Data Protection and Digital Information Bill

Jane Hunt Excerpts

Report stage
Wednesday 29th November 2023 Commons Chamber

Finally, it occurs to me that the power being introduced could be used to establish benefit eligibility for people who do not currently claim benefits. We know, for example, that a large number of people do not claim pension credit, but are eligible for it. A lot of the information about whether they are entitled to pension credit is already held in the public sector, and in local councils in particular. If it were possible to check whether people had less than the threshold savings level, that could help in establishing eligibility for pension credit automatically. Can the Minister tell us whether that is intended with this proposal?

[Jane Hunt (Loughborough) (Con)]

I rise to speak to new clause 1 in my name and that of other colleagues. Earlier this year, I met with members of Leicestershire Police Federation, who raised concerns about elements of the Data Protection Act 2018 that were imposing unnecessary and burdensome redaction obligations on police forces. I thank the national Police Federation for its tireless campaigning on this issue, particularly Ben Hudson of Suffolk police, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney (Peter Aldous) for all he has done in this area. I thank them for much of the information I will share today.

As I explained in Committee, part 3 of the 2018 Act implemented the law enforcement directive and made provision for data processing by competent authorities, including police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service, for law enforcement purposes. Paragraph (4) of the enforcement directive emphasised that the

“free flow of personal data between competent authorities for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences…should be facilitated while ensuring a high level of protection of personal data.”

However, part 3 of the 2018 Act contains no provision at all to facilitate the free flow of personal data between the police and the CPS. Instead, it imposes burdensome obligations on the police, requiring them to redact personal data from information transferred to the CPS. Those obligations are only delaying and obstructing the expeditious progress of the criminal justice system and were not even mandated by the law enforcement directive.

The problem has arisen due to chapter 2 of part 3 of the 2018 Act, which sets out six data protection principles that apply to data processing by competent authorities for law enforcement purposes. Section 35(1) states:

“The first data protection principle is that the processing of personal data for any of the law enforcement purposes must be lawful and fair.”

Section 35(2) states:

“The processing of personal data for any of the law enforcement purposes is lawful only if and to the extent that it is based on law and either—

(a) the data subject has given consent to the processing for that purpose, or

(b) the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out for that purpose by a competent authority.

The Police Federation has said that it is unlikely that section 35(2)(a) will apply in this context. It has also said that in the case of 35(2)(b), the test of whether the processing is “necessary” is exacting, requiring a competent authority to apply its mind to the proportionality of processing specific items of personal data for the particular law enforcement purpose in question.

Under sections 35(3) to 35(5), where the processing is “sensitive processing”, an even more rigorous test applies, requiring among other things that the processing is

“strictly necessary for the law enforcement purpose”

in question. Section 37 states:

“The third data protection principle is that personal data processed for any of the law enforcement purposes must be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose for which it is processed.”

For the purposes of the 2018 Act, the Crown Prosecution Service and each police force are separate competent authorities and separate data controllers. Therefore, as set out in section 34(3), the CPS and each police force must comply with the data protection principles. A transfer of information by a police force to the CPS amounts to the processing of personal data.

The tests of “necessary” and “strictly necessary” under the first and third data protection principles require a competent authority to identify and consider each and every item of personal data contained within the information that it is intended to process and to consider whether it is necessary for that item of personal data to be processed in the manner intended. The impact of this is that when preparing a case file for a charging decision from the CPS, the police must spend huge amounts of time and resources analysing information that has been gathered by investigating officers in order to identify every item of personal data. They then have to decide whether it is necessary or, in many cases strictly necessary, for the CPS to consider each item of personal data when making its charging decision, and to redact every item of personal data that does not meet that test.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council and the CPS have produced detailed guidance on this redaction process. It emphasises that the 2018 Act is a legal requirement and that the police and the CPS do not have any special relationship that negates the need to redact and protect personal information. The combination of the requirements of the guidance and of the Act represent a huge amount of administrative work for police officers, resulting in hours of preparing appropriate redactions. Furthermore, such work is inevitably carried out by relatively junior officers who have no particular expertise in data protection, and much of it may never be used by the CPS if the matter is not charged or if the defendant pleads guilty before trial. Nationally, about 25% of cases that are submitted to the CPS are not charged. A significant proportion of that time and money could be saved if the redaction of personal data by the police occurred after, rather than before, a charging decision has been made by the CPS.

