Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the withdrawal of analogue landline services on public safety, given that Voice over Internet Protocol systems cease to function when households have no access to (a) electricity, (b) Wi‑Fi and (c) mobile connectivity; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that all residents have access to reliable communication channels during emergencies.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) often relies on cables in the air that can fail during a storm. In 2024/25 there were over 2,600 major incidents on the PSTN, each affecting 500 or more customers. Further, in a power outage the PSTN would not work for most customers as it requires a corded handset, now only in 2% of UK households. Fibre cables are more resilient and less prone to damage during severe weather events.
The Government is committed to ensuring that any risks from the industry-led migration from the PSTN to Voice over Internet Protocol are mitigated for everyone.
In November 2024, the Government secured additional safeguards from the telecoms industry. These include the provision of free battery back-ups for vulnerable and landline dependent customers to ensure access to emergency services for at least one hour in a power outage. Many communication providers have gone further, providing battery back-ups with 4-7 hours of battery life.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the transition from analogue to digital landline services on public safety, including the availability of digital telephony during power outages.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) often relies on cables in the air that can fail during a storm. In 2024/25 there were over 2,600 major incidents on the PSTN, each affecting 500 or more customers. Further, in a power outage the PSTN would not work for most customers as it requires a corded handset, now only in 2% of UK households. Fibre cables are more resilient and less prone to damage during severe weather events.
The Government is committed to ensuring that any risks from the industry-led migration from the PSTN to Voice over Internet Protocol are mitigated for everyone.
In November 2024, the Government secured additional safeguards from the telecoms industry. These include the provision of free battery back-ups for vulnerable and landline dependent customers to ensure access to emergency services for at least one hour in a power outage. Many communication providers have gone further, providing battery back-ups with 4-7 hours of battery life.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what consideration her Department has given of the potential merits of requiring mobile network operators to fund the installation of emergency back‑up power for mobile phone masts from company profits rather than through customer bill increases.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular impact on rural communities.
Mobile network operators have legal obligations to put in place appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure the resilience of their networks and services. This is overseen by the independent regulator Ofcom, who have powers to monitor compliance, conduct investigations, issue penalties and enforce remedial actions.
Ofcom have completed a public consultation on power back-up for mobile services across the UK, which identified a particular impact on rural communities. They published an update on their work in February 2025 and announced they are completing further analysis to determine the appropriate and proportionate measures required to ensure adequate resilience for consumers.
The Government is also supporting collaboration between the electricity and telecommunications sectors to deliver measures so that when power cuts occur the likelihood of disruption to telecommunications services is as low as possible, and where disruption does occur it should affect as few people for the shortest possible time.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the resilience of mobile communications infrastructure during prolonged power outages; and for what reason mobile phone masts are not required to have emergency back‑up generators to ensure continuity of communication for isolated communities.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular impact on rural communities.
Mobile network operators have legal obligations to put in place appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure the resilience of their networks and services. This is overseen by the independent regulator Ofcom, who have powers to monitor compliance, conduct investigations, issue penalties and enforce remedial actions.
Ofcom have completed a public consultation on power back-up for mobile services across the UK, which identified a particular impact on rural communities. They published an update on their work in February 2025 and announced they are completing further analysis to determine the appropriate and proportionate measures required to ensure adequate resilience for consumers.
The Government is also supporting collaboration between the electricity and telecommunications sectors to deliver measures so that when power cuts occur the likelihood of disruption to telecommunications services is as low as possible, and where disruption does occur it should affect as few people for the shortest possible time.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to introduce mandatory requirements under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 for mobile network operators to install emergency generator capacity at mobile phone masts.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular impact on rural communities.
Mobile network operators have legal obligations to put in place appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure the resilience of their networks and services. This is overseen by the independent regulator Ofcom, who have powers to monitor compliance, conduct investigations, issue penalties and enforce remedial actions.
Ofcom have completed a public consultation on power back-up for mobile services across the UK, which identified a particular impact on rural communities. They published an update on their work in February 2025 and announced they are completing further analysis to determine the appropriate and proportionate measures required to ensure adequate resilience for consumers.
