Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Vaizey of Didcot and Duncan Hames

Thursday 27th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

Five years ago the previous Labour Government made an unfunded commitment to deliver 2 megabits broadband. There was no way in which they would be able to see that through. We have doubled the availability of superfast broadband and provided 2 megabits to 97% of the country. One in four now have superfast broadband. We have the best broadband in the EU big five, and the cheapest.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

What discussions has the hon. Lady had with her colleagues in the Department for Communities and Local Government to ensure that in growing towns such as Chippenham development brings more sports pitches and pavilions, not fewer?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Vaizey of Didcot and Duncan Hames

Thursday 20th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

15. What progress his Department has made on facilitating projects identified in the Swindon and Wiltshire strategic economic plan.

[The Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

We are making great progress. I know you want Ministers to be brief, Mr Speaker, so I will simply highlight the £129 million we have invested in funding to support a number of projects, including the first phase of a new science park at Porton and a new service to help military service leavers.

[Duncan Hames]

That is very welcome indeed. Project 16 in the local enterprise partnership strategic economic plan is the reopening of Corsham station. How does the Minister see LEPs working with their neighbours, local authorities and industry on projects which, by their nature, require a solution that extends well beyond their boundaries?

[Mr Vaizey]

It is important for LEPs to work together, and that is why I was so pleased to attend a meeting along with my hon. Friend last night with the Secretary of State for Transport, to highlight the importance of a potential Oxford to Bristol rail link. I know that my hon. Friend disagrees with the Minister for consumer affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for East Dunbartonshire (Jo Swinson), on pub issues, but I will endeavour also to enlist her support for this important project.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Vaizey of Didcot and Duncan Hames

Thursday 16th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Vaizey]

They are certainly not forgotten, which is why we are undertaking pilot projects. I am also pleased that in many rural areas the roll-out of superfast broadband is now ahead of schedule. I am certainly happy to look at the situation in Affetside and Holcombe where the cabinets are conversion-enabled. It might be that some of the premises are simply too far from the current cabinet.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

What is the Minister doing to take advantage of technologies other than fixed-line solutions to extend superfast broadband to populations outside of the major cities?

[Mr Vaizey]

We have always taken a technologically neutral approach. Obviously, satellite is available throughout the UK, and we have 4G mobile broadband rolling out commercially as well. Indeed the key point about the pilot projects, which I keep banging on about in relation to the last 5%, is that they are experimenting precisely with new technologies to provide cost-effective means of getting to the most difficult premises.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Vaizey of Didcot and Duncan Hames

Thursday 13th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

Wiltshire council has more than met the match-funding requirements for Government support for broadband so far. I welcome the superfast broadband extension programme, but will the Minister assure me that that early commitment will count in favour of the council and not against it when the Government seek match funding for the latest scheme?

[Mr Vaizey]

We want councils to match fund the money we have put up for the superfast broadband extension programme, as it is important that they are involved. I recognise the amazing work that has been done in Wiltshire, and I have visited to see the work being done on broadband roll-out. I hear what has been said.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Vaizey of Didcot and Duncan Hames

Thursday 12th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Vaizey]

I reject the accusation of a lack of urgency. I have worked closely with a number of stakeholders over many months. We are publishing our action plan in the new year because we want to take account of the excellent reports by the all-party group and the Select Committee.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

I am glad that the Minister wants the Information Commissioner’s Office to be able to take more enforcement action to tackle this menace. Will he therefore lower the legal threshold above which the Information Commissioner is able to take enforcement action?

[Mr Vaizey]

We would like to do that and we will consult on it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Vaizey of Didcot and Duncan Hames

Thursday 31st October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

12. What recent estimate she has made of the number of households in (a) Wiltshire and (b) the UK that will have superfast internet access on the 4G spectrum but not through fixed-line broadband by January 2015.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

The four mobile network operators are aiming to roll out 4G mobile broadband services to 98% of the population. EE is aiming to reach that by the end of 2014, and the others by the end of 2015.

[Duncan Hames]

I thank the Minister for his reply, but he has not been able to share with me the number of households that will not have access to fixed-line solutions by that time: in communities in a large part of my constituency, from Hilperton and Semington to Whitley, fixed-line fibre installations will not even have begun. Will he issue guidance to local authorities on how they can use mobile spectrum-based solutions in their broadband programme?

