Asked by: Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the reason for the delay in implementing the remaining provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022; and what steps they are taking to address this.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to implementing all remaining provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Act 2022 as soon as possible. These measures will help deliver the benefits of advanced digital connectivity.
Most provisions have already been implemented. Those remaining are complex and technical. The Department will bring forward a consultation on the implementation of sections 61 to 64, including transitional provisions, as soon as possible.
Asked by: Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to implement the final provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022, specifically sections 61 to 65, 67, and 70 to 74.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to implementing all remaining provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Act 2022 as soon as possible. These measures will help deliver the benefits of advanced digital connectivity.
Most provisions have already been implemented. Those remaining are complex and technical. The Department will bring forward a consultation on the implementation of sections 61 to 64, including transitional provisions, as soon as possible.
Asked by: Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the delay in implementing the provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 on (1) mobile connectivity, (2) data poverty, and (3) regional digital inclusion; and what plans they have to mitigate those effects.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to implementing all remaining provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Act 2022 as soon as possible. These measures will help deliver the benefits of advanced digital connectivity.
Most provisions have already been implemented. Those remaining are complex and technical. The Department will bring forward a consultation on the implementation of sections 61 to 64, including transitional provisions, as soon as possible.
Asked by: Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what regulations exist to protect electronic scooters from cyber threats.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Department is currently developing technical standards for the construction of e-scooters. Protection against cyber threats, and its merits, will be considered as one of the requirements in these standards. Knowledge gained from the e-scooter trials as well as relevant evidence from other sources will be taken into account.
Asked by: Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential of using commercial off-the-shelf software solutions as opposed to bespoke software solutions in the public sector.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
Cabinet Office does not hold information on contracting authorities pre-market engagement activities or details of the percentage of contract awards that were preceded by pre-procurement market engagement processes.
Government already makes use of a range of commercial, off the shelf software solutions from vendors of all sizes. The Technology Code of Practice and Government’s spend controls processes ensure that bespoke solutions are developed in an accessible, open and secure manner that can be shared and used across Government.
Asked by: Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of contract awards made by public sector buyers in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, and (3) 2021, were preceded by pre-procurement market engagement processes.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
Cabinet Office does not hold information on contracting authorities pre-market engagement activities or details of the percentage of contract awards that were preceded by pre-procurement market engagement processes.
Government already makes use of a range of commercial, off the shelf software solutions from vendors of all sizes. The Technology Code of Practice and Government’s spend controls processes ensure that bespoke solutions are developed in an accessible, open and secure manner that can be shared and used across Government.
Asked by: Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of pre-market engagement in the procurement of technology by the Government; and what plans they have to publish that assessment.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
Cabinet Office does not hold information on contracting authorities pre-market engagement activities or details of the percentage of contract awards that were preceded by pre-procurement market engagement processes.
Government already makes use of a range of commercial, off the shelf software solutions from vendors of all sizes. The Technology Code of Practice and Government’s spend controls processes ensure that bespoke solutions are developed in an accessible, open and secure manner that can be shared and used across Government.
Asked by: Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to attract, and (2) to incentivise, Open Radio Access Network suppliers to establish an operational base within the UK.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The Government continues to work with mobile operators and suppliers to build an open, flexible, and diverse telecoms supply market, following the recommendations of the Diversification Taskforce, published on 20 April. The Taskforce recommendations are helping to guide our approach to delivering the Diversification strategy, including its core pillar of accelerating the development and deployment of interoperable solutions, such as Open RAN, into the UK’s 5G network.
Our engagement with both operators and suppliers continues to be constructive and we are delighted with moves made by industry so far that support our aims. The announcement of numerous Open RAN R&D facilities in the UK is a positive sign that our direction of travel is the right one, and we are working at pace to develop targeted actions to ensure that interoperable technologies are ready to deploy in more resilient network infrastructure. The Government is designing a programme of targeted R&D support, building on existing Open RAN trials, such as the SmartRAN Open Networks Interoperability Centre (SONIC), to level the playing field for smaller suppliers, and we continue to consider all options. This will need to support performance demonstration, such as with large-scale urban trials, as well as product development and testing.
Asked by: Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to invest in large-scale urban Open Radio Access Network trials in 2022, in order to assess whether Open Radio Access Networks can be successfully deployed in a dense urban environment.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The Government continues to work with mobile operators and suppliers to build an open, flexible, and diverse telecoms supply market, following the recommendations of the Diversification Taskforce, published on 20 April. The Taskforce recommendations are helping to guide our approach to delivering the Diversification strategy, including its core pillar of accelerating the development and deployment of interoperable solutions, such as Open RAN, into the UK’s 5G network.
Our engagement with both operators and suppliers continues to be constructive and we are delighted with moves made by industry so far that support our aims. The announcement of numerous Open RAN R&D facilities in the UK is a positive sign that our direction of travel is the right one, and we are working at pace to develop targeted actions to ensure that interoperable technologies are ready to deploy in more resilient network infrastructure. The Government is designing a programme of targeted R&D support, building on existing Open RAN trials, such as the SmartRAN Open Networks Interoperability Centre (SONIC), to level the playing field for smaller suppliers, and we continue to consider all options. This will need to support performance demonstration, such as with large-scale urban trials, as well as product development and testing.
Asked by: Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the publication of the report from the Telecoms Diversification Task Force on 20 April, what plans they have (1) to incentivise, and (2) to encourage, UK Mobile Network Operators to invest in Open Radio Access Networks.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The Government continues to work with mobile operators and suppliers to build an open, flexible, and diverse telecoms supply market, following the recommendations of the Diversification Taskforce, published on 20 April. The Taskforce recommendations are helping to guide our approach to delivering the Diversification strategy, including its core pillar of accelerating the development and deployment of interoperable solutions, such as Open RAN, into the UK’s 5G network.
Our engagement with both operators and suppliers continues to be constructive and we are delighted with moves made by industry so far that support our aims. The announcement of numerous Open RAN R&D facilities in the UK is a positive sign that our direction of travel is the right one, and we are working at pace to develop targeted actions to ensure that interoperable technologies are ready to deploy in more resilient network infrastructure. The Government is designing a programme of targeted R&D support, building on existing Open RAN trials, such as the SmartRAN Open Networks Interoperability Centre (SONIC), to level the playing field for smaller suppliers, and we continue to consider all options. This will need to support performance demonstration, such as with large-scale urban trials, as well as product development and testing.