Jamie Stone
Main Page: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)Department Debates - View all Jamie Stone's debates with the Cabinet Office
(2 days ago)
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Liz Kendall
I thank my hon. Friend for his passion about this issue. He should come in and talk to Ministers, officials and Building Digital UK to set out what he thinks needs to happen, because we are only going to get this right if we work with people on the ground. The Western Isles contract will provide cover for 65,000 new premises across the area, including 8,000 in my hon. Friend’s constituency. We have to do this—we have to push further and faster—and I am sure my hon. Friend will make it happen on the ground.
Jamie Stone
On behalf of my party, I welcome the Secretary of State to her place.
On the other side of the highlands in the royal burgh of Cromarty—it is an adjacent seat, Mr Speaker—we have an appalling situation. I have in my constituency an old lady with a heart condition who had no means of communication whatsoever for days on end. Will the Secretary of State have a word in the right ear to sort out this desperate situation?
Liz Kendall
If the hon. Gentleman sends us the details, we will make that issue a top priority. As we build the country of the future through jobs, growth and transforming public services, we cannot deliver for everybody in every part of the country unless they have the broadband coverage they need. Three of the seven new contracts that BDUK has signed this year are in Scotland, with funding of—I believe—£287 million. We want value for money, and the hon. Gentleman wants to deliver for his constituents. Together, we will make it happen.