The burden that this is placing on police forces was highlighted in the 2022 “Annual Review of Disclosure” by the Attorney General’s Office, which heard evidence from police that

“redaction of material for disclosure is placing a significant pressure on resources”.

It also found that one police force had invested £1 million in a disclosure specialist team solely to deal with redaction. In its report on policing priorities, the Home Affairs Committee stated:

“The National Police Chiefs’ Council and the College of Policing said this ‘labour-intensive’ process ‘ties up police resources for a protected period of time’, meaning investigations take longer, and possibly adds to the likelihood of victims withdrawing their support for a case. The College noted that the problem has become worse as digital devices such as phones and laptops have developed ever greater storage capacity, meaning there is more data for the police to process and redact. Disparities in digital capabilities across the 43 local forces also exacerbate the problem.”

The report went on to say:

“Lengthy and inefficient redaction processes and protracted investigations are neither effective nor fair on either victims or suspects. The handling of case files needs to comply with data protection laws. However, ensuring that the requirements are proportionate and that forces have the digital capacity to meet such requirements efficiently is an urgent issue that needs addressing. More needs to be done to pilot solutions and get the balance right.”

Furthermore, the Police Federation and the National Police Chiefs’ Council estimate that the cost nationally of the redaction exercise is over £5.6 million per annum. There is no disputing that there is a clear issue here, and I welcome that this has been acknowledged by Ministers I have been engaging with, including the Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire, my right hon. Friend the Member for Croydon South (Chris Philp); the former Home Secretary, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Fareham (Suella Braverman); and the Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure, the right hon. Member for Maldon (Sir John Whittingdale). Only last week, the latter emphasised to me the Government’s support for reform.

Indeed, the autumn statement last week highlighted the Government’s commitment to boosting public sector productivity by running an ambitious public sector productivity programme with all Departments to reimagine the way public services are delivered. The focus of that will be on

“reducing the amount of time our key frontline workers, including police, doctors, and nurses, spend on administrative tasks”.

That is to ensure that they can spend more time delivering for the public. Arguably, the current process of data redaction is the biggest unnecessary administrative task keeping police officers away from the frontline, so reform needs to be implemented urgently.

My new clause lays out a blueprint for that reform and would insert a proposed new section into the 2018 Act to exempt the police service and the CPS from complying with the first data protection principle—except in so far as that principle requires processing to be fair—or with the third data protection principle when preparing a case file for submission to the CPS for a charging decision, thereby facilitating the free flow of personal data between the police and the CPS. If the CPS decided to charge, the case file would be returned to the police to carry out the redaction exercise before there was any risk of the file being disclosed to any person or body other than the CPS. In the 25% of cases in which the CPS decides not to charge, the unredacted file would simply be deleted by the CPS.

My new clause would have no obvious disadvantages, as the security of the personal data would not be compromised and the necessary redactions would still be undertaken once a charging decision had been made. Furthermore, providing material unredacted to the CPS pre-charge would not impact the timeliness of the process in any way, as the police would still be providing the same material to the CPS as they would have done previously, just unredacted.

I know from my conversations with Ministers that there are a few questions from a number of sources about whether legislative change is the best way to tackle the issues surrounding redaction. To that, the Police Federation has said that

“the hope is that the CPS will set out, within their charging advice, what material they intend to rely upon and, therefore, only the required material will have to be redacted by the police. This would be done in line with the maximum time of service set out within the ‘Better case management handbook Jan 23’, which states that service is required no less than five days before the hearing. So we must accept that there may be a slight delay in the CPS being able to serve their case on the defence at the point of charge. But the time in which it will take police forces to apply for a charging decision to the CPS will be far quicker without the need for redact. Thus, stopping defendants being on bail or under ‘released under investigation’ status for as long as they currently are and victims of crime waiting less time for charging decisions.”

