Broadband Universal Service Obligation

Debate between Calum Kerr and Callum McCaig

Thursday 15th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Calum Kerr (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (SNP)]

Scotland aims for superfast, and my hon. Friend the Member for Inverclyde (Ronnie Cowan) demonstrated how we will make that happen—fantastic! I take it, Mr Deputy Speaker, that I have 10 minutes to make some points. I will reflect on the debate only very quickly, as there are a number of points I would like to cover that we have not got to.

First, I congratulate the hon. Member for Boston and Skegness (Matt Warman) not only on securing the debate but on his fine balancing act of calling for more while not talking down his Government. I am sure that the Ministers past and present were both grateful. We then heard some very interesting points, which I will touch on. I agree with the hon. Member for Wrexham (Ian C. Lucas), who emphasised that the regions and devolved Administrations are particularly badly affected because of our rurality. As usual, the right hon. Member for Wantage (Mr Vaizey) turned up, made some noise, praised himself and then went off to see what had been said on Twitter about it, but he raised some interesting points. I agree with him in particular on the need for digital and on the need for the Minister for Digital to have a higher profile and more responsibility in Government.

[Callum McCaig (Aberdeen South) (SNP)]

That is the crucial point. Our Minister for Digital is separate from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The two of them really need to work hand in hand, so I struggle to understand why that ministerial post does not rest with the other key levers of the business and economy agenda.

[Calum Kerr]

I thank my hon. Friend, the other Callum in the House, for that excellent point. Telephony and IT used to be relegated to a subdivision of corporate structures but have now been elevated to board level. Exactly the same thing should happen to digital within Government.

With the forgiveness of other hon. Members, I will move on to some of my own specific points, simply for the sake of time—I am sure we are all dying to hear what the new Minister has to say. First, I agree that the USO is a good idea. I will agree with anything that puts more money into infrastructure and connectivity. The Government say their intention is:

“The design of the broadband USO must put people and businesses throughout the United Kingdom at its heart in order to secure the benefits of digital connectivity for as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.”

I wholeheartedly agree with that ambition, but question whether we are on the right track to meet it. In the same Department for Culture, Media and Sport document, the Government go on to say:

“The concept of universal service in telecoms is a long-standing principle, dating back over three decades”.

I also agree, to a point. But we are not talking about simple telecoms. Telephony is a binary service: it works or it does not. As we have heard very clearly, broadband is far more complex than that. I recognise that the Government, the DCMS and Ofcom understand that. A document produced alongside the Digital Economy Bill mentions upload, download, latency and other factors critical to the design of an effective USO. But there are still fundamental choices to be made about the design of the universal service obligation.

Ofcom’s summary of responses highlights two paths open to the Government. It says that respondents fall into two groups: those with a vision for a more highly specified service for all and those with a belief that people and businesses simply need a safety net. Are we talking about a vision or a safety net? My fear is—in fact, it is not even a fear, because it is clear—that to date the Government have talked about option two, a safety net.

Let us consider what the USO will look like if we stick to the current path. First, we have the fact that 10 megabits per second has been specified. We can argue whether that is the right speed. I firmly believe that it shows a lack of ambition, but I accept that some industry players say that at the moment it is fast enough. The Government need to raise the bar, particularly given their recent announcement in the autumn statement. As the hon. Member for The Cotswolds (Geoffrey Clifton-Brown) said, 10 megabits will very quickly become out of date.

EU Referendum: Energy and Environment

Debate between Calum Kerr and Callum McCaig

Tuesday 12th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Calum Kerr (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (SNP)]

It is a pleasure to take part in this debate. As well as having a fantastically named constituency—it is much easier to remember than Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk—the new hon. Member for Tooting (Dr Allin-Khan) did herself proud and stood tall for Tooting today. There were so many Labour MPs on the Benches around her that I wondered whether she was going to make a bid for her party’s leadership.

I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen South (Callum McCaig)—the other half, as he claims, of Team Callum. He failed to mention that he calls himself Callum 2.0. He is taller and has more hair, but anyone who can see his shoes knows that there are clearly some flaws in the design.

[Callum McCaig]

We need a 3.0.

[Calum Kerr]

We do, absolutely.

This has been an excellent debate—it is a shame that we did not have more such debates prior to the referendum. SNP Members did everything in our power to promote the case for the UK remaining in the European Union, and a key part of that was about keeping the protections that EU legislation has brought in the workplace, and on human rights and the environment. Unfortunately, those issues were too often brushed aside in the fierce political contest that we experienced during the referendum. Indeed, as we have heard, the environment scarcely featured in the debate about Britain’s membership of the EU.

The environmental protections that we have enjoyed in this country for decades, which cover areas such as air and water quality, emissions, waste, chemical regulation, and habitat protection, are all underpinned by EU legislation. Britain’s membership of the European Union has had an extremely positive effect on the quality of Britain’s beaches, our water and rivers, and on the air that we breathe. It has underpinned protection for many of our rarest birds, plants and animals, and their habitats. Like so many other questions on the detail of Brexit, the question of how we will continue to protect those precious assets needs a coherent answer.

Whenever we look at an issue in more detail, the value of European collaboration becomes clear. As the hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) told the country just days after encouraging us to vote to leave:

“There will still be intense and intensifying European cooperation and partnership in a huge number of fields: the arts, the sciences, the universities, and on improving the environment.”

It is not clear how that picture of intensifying European co-operation squares with the Home Secretary’s statement yesterday that “Brexit means Brexit”.

On matters that stretch across a range of different fields that are vital to our prosperity and wellbeing, there has been little more than evasion and confusion from the Government thus far. That is why Ministers must do everything in their power to clarify how they will take forward the protection of the UK’s environment in this new political situation. There is so much about the EU that we do not want to abandon. For example, as part of my other brief, I have noticed in meetings on the digital single market a strong view that it makes sense to continue to adhere to EU directives and projects, even though we have voluntarily given up the capacity to shape them.

It is worth considering how the country’s approach to the environment has been shaped since it joined the EU. As many hon. Members have said, in the 1980s Britain was known as “the dirty man of Europe” because of widespread pollution of air, land and water. There is a risk that Britain will end up regaining that reputation. Although the UK has sometimes willingly followed the drive for environmental standards, and even at times led the way, it has taken years to get this country to meet some standards that are considered the norm in Europe.

When we consider environmental protection, it is worth remembering that in addition to the inherent worth of our landscape and ecosystems, there are key economic benefits to protecting biodiversity. Our natural environment in Scotland contributes an estimated £21.5 billion to the Scottish economy. Scotland also provides the major part of the UK’s contribution to the EU-established Natura 2000 network of protected sites, with more than 15% of our land designated for a wealth of habitats and species.

During the campaign, we heard nothing from the Brexiteers about what a vote to leave would mean for the habitats directive, for the circular economy, with its need for long-term planning and investment, or for issues around water quality, on which the UK still has a lot of catching up to do. What we did hear was a deep and often ideologically driven opposition to “red tape”. That red tape includes measures that protect rare species and unique habitats, and that prevent companies from damaging the environment or using dangerous chemicals in their products. It is now time to put the rhetorical bluster about red tape behind us and move on to focusing on what the Government’s red lines will be as they undertake these negotiations. If their priorities are muddled, or if key protections are sacrificed for short-term gain, we could be living with the impact for generations. Wherever all the moving parts of this constitutional crisis end up, we must ensure that the UK continues on the right path. As a range of environmental groups asserted before and after Brexit, co-operation and collaboration within Europe and with the EU works, because we do not solve such problems in isolation. My nation, Scotland, understands that, but does this House and do this Government also understand?