Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has received representations from (a) industry representatives and (b) consumers on BT Openreach’s proposed increase in the price of wholesale broadband; and what steps Ofcom can take under the Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review to alter the level of the increase.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Price regulation in the telecoms market is a matter for Ofcom as an independent regulator. Openreach’s prices are fixed by Ofcom as part of their five-year Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review (WFTMR) process and have been allowed to increase by CPI in order to reflect the significant additional costs faced when deploying new physical infrastructure. There are no plans to change the WFTMR until 2026. This is in line with industry requests for long-term stable regulation that incentivises competition and investment in the fixed telecoms market in order to increase the coverage of gigabit-capable networks as quickly as possible. This approach has been successful, with over 80 companies investing approximately £35 billion to connect premises across the UK.
The Government’s Statement of Strategic Priorities for Ofcom, published in 2019, states that we want to see regulation that incentivises network investment and ensures fair and effective competition between new and existing network operators. The Department regularly meets with Ofcom at all levels to discuss progress against its strategic priorities. My officials also regularly engage with representatives across the telecoms sector. On wholesale price increases specifically, the Department has received representations from both industry members and consumer groups.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she or her officials have met with representatives of the Protect and Connect campaign to discuss changes to the Electronic Communications Code.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
My department’s response to the consultation on changes to the Electronic Communications Code was published on 24 November 2021.
Following publication of that document my officials have met with a number of stakeholders, including telecommunications companies and representatives of the site provider community, including those supported by the Protect and Connect Campaign. We will continue to engage with stakeholders as necessary during the passage of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she or her officials have met with telecommunications companies to discuss changes to the Electronic Communications Code.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
My department’s response to the consultation on changes to the Electronic Communications Code was published on 24 November 2021.
Following publication of that document my officials have met with a number of stakeholders, including telecommunications companies and representatives of the site provider community, including those supported by the Protect and Connect Campaign. We will continue to engage with stakeholders as necessary during the passage of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether it remains Government policy to undertake a formal review of the impact of the changes made to the Electronic Communications Code in the Digital Economy Act 2017.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Since the introduction of the reforms in 2017 we have continually listened to feedback from stakeholders on the impact those changes have had on the expansion and improvement of digital networks across the UK. The culmination of this process was a consultation on potential further reform to the Code, published in January 2021. The consultation closed in March 2021 and responses are being considered. The government’s response will be published shortly.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking protect (a) small and medium sized businesses and (b) franchisees from the potential effect of proposed advertising restrictions on products that are high in fat, sugar and salt on their businesses.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Prime Minister has made it clear that tackling obesity is a priority for this Government. In July 2020 the Government outlined it’s Tackling Obesity strategy which details a host of measures aimed at improving the chances of citizens living a healthy lifestyle.
The Government proposed various options for restricting HFSS advertising in the 2019 and 2020 consultations targeted at protecting children from being exposed to advertising of unhealthy food products. Balanced against the priority of protecting children and tackling obesity, we have carefully considered the impact that any restrictions will have on industry and in particular the potential for market distortion or disproportionate effects on key business sectors.
The final policy will be set out in our consultation response due to be published shortly. The Government is committed to acting collaboratively to prepare businesses, individuals and organisations for changes to the rules around HFSS advertising.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to support high street food and drink businesses and takeaways after the implementation of the proposed online ban on advertising food and drink high in fat, sugar and salt.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Prime Minister has made it clear that tackling obesity is a priority for this Government. In July 2020 the Government outlined it’s Tackling Obesity strategy which details a host of measures aimed at improving the chances of citizens living a healthy lifestyle.
The Government proposed various options for restricting HFSS advertising in the 2019 and 2020 consultations targeted at protecting children from being exposed to advertising of unhealthy food products. Balanced against the priority of protecting children and tackling obesity, we have carefully considered the impact that any restrictions will have on industry and in particular the potential for market distortion or disproportionate effects on key business sectors.
The final policy will be set out in our consultation response due to be published shortly. The Government is committed to acting collaboratively to prepare businesses, individuals and organisations for changes to the rules around HFSS advertising.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps have been taken to protect businesses and jobs in the food and drink manufacturing industry on the high street from the effect of advertising restrictions on products that are high in fat, salt and sugar.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Prime Minister has made it clear that tackling obesity is a priority for this Government. In July 2020 the Government outlined it’s Tackling Obesity strategy which details a host of measures aimed at improving the chances of citizens living a healthy lifestyle.
The Government proposed various options for restricting HFSS advertising in the 2019 and 2020 consultations targeted at protecting children from being exposed to advertising of unhealthy food products. Balanced against the priority of protecting children and tackling obesity, we have carefully considered the impact that any restrictions will have on industry and in particular the potential for market distortion or disproportionate effects on key business sectors.
The final policy will be set out in our consultation response due to be published shortly. The Government is committed to acting collaboratively to prepare businesses, individuals and organisations for changes to the rules around HFSS advertising.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when the Online Advertising Programme will publish its public consultation, following its call for evidence in 2020.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
My department has been considering how online advertising is regulated through our Online Advertising Programme, and we will be consulting on this issue later this year following an initial call for evidence in 2019.
Our aim is to foster fair, accountable and ethical online advertising that works for citizens, businesses, and society as a whole. In particular, we want to ensure standards about the placement and content of advertising can be effectively applied and enforced online so that consumers are protected from harmful or misleading advertising.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to bring forward legislation on his Department's Online Advertising Programme.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
My department has been considering how online advertising is regulated through its Online Advertising Programme, and will be consulting on this issue later this year. The government will set out its plans in the consultation.
Our aim is to foster fair, accountable and ethical online advertising that works for citizens, businesses and society as a whole. In particular, we want to ensure standards about the placement and content of advertising can be effectively applied and enforced online so that consumers have limited exposure to harmful or misleading advertising.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he plans to take to give online platforms a legal responsibility for preventing, identifying and removing content that leads to pensions scams from their sites.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The growth and scale of online pensions scams, and online fraud more broadly, is deeply concerning. The Government is working tirelessly with industry, regulators and consumer groups to tackle fraud. We are also considering additional legislative and non-legislative solutions to effectively address the harms posed by all elements of online fraud in a cohesive and robust way.
My Department is considering how online advertising is regulated through its Online Advertising Programme. This work will look at ensuring that standards about the placement and content of advertising are effectively applied and enforced online to reduce consumers’ exposure to harmful or misleading advertising. This work will look at the role advertising can play in enabling online fraud and help inform our future efforts to tackle it. We will be consulting on this issue later this year.