Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Bryant Excerpts

Wednesday 16th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Sir Ashley Fox (Bridgwater) (Con)]

3. What steps his Department is taking to enhance mobile phone reception in the Bridgwater constituency.

[The Minister for Data Protection and Telecoms (Chris Bryant)]

The most recent statistics, which are available for the old shape of the hon. Gentleman’s constituency, suggest that 97% of properties there have 4G connection. However, I am not sure that the statistics reflect the lived experience of most people in his constituency—or, I suspect, any other constituency in the land. That is not good enough, which is why our ambition is for all populated areas to have stand-alone 5G by 2030.

[Sir Ashley Fox]

I am grateful to the Minister for his answer. Bridgwater has a mixture of urban and rural areas, and many of my constituents in the rural parts complain of almost non-existent signals. The O2 signal in Burnham-on-Sea is non-existent. In Pawlett, the Vodafone and EE signals are non-existent. In Chedzoy, the EE signal is non-existent. [Interruption.] Can he confirm that the Government intend to continue funding the shared rural network, so that we can improve coverage for all our constituents?

[Chris Bryant]

Well, I note that the mobile signal seems to be working in here, which is unusual for the rest of the country. We have to get this right, because people cannot live without a proper mobile signal. It is essential for people’s lives, their health and their ability to run a business, and we are determined to put things right. In direct answer to the hon. Gentleman’s question, yes, we will continue to fund the shared rural network.

[Ms Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab)]

In constituencies such as Bridgwater and Carlisle, poor mobile coverage forces people to rely on their fixed-line services. Does the Minister share my concern that the switch-off of the public switched telephone network will leave constituents unable to access 999 services in the event of an emergency?

[Chris Bryant]

I welcome my hon. Friend to her place. She makes a really good point: as we take away the copper lines and move over to the new technology, which we need to do, it is absolutely essential that we ensure there is a safe transition, even if it is only for people who have telecare devices on which they rely for their own safety—I am sure we all have relatives who have one of those. I have already met all the operators, and I am determined to crack the whip on this issue.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Ayoub Khan—not here.

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[Aphra Brandreth (Chester South and Eddisbury) (Con)]

6. What steps he is taking to roll out Project Gigabit in the Chester South and Eddisbury constituency.

[The Minister for Data Protection and Telecoms (Chris Bryant)]

As part of Project Gigabit, Freedom Fibre is delivering a contract to provide 15,000 homes and businesses across Cheshire, including in the hon. Lady’s constituency, with access to fast, reliable broadband. In addition, over 800 vouchers have been issued to connect premises in her constituency through the gigabit broadband voucher scheme.

[Aphra Brandreth]

Close to half the wards in my constituency are judged by Ofcom to be in the worst 30% of all areas in the UK when it comes to having a decent broadband connection. My constituents will be deeply concerned by reports that the current review of the next stage of Project Gigabit could see funds diverted from hard-to-reach rural areas to major cities such as central London. Will the Minister offer a concrete guarantee that no rural community will be left behind by the Government’s review?

[Chris Bryant]

I do not see it as a divide between rural and urban, because there are urban issues as well as rural issues. The hon. Lady is absolutely right that the previous Government failed to deliver in her constituency, and we intend to put that right. She should not believe everything she reads in the newspapers. I know that she was trying to have a meeting with Building Digital UK, and I am happy to make sure that we can both sit down with officials to try to sort out these problems in her constituency—and I am happy to do the same for any other Members.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney) (Lab)]

The Minister knows that improved connectivity is important to the economy of our south Wales valleys. However, it has been hard for me to get definitive information on the roll-out of Project Gigabit to Trefil, just north of Tredegar, in my constituency. Will he please look into this so that my constituents in Trefil, and across the rest of Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, know when their broadband service will improve?

[Chris Bryant]

I am happy to arrange the same kind of meeting with my hon. Friend as I offered to the hon. Member for Chester South and Eddisbury (Aphra Brandreth). He is right that there are very significant problems in south Wales valleys communities, and we need to put those right. It is a shame that we have not had a digital inclusion strategy for 10 whole years, which is a disgrace. That is one of the things we need to put right.

[Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)]

7. What steps he is taking to help support the UK space sector.

[The Minister for Data Protection and Telecoms (Chris Bryant)]

We have already debated some of these issues, as the right hon. Gentleman knows, and he is right to stress that the UK space sector is one of our most important areas of possible economic growth. We want to maximise our unique potential in this area, and I look forward to working with him and the companies based in his constituency that are seeking to do this.

[Mr Carmichael]

I thank the Minister, as this sector offers massive economic and strategic opportunities for the United Kingdom. The development of the Shetland spaceport at SaxaVord is now significantly ahead of the field, so getting that project across the line will bring benefits to other projects across the United Kingdom. Will the Minister meet me and the developers of SaxaVord in Shetland to discuss what the Government can do, directly or indirectly, to help?

[Chris Bryant]

It feels like I will be meeting everyone, but I am very happy to meet the right hon. Gentleman. Indeed, I am meeting Orbex later today, because an important point is that we have a specific geographical and skills advantage in the launch sector, which we need to exploit to our best advantage for the whole UK economy. It is not just about what happens on Shetland; it is about lots of businesses in the supply chain, from mission control to technological support. Yes, I am very happy to meet him.

[Mike Reader (Northampton South) (Lab)]

8. What steps he is taking to protect children using the Roblox platform from online predators.

--- Later in debate ---

[Rebecca Smith (South West Devon) (Con)]

T5. Building Digital UK has recently classified Devon, including rural areas such as Dartmoor national park, as type C procurement under Project Gigabit. However, there are concerns about how agile and timely its delivery will be. Will the Minister meet me to discuss the speedy roll-out of broadband in Dartmoor national park?

[The Minister for Data Protection and Telecoms (Chris Bryant)]

it seems—[Interruption.] It seems I have never been so popular!

I am very happy to meet the hon. Lady, as she makes a serious point. We want every single part of this country to share in the digital future. We can do that only if we have the infrastructure that we need everywhere in the UK.