Ultrafast Broadband: Devon and Somerset

Anne Marie Morris Excerpts

Tuesday 11th January 2022 Westminster Hall

[Anne Marie Morris (Newton Abbot) (Con)]

I, too, am delighted that we are having this debate today, because broadband and the connectivity it gives us in the west country is crucial because we are significantly underserved in just about every other infrastructure one can possibly conceive. The hon. Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Luke Pollard) has articulated some of the challenges on our railway. It must not be forgotten that we have one railway line, and that is it—so the points that he makes are even more important. Communication and connectivity across all infrastructure is mission critical for us in the west country. This is not something that is just a nice-to-have; it is, almost, not a must-have, because in all of this, Devon and Somerset have become left-behind counties in so many ways. A broadband solution to this problem would significantly change the position that these two counties find themselves in.

We are left behind economically. We have some of the lowest productivity rates in the country and some of the lowest skill levels in the country. As I have said, we also have some of the most challenged transport links. Buses are lovely if you can get one; if you think you can come back the same day, dream on—it will not happen. People are therefore very isolated. It is not just those people who have chosen to retire—elderly people who have maybe lived there with their families for all of their lives—but also our working-age community. It is those such as our farmers and policemen who, without connectivity and communication, are disadvantaged, not only in terms of doing their job but in terms of their mental health, never mind their physical health. We have one of the highest rates of mental health challenges in the country.

We are the most challenged, and there is one thing that we can do nothing about: distance. We are where we are; the roads are where they are and the train line is where it is—we are the left-behind counties. The Government policy on broadband is not up to scratch, and does not address this problem. If levelling up is to mean anything at all, then that has to change.

What is it that has to change? Hon. Members have made a number of very important detailed suggestions, and all of those should be taken forward with willingness and energy. However, the priority needs to change. The priority must be the disadvantaged, not the easy-to-fix; it must be the hamlet that seems to be completely unreachable and—dare I say it—in the minds of the Government, unimportant. That is the wrong mindset. We know that these people matter, and we know that more and more people actually want to live in our beautiful countryside. Why should they not be able to achieve that? We are not going to do this in a cost-effective way without a very different approach to investment in innovation.

When we look at the problem, it is not just about fixing broadband or broadband roll-outs and all the challenges of technology associated with that; it is about asking what new technologies would better enable communication. We increasingly see a merging of what is happening in the mobile sphere and what is happening with broadband—the two are coming together. Indeed, if we really start blue sky thinking, I am sure that there will be a third piece of technology to solve this interesting but very challenging problem. I would urge the Government, whatever they choose to do, to be forward looking and look at broadband, mobile technology and everything else that is out there with a view to speed, efficiency and economy, and to look at those who are hardest to reach and most adversely affected as a priority.

In the short term, we must look at what we are going to do to meet this broadband challenge. I suggest that with the best will in the world, fixing fibre to cabinet is only the beginning of the problem, because as we all know, people’s distance from a cabinet is the real challenge. In rural communities, that distance is even further, and that issue—“Who is going to pay for it, and what are we going to do about it?”—has to be addressed. At the moment, we are looking at old-fashioned technology and how we replace copper. Those innovative, very clever scientists must have a better way of dealing with this. They must come up with that solution, and the Government must invest in it very soon.

In the end, this is about mindset, and it is more important than anything else that the mindset changes to “It can be done, and it does matter.” We must see investment in broadband as an investment for growth; for greater productivity, which benefits the country as a whole; for better education; for a higher-skilled workforce; and, most importantly, for better health outcomes. A change in direction on the Government’s part is the right thing to do. It is not an optional extra: life chances literally depend on it.