Asked by: Damian Green (Conservative - Ashford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government's ambition for the majority of the population to have access to a 5G signal by 2027 refers to (a) hybrid or (b) standalone 5G.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In 2017, the government set an ambition for the majority of the UK population to have access to 5G by 2027. This has been met five years early, with basic “non-standalone” 5G - which uses 5G equipment on 4G infrastructure. Ofcom’s Connected Nations Autumn Update (7 October 2022) showed that non-standalone 5G is available outside up to 64% of premises across the UK.
The Mobile Network Operators are currently trialling standalone 5G, where all network architecture (base stations, core networks and backhaul) is dedicated solely to 5G. We expect standalone 5G deployments to begin in 2023, and for this to help unlock greater potential of 5G and support uses in industrial and other settings, bringing significant economic and social benefits to the UK.
The Levelling Up White Paper outlined our mission for what we want nationwide broadband and mobile coverage to look like by 2030.
The Government has made reforms to the planning system to support the deployment of 5G and extend mobile coverage. Furthermore, the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill will allow operators to enter into additional agreements with site providers, enabling apparatus to be upgraded to 5G. In addition, the Digital Connectivity Infrastructure Accelerator programme is dedicated to accelerating the roll-out of 5G through the use of public sector assets.
We are developing a Wireless Infrastructure Strategy to establish a new ambition for 5G, and set out how the UK can realise the full benefits of advanced wireless connectivity. We aim to publish the strategy later this year.
Asked by: Damian Green (Conservative - Ashford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of rolling out (a) hybrid 5G and (b) standalone 5G on the economy.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In 2017, the government set an ambition for the majority of the UK population to have access to 5G by 2027. This has been met five years early, with basic “non-standalone” 5G - which uses 5G equipment on 4G infrastructure. Ofcom’s Connected Nations Autumn Update (7 October 2022) showed that non-standalone 5G is available outside up to 64% of premises across the UK.
The Mobile Network Operators are currently trialling standalone 5G, where all network architecture (base stations, core networks and backhaul) is dedicated solely to 5G. We expect standalone 5G deployments to begin in 2023, and for this to help unlock greater potential of 5G and support uses in industrial and other settings, bringing significant economic and social benefits to the UK.
The Levelling Up White Paper outlined our mission for what we want nationwide broadband and mobile coverage to look like by 2030.
The Government has made reforms to the planning system to support the deployment of 5G and extend mobile coverage. Furthermore, the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill will allow operators to enter into additional agreements with site providers, enabling apparatus to be upgraded to 5G. In addition, the Digital Connectivity Infrastructure Accelerator programme is dedicated to accelerating the roll-out of 5G through the use of public sector assets.
We are developing a Wireless Infrastructure Strategy to establish a new ambition for 5G, and set out how the UK can realise the full benefits of advanced wireless connectivity. We aim to publish the strategy later this year.
Asked by: Damian Green (Conservative - Ashford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support community leisure centres.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We recognise the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities and swimming pools, which are great spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and play an important role within communities.
This is why throughout the pandemic we provided the £100 million National Leisure Recovery Fund which ensured the survival of leisure centres and swimming pools during the pandemic, and supported their reopening after the pandemic.
We also recognise the impact rising energy prices will have on businesses of all sizes. Ofgem and the Government are in regular contact with business groups and the leisure sector to understand the challenges they face and explore ways to protect consumers and businesses. The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to invest in leisure facilities.
Asked by: Damian Green (Conservative - Ashford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to protect people's access to public swimming pools.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We recognise the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities and swimming pools, which are great spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and play an important role within communities.
This is why throughout the pandemic we provided the £100 million National Leisure Recovery Fund which ensured the survival of leisure centres and swimming pools during the pandemic, and supported their reopening after the pandemic.
We also recognise the impact rising energy prices will have on businesses of all sizes. Ofgem and the Government are in regular contact with business groups and the leisure sector to understand the challenges they face and explore ways to protect consumers and businesses. The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to invest in leisure facilities.
Asked by: Damian Green (Conservative - Ashford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she had made of the implications for her policies of the submission to the Government's consultation by ISBA and the Advertising Association that privatising Channel 4 would weaken competition in the TV advertising market.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Channel 4 is one of this country’s greatest broadcasting assets but we must think long-term about the challenges ahead and make sure it has the capital it needs to continue to contribute to the UK’s success in public service broadcasting.
We have consulted on the best ownership model to support Channel 4 into the future. Our public consultation closed on 14 September. We are carefully considering the views and evidence we have received, including from advertising stakeholders, to inform the government’s policy-making and final decision.
Whatever decision is made about Channel 4’s ownership model, any reforms will not compromise our commitment to the wider creative economy.
Asked by: Damian Green (Conservative - Ashford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make and publish an assessment of the impact of privatising Channel 4 on businesses and jobs in the UK TV production sector.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government recognises that Channel 4 has consistently delivered on its remit in the decades since being established, including supporting the UK’s independent production sector.
