Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of premises being excluded from Ofcom's revised second copper retirement threshold on the likelihood of those premises obtaining gigabit-capable broadband connectivity; and whether she expects those premises to be served through commercial rollout, Project Gigabit interventions, or other Government-supported programmes.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Ofcom’s copper retirement framework governs how Openreach transitions customers from legacy copper networks to Full Fibre (FTTP) and decommissions older infrastructure. On 9 September 2026, Ofcom published its new approach to the copper retirement second threshold setting out the conditions under which charge controls on Openreach’s copper-based services are removed. Following consultation, Ofcom lowered the Openreach ultrafast coverage threshold from 100% to 90% of premises within an exchange area. Ofcom also set out that the charge control on copper-based services can only be removed from 1 April 2029.
The government believes this additional flexibility will support the transition from copper to fibre networks, while the implementation date will give industry time to prepare for migrating vulnerable customers. Lowering the coverage threshold does not disincentivise Openreach from building but supports their ability to invest by limiting the cost of operating both copper and full fibre network in parallel. The implementation date will also give time to alternative networks to continue building their fibre networks, including in rural areas, hence helping achieving government's objective of achieving nationwide gigabit coverage. Through Project Gigabit, we will continue to focus government subsidies where the market alone will not deliver.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the resilience of practical driving test provision in remote and rural communities, and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that candidates in areas served by unmanned outstation testing centres are not disproportionately affected by cancellation or driving examiner shortages.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) recognises that a driving licence can be vital for those living in rural or remote areas to access education, training and jobs.
In April 2025, the Secretary of State set out a package of measures to tackle long waiting times across the country, including in rural communities, and the latest evidence indicates the interventions are delivering improvements.
Waiting times are at their lowest for 23 months, with the national average waiting time (weeks to 10%+ weekly appointment availability) reducing to 19.7 weeks in September 2026. Also, the number of driving examiners (DE) is at its highest level since November 2017.
DVSA does not take the decision to cancel tests lightly and will only do so as a last resort. DVSA will try to find another DE to provide cover if it can, but this is not always possible.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of whether Ofcom's revised copper retirement threshold is consistent with the Government's objective of achieving nationwide gigabit-capable broadband coverage, particularly in rural areas.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Ofcom’s copper retirement framework governs how Openreach transitions customers from legacy copper networks to Full Fibre (FTTP) and decommissions older infrastructure. On 9 September 2026, Ofcom published its new approach to the copper retirement second threshold setting out the conditions under which charge controls on Openreach’s copper-based services are removed. Following consultation, Ofcom lowered the Openreach ultrafast coverage threshold from 100% to 90% of premises within an exchange area. Ofcom also set out that the charge control on copper-based services can only be removed from 1 April 2029.
The government believes that this additional flexibility will support the transition from copper to fibre networks, while the implementation date will give industry time to prepare for migrating vulnerable customers. The implementation date will also give time to alternative networks to continue building their fibre networks, including in rural areas, hence helping achieving government's objective of achieving nationwide gigabit coverage.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on tackling climate change in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Sarah Owen - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)
Climate change policy is devolved. However, Northern Ireland has the potential to be at the forefront of the UK’s clean energy industry. I recently visited CATAGEN, a company in Belfast developing cutting-edge Clean Aviation Fuel technology which they are selling to the global market, and I was deeply impressed with the level of innovation.
This innovation will drive sustainable economic growth in Northern Ireland and across our country, while tackling our climate change goals.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to the Nuclear Industry Association’s 2026 Jobs Map, what assessment he has made of the impact of no new nuclear development in Scotland on civil nuclear employment.
Answered by Melanie Ward - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The civil nuclear sector is vital to our energy security and economy, providing skilled, well-paid jobs around the country. According to the Nuclear Industry Association’s 2026 Jobs Map, the UK’s civil nuclear workforce has reached over 100,000, with England creating 47,000 new nuclear jobs since 2014 - a 95% increase. In contrast, Scotland added just 660 jobs over the same period, representing an increase of only 13%.
The Scottish Government’s continued opposition and policy ban on new nuclear development prevents Scotland from accessing the same growth, resulting in an estimated 5,000 potential jobs never realised. Furthermore, with Torness Nuclear Power Station scheduled to end generation in 2030, Scotland risks losing hundreds more skilled civil nuclear roles.
The UK Government remains committed to supporting the nuclear sector, and urges the Scottish Government to rethink its opposition so that workers and communities across Scotland can benefit from high-quality, long-term employment opportunities.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on supporting people employed in Scotland’s civil nuclear sector.
