Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government when an operator of a solar energy project abandons a site in the UK, whether the cost of decommissioning the site falls solely on the owner of the site.

Answered by Lord Whitehead

Developers – not landowners – are responsible for meeting decommissioning costs. Planning conditions typically require a site to be returned to its previous use after its period of operation.

In the event that the developer no longer exists to fulfil its duties, planning authorities may serve notices on interested parties to enforce decommissioning requirements.

These risks can be reallocated through negotiation of securities or guarantees during the leasing process.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a legal requirement for operators of solar energy projects to establish in advance financial provision, which is both monitored and regularly updated, by means of a performance bond, insurance bond or independently run fund for decommissioning solar sites should the operator depart for any reason and leave the equipment on site.

Answered by Lord Whitehead

The Government has no plans to introduce such a requirement. Planning conditions typically require developers to return the site to its previous use after its term of operation.

Securities and guarantees to cover decommissioning costs in the event of developer default are left for negotiation between landlords and their tenants.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the provisions concerning a complaints process about the conduct of operators under section 70 of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 are now in effect; and, if not, when they will come into effect.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The provisions in Section 70 of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 concerning the handling of complaints about the conduct of operators are not yet in force.

The Government remains committed to implementing Section 70 of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 as soon as possible.

My Department is considering options for implementation and will engage with stakeholders as part of this process. We will confirm timelines for the implementation of Section 70 in due course.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of mobile mast sites will be affected by the renewals provisions in sections 61 to 64 of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022; and what methodology they have used for coming to that assessment.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

We estimate that the Renewals Provisions will affect approximately 12-18% of UK mobile mast sites. This reflects the number of live agreements that could be affected by the Renewals Provisions, drawn from confidential data provided by industry and internal estimates, as a proportion of the estimated total number of mobile sites in the UK. Given the commercially sensitive nature of the data, further detail is not possible.

The Renewals Provisions extend the changes to the statutory valuation framework introduced by the 2017 Electronic Communications Code to certain cases regulated by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 and the Business Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 upon their renewal.

Based on reporting by Ofcom in its Connected Nations reports, 4G geographic coverage from all four operators has risen from 40% in 2016 to 84% in 2026 and 5G premises (outdoor) coverage has reached 64% from all four operators in 2026.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the number of mobile mast sites that will be affected by the renewals provisions in sections 61-64 of the Product Security Telecommunications Infrastructure Act; and, if so, whether this assessment indicates that access to signals will be disrupted.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

We estimate that the Renewals Provisions will affect approximately 12-18% of UK mobile mast sites. This reflects the number of live agreements that could be affected by the Renewals Provisions, drawn from confidential data provided by industry and internal estimates, as a proportion of the estimated total number of mobile sites in the UK. Given the commercially sensitive nature of the data, further detail is not possible.

The Renewals Provisions extend the changes to the statutory valuation framework introduced by the 2017 Electronic Communications Code to certain cases regulated by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 and the Business Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 upon their renewal.

Based on reporting by Ofcom in its Connected Nations reports, 4G geographic coverage from all four operators has risen from 40% in 2016 to 84% in 2026 and 5G premises (outdoor) coverage has reached 64% from all four operators in 2026.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how many UK mobile mast sites will be affected by the renewals provisions in sections 61 to 64 of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

We estimate that the Renewals Provisions will affect approximately 12-18% of UK mobile mast sites. This reflects the number of live agreements that could be affected by the Renewals Provisions, drawn from confidential data provided by industry and internal estimates, as a proportion of the estimated total number of mobile sites in the UK. Given the commercially sensitive nature of the data, further detail is not possible.

The Renewals Provisions extend the changes to the statutory valuation framework introduced by the 2017 Electronic Communications Code to certain cases regulated by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 and the Business Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 upon their renewal.

Based on reporting by Ofcom in its Connected Nations reports, 4G geographic coverage from all four operators has risen from 40% in 2016 to 84% in 2026 and 5G premises (outdoor) coverage has reached 64% from all four operators in 2026.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to verify mobile network operators' claims of signal coverage; what metric is used; and in particular what steps they are taking to verify that the ability to receive SMS messages is not classed as coverage despite there being insufficient signal for voice calls.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The regulator, Ofcom, is responsible for reporting on mobile network coverage across the UK. Mobile coverage data is provided in their Connected Nations reporting, alongside their Map Your Mobile tool, launched in June 2025.

Ofcom models mobile coverage using predicted received signal strength rather than by voice or SMS availability. Information on the methodology used to determine coverage levels is included in Ofcom’s methodology documentation, published alongside both the Connected Nations report and the Map Your Mobile tool. Both are available at the following links:

• https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/research-and-data/multi-sector/infrastructure-research/connected-nations-2025/cn2025---methodology-annex.pdf?v=408460
• https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/phones-telecoms-and-internet/comparing-service-quality/2025/map-your-mobile-2025-threshold-methodology.pdf?v=401713

In the Statement of Strategic Priorities for Telecommunications, the Management of Radio Spectrum, and Postal Services, the Government reiterated the importance of continuing to improve reporting of mobile coverage. The Government will work closely with Ofcom to explore the use of measured and crowdsourced data, and keep the definitions of “good” 4G and 5G under review to ensure they reflect evolving consumer and business expectations.

Found: Committee Room 1) M INUTES P resent: Charlotte Moar (Chair) Lord Brownlow of Shurlock Row Lord Cromwell

Found: Committee Room 1) M INUTES P resent: Charlotte Moar (Chair) Lord Brownlow of Shurlock Row Lord Cromwell