Broadband: Price

Baroness Altmann Excerpts

Thursday 2nd February 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My Lords, the action we are taking is to beat the evil of inflation, which is what lies behind these price rises. At the same time, we have acted quickly to support families, through such things as the energy price guarantee and the energy bills support scheme, as well as further help for the most vulnerable households of up to £200.

[Baroness Altmann (Con)]

My Lords, will the Minister comment on the problems faced by vulnerable older people who might just have started trying to get tech-enabled and just signed up for a broadband contract? They do not understand how these things work, then are suddenly faced with a penalty if they try to change to a better rate and are locked into a contract that was never properly explained to them.

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

In July last year, the previous Secretary of State also spoke to mobile and broadband suppliers and secured a list of commitments from them, including a commitment to support their customers who may be struggling with the cost of living and to treat them with compassion and understanding. All providers committed to support customers who are struggling with their bills, offering them ways to keep connected, including allowing them to move to cheaper packages without charge or penalty, or agreeing manageable payment plans.

Broadband: Social Tariffs

Baroness Altmann Excerpts

Tuesday 31st January 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

The noble Baroness touches on work about which it may be better for my colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care to respond. We are working to ensure that everybody has connection to high-speed internet, and through social tariffs it is now available in 99% of the country.

[Baroness Altmann (Con)]

My Lords, many millions of people can neither afford to use internet broadband nor even own a smartphone, especially the elderly. Government figures suggest that more than 90% of people under 60 are digitally enabled, but approximately half of over-75s are not. Can my noble friend the Minister comment on the apparent age discrimination inherent in allowing the accessing of essential public services, banking, making parking payments and more to require ownership or use of an app or the internet? What is the Government’s strategy for remedying that digital exclusion?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My noble friend is right about the different impacts this has on people of different ages. While accessing services online provides clear benefits to people, I know that many companies are mindful of those who are not yet able to do so. As I have said, we are ensuring that everyone who wishes to do so has access to high-speed internet. Through social tariffs, they know that they can afford it, so if they wish to access those services online, they can.

Channel 4 Privatisation

Baroness Altmann Excerpts

Tuesday 5th April 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

Netflix is not a news producer in the way that Channel 4 is a public service broadcaster, but it is competing with Channel 4 for all the other things which Channel 4 does, including its entertainment and other content. This debate is not about the remit of Channel 4 but about ensuring that it can continue to compete with those, such as Netflix, which produce different but, at the moment, very competitive things.

[Baroness Altmann (Con)]

My Lords, I understand the need for Channel 4 to have extra resources, but could my noble friend the Minister reassure the House that Channel 4’s particular benefits—in sponsoring some of the very newest companies and young producers, especially in current affairs and documentary programming, which I often find of huge value—will be considered carefully when any buyer is found?

Telecommunications (Security) Bill

Baroness Altmann Excerpts

Report stage
Tuesday 19th October 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Altmann (Con)]

My Lords, I add a brief word of support for all the sentiments expressed so far in this debate, and for the excellent way in which they have been presented. I very much look forward to hearing my noble friend’s reply as to the problem that the Government have in accepting what seems to be their own wording into this Bill, thereby reinforcing this country’s stance against some of the most egregious regimes in the world and staying as close as we can to our Five Eyes allies.

Artists and Musicians: Working in Europe

Baroness Altmann Excerpts

Thursday 9th September 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

The Government are doing anything but painting the signs and I should like to put on record our thanks to our officials who have been working tirelessly to sort these issues out.

[Baroness Altmann (Con)]

My Lords, the Society of London Theatre estimates that the live entertainment sector was worth more than £11 billion in gross value-added—four times as valuable as the US market for British artists. Given that the sector faces such significant new operational and financial burdens as a result of the trade and co-operation agreement, will my noble friend consider providing extra support, particularly for the smaller and emerging artists who are so disproportionately disadvantaged by the different red tape and work permit requirements that each country imposes?

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

As my noble friend will have heard, we have already given unprecedented support approaching £2 billion to the sector. We are working tirelessly to make sure that the practical advice works for the sector and we thank it for its co-operation and feedback on that. We are exploring the options for a creative export office.

Events Research Programme

Baroness Altmann Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd June 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

I share the noble Lord’s concern about leaks in this area. In relation to insurance, the Government are of course aware of wider concerns about securing indemnity insurance for live events. We are continuing to assess a range of options to provide further support to the sector in the public health context.

[Baroness Altmann (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I urge my noble friend to take back to the department the concerns I hear expressed time and again about the lack of transparency around data from the events research programme, which we are led to believe suggests that there are no serious risks of Covid during events. Even before the delta variant—I recognise that—events were not superspreaders in the way they would have been last year. These draconian restrictions on our everyday lives seem to most people to be difficult to justify in light of the current low levels of infection and, in particular, deaths, as well as the extensive success of our vaccine programme, on which I hugely congratulate the Government.