Answered by Melanie Ward - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
Nuclear energy plays a vital role in providing clean, reliable power and supporting many skilled jobs in Scotland. However, the Scottish Government’s opposition to new nuclear power stations restricts further civil nuclear development within Scotland.
Despite these constraints, Scotland’s experienced nuclear workforce and supply chains remain well-placed to benefit from the UK Government’s ambitious civil nuclear expansion across the wider UK, including ongoing decommissioning work and Small Modular Reactor projects.
UK Government Ministers engage regularly with Scottish Government counterparts on a wide range of issues and we remain committed to supporting the nuclear sector. The UK Government urges the Scottish Government to rethink its opposition so that workers and communities across Scotland can benefit from high-quality, long-term employment opportunities.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential for new nuclear development at Dounreay to increase civil nuclear employment in Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross constituency.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Energy - Nuclear’s study of Scotland's potential for new nuclear, published on 30 June, indicates that Scotland has land areas with high potential for new nuclear development in the future. The study identified technical potential in the area around Dounreay.
New nuclear projects can deliver billions of pounds of investment and thousands of high-quality jobs to a region. UK Ministers remain open to discussions with the Scottish Government on deploying new nuclear technologies in Scotland.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of increasing availability of wearable recording devices capable of discreet audio and video recording on regulation of privacy and safeguarding legislation.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
People may lawfully use smart glasses and other wearable recording technologies in public spaces, in line with rights to freedom of expression as set out in Human Rights law. However, we recognise the potential privacy and safeguarding implications of the increasing availability of wearable recording devices. If wearers of the technology use it in harmful ways, such as to cause alarm or distress or for the purpose of sexual gratification, they may be guilty of criminal offences such as harassment, stalking or voyeurism.
If recorded images are uploaded to the internet, online services that process them will be subject to the UK's data protection legislation. For example, organisations may need to respond to requests from members of the public to have their images removed.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent regulator for data protection, has recently published guidance on consumer Internet of Things products and services: Guidance for consumer Internet of Things products and services | ICO. It makes it clear that manufacturers, developers and providers of connected devices have responsibilities to make sure that there is sufficient transparency around how the technology is used. This includes making any recording obvious to users and bystanders through visible indicators or alerts, and warning users of risks of recording children or vulnerable people.
We will continue to monitor this issue.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of wearable recording technology on the adequacy of levels of privacy and safeguarding for children, young people and vulnerable adults.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
People may lawfully use smart glasses and other wearable recording technologies in public spaces, in line with rights to freedom of expression as set out in Human Rights law. However, we recognise the potential privacy and safeguarding implications of the increasing availability of wearable recording devices. If wearers of the technology use it in harmful ways, such as to cause alarm or distress or for the purpose of sexual gratification, they may be guilty of criminal offences such as harassment, stalking or voyeurism.
If recorded images are uploaded to the internet, online services that process them will be subject to the UK's data protection legislation. For example, organisations may need to respond to requests from members of the public to have their images removed.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent regulator for data protection, has recently published guidance on consumer Internet of Things products and services: Guidance for consumer Internet of Things products and services | ICO. It makes it clear that manufacturers, developers and providers of connected devices have responsibilities to make sure that there is sufficient transparency around how the technology is used. This includes making any recording obvious to users and bystanders through visible indicators or alerts, and warning users of risks of recording children or vulnerable people.
We will continue to monitor this issue.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what comparative assessment her Department has made of domestic heating oil prices between in (a) Scotland and (b) other parts of the UK following publication of the Competition and Markets Authority's heating oil market study; and what steps she is taking to protect off-grid consumers ahead of winter.
Answered by Polly Billington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We know that users of heating oil have been particularly impacted by the rise in prices due to the Middle East conflict. It is clear that the heating oil sector is not working as it should for consumers and we will fight the corner of all those affected by the rise in heating oil prices.
I note the concerns about price disparity between regions, the price of heating oil is not set by Government and suppliers are subject to UK competition and consumer protection law. Therefore, pricing should be fair, transparent and reflective of genuine market conditions - and we would ensure that any price gouging behaviour is appropriately dealt with. However, it should be noted that the CMA's market study found no widespread evidence of suppliers making excessive material profits.
In Scotland, £4.6 million has been allocated to the Scottish Emergency Oil Heating Scheme, which launched on 1 April 2026. The scheme aims to support vulnerable households with the increased cost of oil or LPG for heating. Households on a means-tested benefit, or those in financial hardship who have additional vulnerabilities, may be able to get support. The scheme is delivered by Advice Direct Scotland. More details can be found at: https://homeheatingadvice.scot/faqs/, or by calling 0800 048 7413.
We are considering the CMA’s recommendations to create a fairer system for households and commit to issuing an official response within 90 days.