Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Data Protection Impact Assessment of Palantir’s role in combining NHS data had no analysis of data analytics as contained in their G-Cloud 11 call-Off contract (version 4); and whether they intend to publish an additional report to cover this.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Whilst we have made no specific assessment, the Government is committed to ensure that the United Kingdom continues to be one of the best places in the world for research and innovation and is at the forefront of health and social care research internationally and specifically, global research on pandemics.
The UK has pledged £388 million in aid funding for research into vaccines, tests and treatments which is part of a larger £744 million existing commitment to help end the pandemic and support the global economy. This also includes £250 million for global Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to develop vaccines against coronaviruses. The UK will also provide £330 million a year for the next five years to the Global Vaccine Alliance, readying it to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine in developing countries.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish a Data Protection Impact Assessment of Faculty AI’s work on data dashboards and modelling for NHSX.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Data Protection Impact Assessment is already published online by NHS England.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to increase (1) access to data controlled by the NHS, and (2) associated opportunities to innovate, for UK start-ups and SMEs (a) during, and (b) after, the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Bethell
To simplify access to data controlled by the National Health Service and encourage innovation partnerships, the Government is developing a policy framework underpinned by five guiding principles. This will offer support and guidance to NHS organisations that are considering entering into data access agreements with researchers and commercial partners.
The framework is expected to be published later this year and is being developed in consultation with patient representative groups, health and data experts, NHS bodies and industry. To support the NHS in embedding the framework in practice, the Government has set up a National Centre of Expertise in NHSX to provide commercial and legal expertise to NHS organisations on agreeing fair terms when negotiating partnerships.
The Government has also committed funding for the Digital Innovation Hubs Programme which aims to enable a United Kingdom-wide life sciences environment that provides responsible and safe access to rich, research-ready health data, technology and science, research and innovation services.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Summary of Impacts: Coronavirus Bill, published on 19 March, when they will publish the equalities assessment undertaken as part of the Public Sector Equalities Duty.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The duty to have regard to the impact on equalities is an ongoing one.
The Government’s commitment to transparency and accountability is reflected in the duties set out in the Coronavirus Act 2020 to publish a status report every two months; carry out a review every six months with a debate and vote in the House of Commons; and publish a status report for debate in both Houses after one year.
We are considering how best to update Parliament on the equalities impact of the legislation as part of this broader commitment.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to mandate the rollout by Openreach of fibre-to-the-premises broadband to urban areas; and what is their timeframe for this rollout.
Answered by Baroness Barran
The Government's ambition is for nationwide coverage of gigabit capable broadband as soon as possible. Gigabit capable broadband can be delivered by fibre to the premise broadband, as well as other technologies, such as upgraded cable networks.
We believe the best way to deliver nationwide coverage is to promote network competition and commercial investment by BT Openreach and other operators wherever possible, and to intervene with public subsidy where necessary. To deliver this, we are taking action to reduce barriers to commercial deployment including, for example, through the Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold) Property Bill, which will make it easier to connect tenanted properties with an unresponsive landlord. At Budget, we also committed to invest £5 billion to deliver gigabit capable deployment to the hardest to reach areas of the country.
The Government does not have formal powers to mandate the rollout of gigabit capable broadband by a private sector company like BT. However, BT recently announced their ambition to deliver gigabit connectivity to 20 million premises during the 2020s.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in ensuring that every home and business in the UK will have access to (1) full fibre, and (2) gigabit-capable, broadband by 2025.
Answered by Baroness Barran
Ofcom’s latest Connected Nations update found that, as of January 2020, over 3.5 million premises or 12% of the UK had access to full fibre broadband. This represents a considerable increase from 7% coverage in January 2019. In addition, the independent ThinkBroadband website estimates that around 19% of UK premises currently have access to gigabit capable broadband, including full fibre, but also upgraded cable broadband.
Full fibre figures for London boroughs are generally higher than the UK average. According to Connected Nations, 19 London Boroughs had full fibre coverage above the national average. However, there are notable differences between boroughs, ranging from full fibre coverage of 50.9% in Barking and Dagenham, compared to 1.1% in Bromley.
We are taking action to reduce barriers to commercial deployment and are confident that telecoms providers will step up and deliver gigabit capable coverage across London by 2025.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect (1) full fibre, and (2) gigabit-capable, broadband will be available to every home and business in London.
Answered by Baroness Barran
Ofcom’s latest Connected Nations update found that, as of January 2020, over 3.5 million premises or 12% of the UK had access to full fibre broadband. This represents a considerable increase from 7% coverage in January 2019. In addition, the independent ThinkBroadband website estimates that around 19% of UK premises currently have access to gigabit capable broadband, including full fibre, but also upgraded cable broadband.
Full fibre figures for London boroughs are generally higher than the UK average. According to Connected Nations, 19 London Boroughs had full fibre coverage above the national average. However, there are notable differences between boroughs, ranging from full fibre coverage of 50.9% in Barking and Dagenham, compared to 1.1% in Bromley.
We are taking action to reduce barriers to commercial deployment and are confident that telecoms providers will step up and deliver gigabit capable coverage across London by 2025.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they provide to broadband consumers in urban areas who are not able to access superfast broadband from Openreach.
Answered by Baroness Barran
According to Ofcom’s latest Connected Nations report, more than 98% of premises in urban areas can access superfast broadband. The Government’s Superfast programme has been instrumental in reaching this level of coverage, with £1.8 billion invested to date. The programme is still ongoing, and future delivery will further increase superfast coverage.