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

I hear my noble friend’s frustration on this, but there really is no lack of transparency. This is a very rigorous set of pilots. The complex data needs to be analysed, and I am sure my noble friend agrees with me that it would be really unhelpful to put it in the public domain until that has been completed.

Football: European Super League

Baroness Altmann Excerpts

Tuesday 20th April 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

The Government have been consulting with fans and football stakeholders throughout the past year to understand exactly what is needed in the review. The Prime Minister and my right honourable friend the Secretary of State have both said that legislation is not ruled out, but we should not pre-empt the work of the review, which will start shortly.

[Baroness Altmann (Con)]

My Lords, I, too, commend the Government on their robust response. As a Tottenham Hotspur supporter, a club that is involved in this, I, too, join in the condemnation of this idea. It seems to revolve around money rather than football. I ask my noble friend whether the Treasury might consider international tax co-ordination to address this issue via financial means?

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

My noble friend raises an interesting point. We have been clear that the football authorities are best placed to push back on these proposals in the first instance—they have our backing—but that nothing is off the table if they fail to do so.

Legislative Reform (Renewal of Radio Licences) Order 2020

Baroness Altmann Excerpts

Friday 27th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Altmann (Con)]

My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend the Minister on her presentation of the order. I also congratulate the Government on their wise decision to extend these licences. The future scenario for radio services is clearly moving towards digital, but 40% of users still listen on FM or AM. I welcome the order because it ensures that, for those loyal listeners, there will be no interruption to their favourite FM or AM radio stations. I declare an interest as a loyal listener of Classic FM.

I believe that the Government’s decision is commendable, having gone through the exercise that my noble friend explained and taken into account the disruption caused by Covid both to the country at large and to the advertising revenues for these stations. Extending rather than requiring reauthorisation will save these radio stations the cost and hassle of submitting a new application while giving them at least some certainty in the current uncertain environment.

Some 55 local radio multiplex services provide DAB radio stations. I support the extension to small-scale multiplexes; they can be so important for selective audiences with particular interests. I understand that these analogue services are being required to commit to a digital future by being on a national, local or small-scale DAB multiplex, but can my noble friend confirm the investigations being made by Ofcom and the progress reports that may be required over the next few years in terms of that changeover to digital?

I have one further question, which relates to Ofcom’s verification of the technical information in each local radio multiplex licence to make sure that it has the required and expected coverage and that there are no cutbacks in services to certain areas around the country. As my noble friend rightly said, so many people—particularly elderly citizens—are relying on radio during the pandemic. Some cannot see; they can only hear. For them, radio is a real lifeline. I therefore welcome the current measures and I congratulate the Government on their decision to extend these licences.

Charities: Funding

Baroness Altmann Excerpts

Thursday 29th October 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

It is right that charities are not legally required to disclose publicly the identity of individual donors, because donor anonymity can be an important factor which gives people the confidence to donate to charities. However, the anonymity does not in any way absolve charity trustees from their responsibilities, which are very clearly set out in terms of due diligence, the “know your donor” guidance and the serious incident reporting.

[Baroness Altmann (Con)]

My Lords, I agree it is important to ensure transparency which could benefit, for example, from signing up to the Fundraising Regulator to improve fundraising standards and build public trust. Does my noble friend agree that all our charities need to be committed to upholding basic principles, including a rejection of all forms of racism, which would also cover adopting the full IHRA definition of anti-Semitism?

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

My noble friend raises interesting and important issues. I stress, and I hope she agrees, that the vast majority of charities strive to go beyond the minimum in terms of transparency and are responsible, both in terms of fundraising and human rights issues. Their responsibilities are clear in law, but we believe the Fundraising Regulator has been very effective in addressing some issues of poor practice in the past.

Covid-19: Museums, Galleries and Historic Buildings

Baroness Altmann Excerpts

Thursday 21st May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Altmann (Con)]

I thank my noble friend Lord Cormack for securing this debate and his excellent introduction. Our precious museums, galleries and historic buildings have suffered a perfect storm as income disappears and volunteers and visitors stay away but costs continue. Yet these places can help with recovery from the current crisis by bringing benefits to national mental well-being with relaxing, peaceful, unpressured but stimulating environments.

I fear that the impact from lockdown may continue even after relaxation. Local authorities spend more than £1 billion on this sector. This is now at risk in light of the extra costs of providing other vital local services such as social care during this pandemic and in the future. These cultural spaces cannot rely on long-term council support. I echo the calls for Treasury help, including removing VAT on restoration costs and encouraging philanthropy and private charitable or business donations to be offered for a long-term period.