a series of contracts to suppliers to deliver gigabit-capable connectivity in areas to which the market will not go without subsidy. We have already awarded six contracts and, in total, have made almost £1 billion of funding available through our live contracts and procurements, covering up to 681,500 premises. We have also recently increased the maximum value of vouchers through the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme to support suppliers to connect premises in particularly hard-to-reach areas.</p><p>Mobile phone connectivity continues to improve in rural areas via the Government's £1 billion deal with mobile network operators to deliver the Shared Rural Network. The programme will see operators collectively increase the UK’s 4G geographic mobile network coverage to 95%; this will reduce rural ‘not spots’, levelling up coverage between rural and urban areas.</p><p>The operators have already deployed more than 150 new sites and have upgraded over 1,300 sites across the UK since the programme began in 2020. 4G coverage across the UK has increased to 92.2%, as the early impact from the Shared Rural Network took effect.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 08/02/2023 17:59:01 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	384 label Biography information for Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

1580993

registered interest
date	25/01/2023
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	5G
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of (1) rural, and (2) non-rural, areas have 5G network coverage.
tabling member printed	Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
uin	HL5090
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2023 answer text <p>Ofcom is responsible for reporting on 5G coverage in Connected Nations. Ofcom first reported on 5G coverage in 2021 and is refining its measuring and reporting of this. Ofcom does not currently report on 5G availability in rural compared to non-rural areas.</p><p>According to Ofcom, (basic) ‘non-standalone’ 5G is available with a high degree of confidence from at least one mobile network operator outside 77% of UK premises.</p><p>Our forthcoming Wireless Infrastructure Strategy will articulate a clear vision for how advanced wireless infrastructure can become an integral part of the fabric of the UK's economy and society by 2030. We aim to publish the strategy in early 2023.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 08/02/2023 17:58:16 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	384 label Biography information for Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

1384137

registered interest
date	01/12/2021
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	Public Telephones
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the removal of public telephone boxes; and what steps they will take to retain public telephone boxes in rural areas with poor mobile phone connectivity.
tabling member printed	Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
uin	HL4605
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2021 answer text <p>The Government recognises the importance of public telephone boxes to people across the UK. The telephony Universal Service Order requires that certain providers maintain telephony services across the UK, including access to public telephone boxes.</p><p>It is for Ofcom to designate the providers subject to this Order and set rules for public telephone boxes, including the rules regarding their removal. Ofcom estimates that there are 1500 public telephone boxes in areas with poor mobile coverage, many of which will be rural.</p><p>Ofcom has recently announced a consultation designed to strengthen these rules. Ofcom’s proposals include a criterion that protects public telephone boxes where they do not have coverage from all four mobile network providers.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 15/12/2021 15:37:24 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	384 label Biography information for Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

1379711

registered interest
date	17/11/2021
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	Public Telephones: Rural Areas
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the importance of public telephone boxes in rural areas; and what steps they will take to ensure they are maintained in situ in areas with poor mobile signal.
tabling member printed	Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
uin	HL4147
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2021 answer text <p>The Government recognises the importance of public telephone boxes to people across the UK. The telephony Universal Service Order requires that certain providers maintain telephony services across the UK, including access to public telephone boxes.</p><p>It is for Ofcom to designate the providers subject to this Order and set rules for public telephone boxes, including the rules regarding their removal. Ofcom estimates that there are 1500 public telephone boxes in areas with poor mobile coverage, many of which will be rural.</p><p>Ofcom has recently announced a consultation designed to strengthen these rules. Ofcom’s proposals include a criterion that protects public telephone boxes where they do not have coverage from all four mobile network providers.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 01/12/2021 11:39:08 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	384 label Biography information for Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

1290183

registered interest
date	25/02/2021
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: Rural Areas
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in expanding communications network coverage in rural areas; and what plans they have to share the resources used by the Emergency Services Network to achieve such coverage.
tabling member printed	Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
uin	HL13710
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/03/2021 answer text <p>The Government’s £1 billion Shared Rural Network (SRN) agreement with the Mobile Network Operators, will see the operators collectively increase 4G mobile coverage to 95% by the end of the programme. While the programme is still in its early stages, we anticipate that areas of the UK will see improvements in coverage long before its completion. On 27 January 2021, the operators O2, Three and Vodafone announced a joint venture to build and share 222 new mobile masts to boost rural coverage across the United Kingdom and deliver the first stage of the SRN. This will see 124 new sites built in Scotland, 33 in Wales, 11 in Northern Ireland, and 54 in England.</p><p>Furthermore, on 24 February, EE announced it will be expanding 4G in more than 500 areas in this year to improve rural connectivity across the UK as part of the programme. This will include 333 in England, 132 in Scotland, 76 in Wales, and 38 in Northern Ireland. 110 areas have already been upgraded since the SRN deal was signed, with a further 469 to follow this year in the first phase of the programme.</p><p>The Government is committed to delivering value for money for the taxpayer by sharing infrastructure where possible for the Shared Rural Network. The Home Office will make the Extended Area Service (EAS) infrastructure, which is part of the new Emergency Services Network (ESN), available to all mobile operators for deployment as part of SRN. In some specific cases, SRN site upgrades may not be possible due to insurmountable practical or cost barriers.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 05/03/2021 10:31:27 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	384 label Biography information for Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

942039

registered interest
date	16/07/2018
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: Rural Areas
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the Better Broadband Subsidy voucher scheme beyond 31 December for the provision of broadband in the hardest to reach rural areas.
tabling member printed	Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
uin	HL9553
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2018 answer text <p>The Department is currently considering how it can most effectively use vouchers to extend broadband coverage and an announcement will be made in due course.</p> answering member printed Lord Ashton of Hyde question first answered 25/07/2018 15:43:08 answering member 4247 label Biography information for Lord Ashton of Hyde
tabling member	384 label Biography information for Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

