Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has held recent discussions with relevant experts on the Government’s review into the legal frameworks governing subsea telecommunications cables.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DSIT works closely with relevant experts including other government departments, international partners, academics and industry to develop policies to help ensure the security and resilience of subsea telecoms cables. This includes regular discussions on the role of legal frameworks governing subsea telecommunications, which are informing our review. The Government is, of course, incorporating legal advice into its review of the legal frameworks governing subsea telecoms cables. That advice is confidential and legally privileged.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what progress he has made on the review into legal frameworks governing subsea telecommunications cables.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I refer the Honourable Member for West Dorset to the answer given on 17 July 2025 to Question 66484. The review into the UK’s legal frameworks governing subsea telecommunications cables is still ongoing. If the Government decides that changes to legislation are necessary, then Parliament will be informed in the usual manner.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what plans his Department has to bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Submarine Telegraph Act 1885 to introduce modern (a) penalties and (b) definitions for (i) undersea infrastructure attacks and (ii) cyber‑enabled sabotage.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is conducting a review to assess whether existing legal frameworks applying to subsea telecoms cables remain sufficient to ensure the security and resilience of this critical infrastructure. As part of the review, we are considering the provisions in the Submarine Telegraph Act 1885, including whether existing penalties and definitions remain fit for purpose to address modern threats. Where appropriate and proportionate to do so, the government will develop proposals to update existing legal frameworks.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much funding (a) in absolute terms and (b) as a proportion of all research funding his Department has provided for research into (i) climate change adaptation and (ii) resilience in the UK in each of the last five years.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Over 2020-2024 UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) invested at least £317 million into research focused on climate change adaption and resilience. This sits within UKRI’s ‘Building a Green Future’ portfolio, which is focused on R&D investment to accelerate the UK’s transition to a secure and prosperous green economy by 2050, totalling £3,948 million over 2020-2024. Total UKRI investment over this period totalled over £30bn. These investments are underpinned by further investments in environmental and social data and modelling, the talent pipeline and support for commercialisation. The most recent review of the Building a Green Future portfolio has been published here: https://www.ukri.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/UKRI-07102024-Building-a-Green-Future-UKRI-portfolio-review-2024.pdf
Defra is the lead department for climate adaptation and also invests in a range of research on climate adaptation and resilience.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department has taken to ensure Project Gigabit contracts deliver (a) on time and (b) within budget.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
All Project Gigabit contracts include measures and obligations regarding time and budget against which suppliers’ performance is monitored. These include measures to manage effective build plans, milestones, risks and issues.
Building Digital UK (BDUK) holds regular meetings with suppliers to discuss their progress. Each supplier’s performance is measured using monthly contractual reporting, reviewing the build progress and payment claims on each contract.
Failure to deliver to a contract milestone on any build phase of a contract can result in the trigger of a rectification plan process and cessation of payments until the milestone is achieved.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to prioritise connectivity to rural premises without access to gigabit-capable broadband in (a) England and (b) the South West.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
According to the independent website Thinkbroadband.com, over 86% of premises in England have access to gigabit-capable broadband. To improve broadband connectivity further, we have put in place over 30 Project Gigabit contracts that are set to deliver fast, reliable broadband to over 1 million rural and hard-to-reach premises that would otherwise not be reached by the commercial market alone.
There are multiple contracts being delivered across the South West, including in Cornwall, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. We recently announced new Project Gigabit contracts with Openreach that will also bring gigabit-capable broadband to premises in Devon and Somerset.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to improve the rollout of broadband in rural areas under Project Gigabit.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
According to the independent website Thinkbroadband.com, over 86% of premises in England have access to gigabit-capable broadband. To improve broadband connectivity further, we have put in place over 30 Project Gigabit contracts that are set to deliver fast, reliable broadband to over 1 million rural and hard-to-reach premises that would otherwise not be reached by the commercial market alone.
There are multiple contracts being delivered across the South West, including in Cornwall, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. We recently announced new Project Gigabit contracts with Openreach that will also bring gigabit-capable broadband to premises in Devon and Somerset.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help ensure reliable mobile coverage in rural areas.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This government wants people across the UK to benefit from reliable and good quality mobile coverage.
Through the Shared Rural Network, we are continuing to deliver 4G mobile connectivity to places where there is either limited or no coverage at all. Our ambition goes beyond this, and is for all populated areas, including rural areas, to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030 – and we want to support the industry to deliver this.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help encourage (a) innovation and (b) tech-based start-ups in rural constituencies.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT is accelerating innovation through initiatives like the Higher Education Innovation Funding, currently £280m a year, enabling universities across England to support innovative new businesses in their local areas. Additionally, through the £12.2m Digital Growth Grant, DSIT supports the Ecosystem Partnership Programme which awards funding to regional organisations delivering support in their local ecosystems. This grant also supports a cohort of AgriTech businesses as part of the Industry Bridge programme, connecting startups with corporate partners, delivered by Codebase.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the distribution of improved (a) broadband and (b) mobile signal strength in rural areas.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Government is committed to achieving nationwide gigabit broadband, removing barriers to commercial deployment and, where necessary, providing subsidy for hard-to-reach premises through Project Gigabit. According to the independent website ThinkBroadband, 85% of UK premises have access to gigabit-capable connections.
Government wants rural areas to benefit from mobile connectivity. The Shared Rural Network is improving coverage in rural areas, with 94.9% of the UK landmass having 4G coverage from at least one operator.
Our ambition is for all populated areas to have high-quality standalone 5G by 2030. We are committed to having the right policy and regulatory framework to support this.
I am aware that people’s experience on the ground does not always match Ofcom’s version of mobile signal, and I recently wrote to Ofcom, asking them to set out steps to improve their reporting.