[Mr Vaizey]

We are taking a technology-neutral approach to our roll-out of superfast broadband, but we have set aside another £250 million to increase coverage, which will, of course, include Wiltshire.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Vaizey of Didcot and Duncan Hames

Thursday 22nd November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Vaizey]

We did not abandon Labour’s pledge; Labour’s pledge was unaffordable and it was unclear how it was going to be paid for. We have put in place a much better pledge—to deliver superfast broadband—and we have among the highest penetration of internet access in the world.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

I congratulate the Government on getting this state aid approval. The Minister will be aware that some telephone exchanges serve residents and premises that cross local authority boundaries, so will he encourage authorities to work together even when they are not in the same consortiums, to ensure residents served by those exchanges are properly supported?

[Mr Vaizey]

We are certainly encouraging that, and a number of counties are working together, including Devon and Somerset, and Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. We will continue to encourage that where it is appropriate.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Vaizey of Didcot and Duncan Hames

Thursday 22nd March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Vaizey]

I certainly reject the accusation that we have been unfair on rural Britain, and my glass, unlike the hon. Lady’s, is half full not half empty. I look forward to going on a tour with her to Belfast, Cardiff, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester and so on and telling people that they are getting unfair treatment from the Government because we are investing in their broadband networks.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

Rural Britain, in the shape of the small town of Bradford on Avon in my constituency, welcomed the news this week that it is to have superfast broadband with the conversion of its exchange. [Interruption.] In the Budget yesterday the Government announced pilots, including one in Wiltshire, for rural growth networks to address the barriers to economic recovery. Will funding from those networks be available to increase the roll-out of superfast broadband in rural areas?

[Mr Vaizey]

I did not hear the entire question because of the continued carping from the Opposition at our support for our major and smaller cities. I will happily work with the hon. Gentleman to ensure that all broadband funding is used as effectively as possible in his area.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Vaizey of Didcot and Duncan Hames

Thursday 28th April 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Vaizey]

I think that my hon. Friend, in her inimitable way, has sent out a message loud and clear to the BBC Trust.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

We did, indeed, have an excellent debate in Westminster Hall on this subject the other week. Does the Minister agree that in Corsham, Melksham, Winsley, Holt and across rural Wiltshire people appreciate that in BBC local radio they have programming that gets out of the cities and reflects the varied interests of people in the countryside of our fine country?

[Mr Vaizey]

My hon. Friend made similar points in the debate at the beginning of April, and again I hope that he has reaped the rewards. That debate was also an important opportunity to congratulate him on his then forthcoming nuptials, although I am not on top of them enough to know whether they have now occurred—[Laughter.]

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Vaizey of Didcot and Duncan Hames

Monday 29th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Vaizey]

Our ambition doubled, tripled and became superfast. We learned from broadband providers that they were already in a position to implement superfast broadband, so why should we push them down the slow channel when we could push them down the fast channel? That is why the pilots announced by the Secretary of State will implement superfast broadband for rural areas. I know that the right hon. Gentleman will welcome that given his experience in the previous Government.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

Even with impressive progress, some communities such as Atworth in my constituency still face being left out, but nearly all the schools in my constituency have access to broadband speeds of at least 9 megabits per second. Will the Minister consider opening the various grids for learning so that people can pay to piggyback on broadband access from their schools out of hours?

[Mr Vaizey]

The hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point. We will be publishing a broadband strategy document at the beginning of the month which will address this specific issue. There are technical difficulties with achieving that, but if they can be overcome, it should certainly be done.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Vaizey of Didcot and Duncan Hames

Monday 25th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

Before taking office, my right hon. Friend was keen to promote the subtitling of parliamentary coverage. He may be aware that the service often ends by 6 o’clock in the evening, long before our debates here conclude. Will he urge broadcasters to ensure that all our proceedings are accessible to the 1 million users of subtitles who are either deaf or hard of hearing?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

We are obviously keen to make parliamentary proceedings accessible to everybody, particularly late-night Adjournment debates, which I take. We now have an e-accessibility forum that is progressing that agenda, and we have also increased the amount of subtitling by broadcasters on a voluntary basis.