909636

registered interest
date	22/05/2018
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	Gaming Machines
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the proposed changes to maximum stakes for gaming machines on employment in and the economy of market towns.
tabling member printed	Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
uin	HL8131
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2018 answer text <p>The Government published its response to the consultation on changes to gaming machines and social responsibility measures on 17 May accompanied by an impact assessment, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-proposals-for-changes-to-gaming-machines-and-social-responsibility-measures</p><p> </p><p>Whilst the impact assessment does not address specific economies such as market towns, the Government is aware of the potential impact on businesses following the decision to cut stakes on Fixed-Odds Betting Terminals and took this into consideration. A report by Geofutures, commissioned by GambleAware in February 2015, showed that betting shops are overwhelmingly in urban places and places with economic deprivation. The attached research can be viewed here:</p><p><a href="http://about.gambleaware.org/media/1170/b2gamingmachines_finalreport_20150218.pdf" target="_blank">http://about.gambleaware.org/media/1170/b2gamingmachines_finalreport_20150218.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p>We will continue to take the actions necessary to protect those most vulnerable from harm and will work closely with the industry between now and implementation.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member printed Lord Ashton of Hyde question first answered 06/06/2018 16:05:44 answering member 4247 label Biography information for Lord Ashton of Hyde
tabling member	384 label Biography information for Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

909637

registered interest
date	22/05/2018
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	Gambling: Internet
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to bring forward detailed proposals for the regulation of online gambling.
tabling member printed	Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
uin	HL8132
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2018 answer text <p>The Gambling Commission is the statutory regulator for gambling in Great Britain. The Gambling Commission recently concluded a comprehensive review of the online gambling sector drawing on its experience of regulating the whole British online gambling market since November 2014, and has identified key areas where it intends to consult on regulatory changes to enhance protections for online gambling. The attached review can be found here: http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/PDF/Online-review-March-2018.pdf</p><p> </p><p>In particular, the Gambling Commission is proposing to require operators to set limits on players’ spending until affordability checks have been completed, and to introduce stricter licence requirements for gambling companies to know their customers and intervene at an earlier stage before players experience harm.</p><p> </p><p>Detailed proposals will be set out at consultation stage, the timelines for which are set out in the Gambling Commission’s recently published business plan, which is attached: http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/news-action-and-statistics/news/2018/Gambling-Commission-publishes-2018-2019-business-plan.aspx</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Ashton of Hyde attachment 1 file name Online-review-March-2018.pdf title Gambling Commission review 2018 2 file name Business-plan-2018-2019.pdf title Gambling Commission business plan 2018 question first answered 06/06/2018 16:06:46 answering member 4247 label Biography information for Lord Ashton of Hyde
tabling member	384 label Biography information for Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

867252

registered interest
date	19/03/2018
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: Rural Areas
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve (1) mobile phone coverage, (2) broadband access, and (3) internet speeds, in rural areas
tabling member printed	Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
uin	HL6459
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/04/2018 answer text <p>As set out in our 2017 5G Strategy our ambition is for the UK to have good quality mobile connectivity where people live, work and travel. This is why we reformed mobile planning laws in England in 2016, reformed the Electronic Communications Code in December 2017 and signed an Accord with the Church of England in February 2018 to make it easier and cheaper to install digital infrastructure across the UK including rural areas.</p><p><br> We also welcome Ofcom’s consultation, launched on 9 March, which outlines potential new licence obligations for rural coverage as part of the upcoming 700MHz spectrum auction. This will further help drive coverage improvements for consumers</p><p><br> £1.7 billion of public money is being invested to support vital improvements in superfast broadband coverage across the UK. BDUK will continue supporting delivery of superfast broadband beyond the 95% level, and at least a further 2% is likely to be achieved. Of which, 340,000 premises (over 1% of premises) are contracted to be delivered by March 2019</p><p><br> The Better Broadband Scheme is available to those who are unable to obtain a connection speed above 2Mbps. The Scheme can support access to satellite broadband, 4G or wireless connections in some locations, and can also support community fibre broadband projects through the BT Community Fibre Partnerships scheme</p><p>As confirmed in our announcement in December 2017 we are pushing ahead with our plans for a Universal Service Obligation (USO) so that, by 2020, everyone across the UK will have a clear, enforceable right to request 10 Megabit per second broadband</p><p><br> Defra has also allocated £30 million of grant funding from the Rural Development Programme for England, targeted at helping to connect businesses with broadband in hard to reach rural areas</p><p><br> Full fibre broadband connections offer the fastest and most reliable speeds available, and the government is strongly committed to a vision of full fibre Britain. In the Spring 2017 Budget £200m of funding was allocated to the Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) programme. This funding was used to launch a £190m Challenge Fund designed to stimulate commercial investment in full fibre networks in both rural and urban locations across the whole of the UK. <br> <br> We also recently announced our £67m Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme. The voucher scheme is designed to further the strategic objective of the Local Full Fibre Networks programme to stimulate commercial investment in full fibre coverage across the UK. Gigabit broadband vouchers can be used by small businesses and local communities to subside the installation cost of ultrafast connections over gigabit-capable infrastructure. <br></p> answering member printed Lord Ashton of Hyde question first answered 03/04/2018 14:28:56 answering member 4247 label Biography information for Lord Ashton of Hyde
tabling member	384 label Biography information for Baroness McIntosh of Pickering