The Government is also supporting collaboration between the electricity and telecommunications sectors to deliver measures so that when power cuts occur the likelihood of disruption to telecommunications services is as low as possible, and where disruption does occur it should affect as few people for the shortest possible time.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that the automatic compensation South West Water has announced for customers affected by Storm Goretti is funded from the company’s profits and reductions in executive bonuses; and whether she will require this compensation funding to be independently audited to ensure full transparency and compliance.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Customers affected by Storm Goretti will receive payments under the Guaranteed Standards Scheme (GSS). These payments come from a company's current operating expenditure and are not paid for through a future increase in customer bills.
The standards, outlined in the GSS, set out a baseline for customer service in the water sector. They include providing timely restoration of water supply following an interruption, responding to written complaints and managing the risk of sewer flooding.
Ofwat has previously published summaries of the GSS framework on its website (see here and here). Companies report on GSS payments in their Annual Performance Reports and submit these figures to Ofwat. These reports are independently audited, and Ofwat uses them to inform its work.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with utility companies on directing customers to online information during service disruptions; and what steps she will take to ensure that essential information is provided through communication channels which remain functional during emergencies.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Security and Emergency Measures Direction 2022 (SEMD) requires water companies to ensure continuation of their water distribution functions during an emergency. SEMD includes a legal requirement for companies to have “appropriate emergency communication facilities and procedures for managing and maintaining communications and support to customers throughout an emergency”.
Defra expects water companies to respond rapidly and on a 24/7 basis through a range of communication methods (including, but not limited to, telephone, email, and social media). We also expect companies to plan for individual channels being unavailable, for example during power or telecoms failures, and that companies should adapt their communications plans in response to customer feedback or local priorities as incidents evolve.
Defra Ministers met with senior officials from South West Water over the past weekend to discuss the company’s response to the supply disruption following Storm Goretti. The Drinking Water Inspectorate, on behalf of the Secretary of State, regulates water company performance on SEMD. Their review of the company’s response to Storm Goretti will include examination of South West Water’s compliance with the communication requirements of SEMD.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with South West Water on the adequacy of its communication strategy during recent service disruptions, including whether she will ask the company to issue a formal statement committing to a revised strategy which prioritises customer impact.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Security and Emergency Measures Direction 2022 (SEMD) requires water companies to ensure continuation of their water distribution functions during an emergency. SEMD includes a legal requirement for companies to have “appropriate emergency communication facilities and procedures for managing and maintaining communications and support to customers throughout an emergency”.
Defra expects water companies to respond rapidly and on a 24/7 basis through a range of communication methods (including, but not limited to, telephone, email, and social media). We also expect companies to plan for individual channels being unavailable, for example during power or telecoms failures, and that companies should adapt their communications plans in response to customer feedback or local priorities as incidents evolve.
Defra Ministers met with senior officials from South West Water over the past weekend to discuss the company’s response to the supply disruption following Storm Goretti. The Drinking Water Inspectorate, on behalf of the Secretary of State, regulates water company performance on SEMD. Their review of the company’s response to Storm Goretti will include examination of South West Water’s compliance with the communication requirements of SEMD.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to ensure that the proposed digital verification process for the Government’s One Login system is compliant with Article 9 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation in the context of the processing of biometric data.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
GOV.UK One Login is fully compliant with all aspects of data protection law, including in relation to the processing of biometric data under the UK GDPR. DSIT relies on Article 9(2)(g) UK GDPR (substantial public interest) for the processing of biometric data. The appropriate safeguards and data minimisation procedures are applied throughout GOV.UK One Login’s biometric checks and special category data is processed only where lawful, necessary and proportionate. GOV.UK One Login provides an alternative route for individuals who do not wish to, or cannot, prove their identity using biometrics.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that digital identity does not become a de facto requirement for participation in (a) commerce, (b) governance and (c) daily life.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government’s new digital credential will focus on use cases that are most impactful for the public and will be designed to make interactions with public services easier.
We will invite views on such use cases through the public consultation that will launch in the new year.