In addition, the Police Federation has highlighted that while auto-redaction software will help to mitigate the current issues, it will not recover all policing capacity in respect of redaction. Officers will still need to review the item to consider what auto-redaction parameters need applying, otherwise police could risk ending up with mass over-redaction, and having to check to ensure nothing has been missed. The real benefit for auto-redaction software will come post-charge, especially if the CPS states exactly what material it intends to use or disclose.

I also appreciate that the Government feel they cannot support my amendment because of three technical legal points, and I would like to summarise the Police Federation’s response to this, based on advice from its leading counsel who are experienced in the field of data protection and privacy.

The Government’s first objection is that there are provisions in the 2018 Act, other than the first and third data protection principles, that

“in effect require the material concerned to be reviewed and redacted”.

The two examples given by the Home Office were the sixth data protection principle and section 44. The sixth data protection principle—data security—does not require case files to be redacted. The same standard of

“appropriate technical or organisational measures”

is required whether case files are redacted before or after the CPS has made a charging decision. The Police Federation’s leading counsel has pointed out that section 44(4) of the Act already contains potentially relevant restrictions on a data subject’s rights. Those restrictions during an investigation would be consistent with an amendment providing for the police to redact any given case file only after the CPS has decided to charge.

Football Governance

Jane Hunt Excerpts

Monday 25th April 2022 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Huddleston]

The hon. Member is raising a variety of points. Some of those are likely to be the responsibility of the regulator, but many, such as player welfare, will continue to be the responsibility of other institutions within football.

[Jane Hunt (Loughborough) (Con)]

Football is integral to Loughborough, whether that is throughout the town clubs, among students and in our exemplary Leicester City, which has its training ground in my constituency. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) will be very happy about that, I am sure. Today is indeed a good day for football fans. Will football fans at all levels be able to comment further on the proposals before the legislation is introduced, and if so, how?

[Nigel Huddleston]

The view of fans is pivotal. It has been so far, and it will continue to be as we develop the proposals. We will find ways to make sure that fans continue to be engaged in the conversations and discussions, and we will be announcing more information with the White Paper.

Cultural Objects (Protection from Seizure) Bill

Jane Hunt Excerpts

Report stage
Friday 28th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Jane Hunt (Loughborough) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley North (Marco Longhi) on inviting you to his local hostelry, Mr Speaker—but I also greatly, and gratefully, congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Central Devon (Mel Stride). He is the Chairman of the Treasury Committee, and today he has told us about his cultural skills. He is clearly a man who uses both sides of his brain.

The UK has some of the finest museums in the world, which play a significant role in educating and inspiring people of all ages. They are also critical to our £75 billion tourism industry, which supports 4 million jobs. In Leicester, we are proud to have the Richard III Museum. Another museum, in Charnwood, features a wide range of exhibits reflecting the history, geology, archaeology and industries of our area. Of course, our museums also have great relationships with other institutions around the world, allowing for the import and export of cultural objects for temporary exhibition to help broaden our understanding of different cultures, as well as other countries’ understanding of ours. That, I think, is vitally important. We have talked about the Tutankhamun exhibition of the 1970s. The recent Treasures of the Golden Pharoah exhibition featured 150 authentic pieces from the tomb of King Tutankhamun, 60 of which travelled outside Egypt for the first time. Such exhibitions are also an important source of revenue for museums, and help to ensure that visitors come back.

We must do everything we can to support museums, especially given the impact that the pandemic has had on them. I welcomed the nearly £2 billion that the Government provided over the course of the pandemic to support our cultural sector, along with the original £1.57 billion that the Cultural Recovery Fund announced in July 2020. I want to record my thanks for the funds that came to my constituency, including funding for Great Central Railway and the Loughborough Bellfoundry, the only working bell-foundry and bell-foundry museum in the country.

I am pleased that the Bill will support the sector by addressing another issue that has arisen from the pandemic, that of culturally significant objects being left at risk of seizure or forfeiture owing to the major unforeseen disruption to international travel. As has been pointed out, that also happened in 2010 as a result of the volcanic eruption. Although the risk of seizure or forfeiture is extremely small, we know that a number of countries ascribe great importance to having adequate protection in place—and, I imagine, their insurance would be affected. By giving the Secretary of State power to extend the period of protection from seizure and forfeiture for a further period of up to three months, we will ensure that international owners retain confidence in the system and continue to lend to our great institutions.