Forty years on, this sector is now flourishing. Independent production is increasingly less reliant on income from UK public service broadcasters, and will continue to be in demand for the high-quality, differentiated, distinctively British content it produces. In the 10 years between 2008 and 2018, the contribution of PSB commissions to sector revenue fell from 64% to 42%, due in large part to the growth of international revenue.
The consultation opened on 6 July, running for 10 weeks, before closing on 14 September. We are currently analysing responses to our consultation. Once we have answered the questions set out in the consultation, we will know what specific impacts to assess and will therefore be in a position to carry out an impact assessment
Whatever decision we make, it will not compromise this government’s commitment to the independent production sector and wider creative economy. Our support for the UK film and TV industry has helped it bounce back from the impact of the pandemic when it had to shut-down in March 2020. For Q4 2020 the UK film and TV industry had the second highest production spend for any quarter on record - at £1.19 billion.
Last year, the government invested over £1 billion through the creative sector tax reliefs which support the UK screen sectors. In High-End TV, the UK has seen a production boom worth over £4 billion since a dedicated tax relief was introduced in 2013.
More than 600 productions have been supported by the government’s UK Film and TV Production Restart Scheme, protecting over 55,000 jobs and securing £1.9 billion of production spend.
Asked by: Damian Green (Conservative - Ashford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government will take to safeguard Channel 4's remit in the event of its privatisation.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has recently consulted on whether an alternative ownership model for Channel 4 (but one where it retains a public service remit) may be better for the broadcaster, and better for the country.
We want Channel 4 to continue to be a public service broadcaster, and we want it to and continue to contribute socially, economically and culturally to life across the UK. The reason the Government is looking into the future ownership model of Channel 4 is to ensure its sustainability and ability to deliver a PSB remit for decades to come.
Our consultation has examined Channel 4’s remit and obligations within this framework. We are currently analysing responses to our consultation, and evidence received through it, to inform our policy-making decisions.
Asked by: Damian Green (Conservative - Ashford)
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 (a) undertake and (b) publish an impact assessment on the implications of the privatisation of Channel 4.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government has recently consulted on whether an alternative ownership model for Channel 4 (but one where it retains a public service remit) may be better for the broadcaster, and better for the country.
We want Channel 4 to continue to be a public service broadcaster, and we want it to and continue to contribute socially, economically and culturally to life across the UK. But there is a wealth of evidence - including Ofcom’s recent report - on the future challenges facing our traditional linear TV broadcasters. Channel 4 is uniquely constrained in its ability to meet these challenges while it remains under public ownership - particularly because its access to capital and ability to pursue strategic partnership opportunities is limited.
Moving Channel 4 into private ownership could allow it to access new capital, take advantage of international opportunities, and create strategic partnerships only available through the private sector.
Consulting on the broadcaster’s future has therefore been about ensuring that Channel 4 can continue to contribute to the UK’s success in public service broadcasting for years to come, and how we ensure its ownership model best supports this aim
The consultation opened on 6 July, running for 10 weeks, before closing on 14 September. We are currently analysing responses to our consultation, and evidence received through it, to inform our policy-making decisions. Once we have answered the questions set out in the consultation, we will know what specific impacts to assess and will therefore be in a position to carry out an impact assessment.
Asked by: Damian Green (Conservative - Ashford)
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 consult on the final form and functions of the Digital Markets Unit; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Whittingdale
In November last year, the government announced that it would establish a new pro-competition regime for digital markets. At the heart of that regime will be a mandatory code of conduct to govern the relationships between dominant firms and different groups of users that rely on their services, to promote fair trading, open choices and trust and transparency. It will cover the relationships between news publishers and platforms.
A non-statutory Digital Markets Unit (DMU) was established in April, housed in the CMA, to introduce, maintain and enforce the code of conduct. The Unit has begun to operationalise the new regime, and the Digital Secretary has asked it to work with the communications regulator Ofcom to look specifically at how a code of conduct would govern the relationships between platforms and content providers such as news publishers, including to ensure they are as fair and reasonable as possible.
We will consult on the form and function of the DMU this year, and legislate to put it on a statutory footing as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Damian Green (Conservative - Ashford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what role the Digital Markets Unit will have in tackling monopolistic behaviour among tech companies in promoting news content.
Answered by John Whittingdale
In November last year, the government announced that it would establish a new pro-competition regime for digital markets. At the heart of that regime will be a mandatory code of conduct to govern the relationships between dominant firms and different groups of users that rely on their services, to promote fair trading, open choices and trust and transparency. It will cover the relationships between news publishers and platforms.
A non-statutory Digital Markets Unit (DMU) was established in April, housed in the CMA, to introduce, maintain and enforce the code of conduct. The Unit has begun to operationalise the new regime, and the Digital Secretary has asked it to work with the communications regulator Ofcom to look specifically at how a code of conduct would govern the relationships between platforms and content providers such as news publishers, including to ensure they are as fair and reasonable as possible.
We will consult on the form and function of the DMU this year, and legislate to put it on a statutory footing as soon as parliamentary time allows.