For consumers unable to access download speeds of at least 10 megabits per second, including those on exchange only lines, the Government has legislated to introduce the broadband Universal Service Obligation, which provides households with a legal right to request this minimum speed up to a reasonable cost threshold of £3,400 per premise.
In addition, the Government is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit-capable broadband as soon as possible and has already invested in stimulating demand for gigabit broadband, including in urban areas. The £200 million Local Full Fibre Networks programme has funded projects in urban areas such as Belfast and London, for example.
The Government has also announced that it will invest a further £5 billion to provide gigabit-capable networks in the hardest to parts of the UK. This funding will focus on connecting more rural and remote areas but, alongside this, the Government is also taking action to reduce the barriers to deployment, and make it cheaper and easier for BT Openreach and other operators to roll out broadband commercially, including in urban and suburban areas. For example, we are taking the Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill through Parliament, which will make it easier for network builders to access blocks of flats where there is an absent or unresponsive landlord.
Finally, mobile network operators already provide 4G mobile broadband services which provide a viable alternative to superfast coverage in urban areas. In addition, according to Ofcom’s December 2019 Connected Nations report, more than 40 towns and cities already have access to even faster 5G mobile services, and the rollout has developed further since then.
As part of this, the Government has allocated £200 million from 2017 to March 2022 to support the further development of 5G through its 5G Testbeds & Trials Programme, including up to £20 million in the West Midlands 5G (WM5G) Programme (over three years, to March 2022).
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they provide to broadband consumers who are unable to access (1) fibre-to-the-premises, or (2) fibre-to-the-cabinet, broadband from Openreach in urban areas where Openreach has no plans to make such services available.
Answered by Baroness Barran
According to Ofcom’s latest Connected Nations report, more than 98% of premises in urban areas can access superfast broadband. The Government’s Superfast programme has been instrumental in reaching this level of coverage, with £1.8 billion invested to date. The programme is still ongoing, and future delivery will further increase superfast coverage.
For consumers unable to access download speeds of at least 10 megabits per second, including those on exchange only lines, the Government has legislated to introduce the broadband Universal Service Obligation, which provides households with a legal right to request this minimum speed up to a reasonable cost threshold of £3,400 per premise.
In addition, the Government is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit-capable broadband as soon as possible and has already invested in stimulating demand for gigabit broadband, including in urban areas. The £200 million Local Full Fibre Networks programme has funded projects in urban areas such as Belfast and London, for example.
The Government has also announced that it will invest a further £5 billion to provide gigabit-capable networks in the hardest to parts of the UK. This funding will focus on connecting more rural and remote areas but, alongside this, the Government is also taking action to reduce the barriers to deployment, and make it cheaper and easier for BT Openreach and other operators to roll out broadband commercially, including in urban and suburban areas. For example, we are taking the Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill through Parliament, which will make it easier for network builders to access blocks of flats where there is an absent or unresponsive landlord.
Finally, mobile network operators already provide 4G mobile broadband services which provide a viable alternative to superfast coverage in urban areas. In addition, according to Ofcom’s December 2019 Connected Nations report, more than 40 towns and cities already have access to even faster 5G mobile services, and the rollout has developed further since then.
As part of this, the Government has allocated £200 million from 2017 to March 2022 to support the further development of 5G through its 5G Testbeds & Trials Programme, including up to £20 million in the West Midlands 5G (WM5G) Programme (over three years, to March 2022).
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that all consumers with exchange-only broadband connections are able to access superfast broadband.
Answered by Baroness Barran
According to Ofcom’s latest Connected Nations report, more than 98% of premises in urban areas can access superfast broadband. The Government’s Superfast programme has been instrumental in reaching this level of coverage, with £1.8 billion invested to date. The programme is still ongoing, and future delivery will further increase superfast coverage.
For consumers unable to access download speeds of at least 10 megabits per second, including those on exchange only lines, the Government has legislated to introduce the broadband Universal Service Obligation, which provides households with a legal right to request this minimum speed up to a reasonable cost threshold of £3,400 per premise.
In addition, the Government is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit-capable broadband as soon as possible and has already invested in stimulating demand for gigabit broadband, including in urban areas. The £200 million Local Full Fibre Networks programme has funded projects in urban areas such as Belfast and London, for example.
The Government has also announced that it will invest a further £5 billion to provide gigabit-capable networks in the hardest to parts of the UK. This funding will focus on connecting more rural and remote areas but, alongside this, the Government is also taking action to reduce the barriers to deployment, and make it cheaper and easier for BT Openreach and other operators to roll out broadband commercially, including in urban and suburban areas. For example, we are taking the Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill through Parliament, which will make it easier for network builders to access blocks of flats where there is an absent or unresponsive landlord.
Finally, mobile network operators already provide 4G mobile broadband services which provide a viable alternative to superfast coverage in urban areas. In addition, according to Ofcom’s December 2019 Connected Nations report, more than 40 towns and cities already have access to even faster 5G mobile services, and the rollout has developed further since then.
As part of this, the Government has allocated £200 million from 2017 to March 2022 to support the further development of 5G through its 5G Testbeds & Trials Programme, including up to £20 million in the West Midlands 5G (WM5G) Programme (over three years, to March 2022).