May I ask the Minister to clarify two points? First, might one reason for that extension be the popularity of a touring exhibition and the need for it to spend more time in the United Kingdom? Secondly, is the agreement of both parties necessary for the extension to be validated?

Independent Fan-led Review of Football Governance

Jane Hunt Excerpts

Thursday 25th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Huddleston]

I am sorry that that date 11 years ago is still scarred in the hon. Gentleman’s memory. Indeed, he is right; we have constructive meetings at both ministerial and official level with the Scottish Government. Just last week or the week before, I met Scottish sports Ministers and sports Ministers from across the devolved Administrations precisely to share learnings, experiences and best practice. The fan-led review will be part of future discussions. I understand that fans from Scotland—I am not sure how many—have already contributed to the review through online submissions. We appreciate their involvement.

[Jane Hunt (Loughborough) (Con)]

As my hon. Friend has said, football clubs are at the very heart of local communities, including the mighty Leicester City, which has its training ground in my Loughborough constituency—and I am very proud about it too. Does he agree that the fans are at the centre of the national game, so it was absolutely right that the review was fan-led, and that it is what the fans deserve?

[Nigel Huddleston]

Absolutely. It is always a pleasure to talk all things sport with my hon. Friend, who represents one of the sportiest constituencies in the country, which appropriately has an incredibly sport-loving Member of Parliament. She is right to praise Leicester City and to focus on the fan-led aspect of the review, which is precisely why we had such levels of engagement from fans across the country. The outcomes of the online survey show overwhelming support for many of the measures outlined in the report of my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford, and we need to take that very seriously indeed.

Football Governance

Jane Hunt Excerpts

Monday 14th June 2021 Westminster Hall

[Jane Hunt (Loughborough) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Elliott.

I first thank the 412 people in my constituency who have signed these petitions. Football is deeply rooted in the fabric of our society, particularly in Loughborough, the national centre of sport. Football unites local communities and brings together people from all backgrounds and all walks of life. As one of my constituents said:

“Football is a living, breathing part of British culture, which must be protected from the heights of European football all the way down to the Sunday league.”

As we know, there has been a huge backlash against plans for a European Super League. I very much welcome the Government’s fan-led review of football governance. Loughborough University has offered to assist in that review, and I would be grateful if its offer and its expertise were taken up.

I also hope that examples of good ownership shine through in the review and serve as reminders of how football clubs can do right by their fans and support their local communities. For example, Leicester City football club not only delivers football and other physical activity sessions for local people, but supports refugees to rebuild their lives in the area and has facilitated donations from fans to refurbish a hospital unit at the Leicester Royal Infirmary. The groundsman at the club’s training ground has even shared his expertise with the bowls club in Sileby in my constituency, to help to improve its bowling green to Commonwealth games standard. That is a fantastic example of what club owners’ priorities should be and the contribution they can make to the area in which their club is based.

Ahead of today’s debate, I met the Foxes Trust, a non-profit supporters’ trust for fans of Leicester City football club, to discuss the Government’s review and to hear its thoughts on the petitions. The trust stressed that its relationship with the owners of Leicester City works very well, because the owners fully understand the community aspect of the club, and that understanding is backed up by prudent financial management. However, given recent incidents throughout football—including many that we have heard about today—the trust believes that meaningful dialogue with properly constituted supporter groups needs to be legislated for.

The trust feels that the 50+1 share model will be difficult to instigate in the UK. Furthermore, while fans should not have the ability to veto all decisions made by the board, the trust has said that it should absolutely have more say over the club’s finances and business plans, and be able to veto certain decisions to protect a club’s heritage, location and playing facilities. For example, that could be through a golden share, which would be administered via an elected fan to the club’s board and an independent executive director with responsibility for club heritage who is elected by fans’ groups via a vote of key stakeholders, such as season ticket holders.

With regards to the independent regulation of football, a local resident has contacted me to say that an independent regulator is needed to

“preserve the integrity of the English football pyramid and prevent its destruction by overseas owners and investors who do not understand its importance to the people of this country and wish to impose their own vision purely for profit purposes without understanding its place in the community.”

I would be grateful if the Minister could take those comments into account as part of the discussions.

Covid-19: Cultural and Entertainment Sectors

Jane Hunt Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Jane Hunt (Loughborough) (Con)]

We are all aware that the cultural and entertainment sector has been hit hard during the pandemic due to the prolonged time that the sector has been restricted. Indeed, over the last few months, I have received many representations from theatres, nightclubs, bingo halls, casinos, heritage rail and many more businesses and individuals in my constituency that are very concerned about their ability to survive the pandemic.

While of course I understand the inherent risks that large gatherings bring, given that we are now seeing a fall in the number of people in hospital with covid-19, thanks in huge part to the fantastic work of the Government and the NHS in delivering over 20 million vaccinations across the UK, as well as one of the biggest testing systems in the world, we now need to begin opening up again.

I therefore welcome the announcement of the road map out of lockdown last week, which will give businesses the reassurances needed to begin planning their reopening. However, if we are to support them in that, we need to help build public confidence in the road map so that people will actually start booking tickets for events and visits. I would be interested to hear from the Minister how the Government plan to do that over the next few months. In my view, one such way would be by setting out as soon as possible what enhanced testing regimes and other safety measures will be introduced for events with large crowds. To this end, I would also be interested to hear from the Minister the Government’s expected timeframe for the events research programme, and specifically when it expects to report on its findings.

Finally, I would like to mention the tourism and heritage sectors. In the Loughborough constituency, we have a wealth of tourist and heritage sites, including Great Central Railway, the Carillon tower museum, Charnwood Museum, the Old Rectory Museum, the only operational bell foundry in the UK, the Peter Le Marchant Trust and the ancient Outwoods woodland, to name a few. They are all fantastic places to visit.

As restrictions are lifted, we must seize the opportunity to promote domestic tourism to boost our local economies, support businesses and create much-needed jobs. This is an area in which I am very keen to do more work on over the coming months, particularly in the run-up to English Tourism Week. I would be interested to hear what plans the Government have to support domestic tourism. The Government have, of course, already provided a large package of support to heritage sites in Loughborough, and I thank them very much for that help. We now need to work to ensure that those organisations are able to start up again and thrive—employing people, contributing to our local communities and, ultimately, paying their taxes. They need a hand up, not a handout, and we need confidence in the sector.

UK Musicians: EU Visa Arrangements

Jane Hunt Excerpts

Tuesday 19th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Dinenage]

Van Morrison also penned “Brown Eyed Girl”, which is my own personal anthem. I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question. Artists and organisations based in Northern Ireland will not be required to obtain ATA carnets or musical instrument certificates when touring in the EU because the Northern Ireland protocol means that Northern Ireland is part of the same regulatory environment for goods as the European Union. Northern Ireland citizens who do not hold Irish citizenship as well will be subject to the same changes as other British citizens on mobility and business travel when going to EU member states, but, of course, not to the Republic of Ireland.

[Jane Hunt (Loughborough) (Con) [V]]

A number of my constituents in the entertainments, arts and creative industries have contacted me setting out the impacts that the new immigration restrictions will have on their livelihoods. It is clear that the UK Government strived to gain a mutually beneficial agreement with the EU. Will the Minister therefore set out what steps the Government are taking to continue to urge the EU to return to the negotiating table and reopen discussions to reach a more preferable agreement for all parties? May I take this opportunity on behalf of my constituents to ask the EU to reconsider its position?

[Caroline Dinenage]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. The negotiating team did negotiate an opportunity to come back and review this in the years ahead, so the light at the end of the tunnel is not entirely switched off. But there is quite a lot we can do between European nation states to try to make things a lot easier and straightforward. She is right to highlight that this impacts EU artists as much as it does those from the UK. We want to make their lives as easy and as straightforward as possible.

Digital Infrastructure, Connectivity and Accessibility

Jane Hunt Excerpts

Thursday 3rd December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Jane Hunt (Loughborough) (Con)]

For the purposes of total transparency, I declare that I used to work in the telecommunications industry. I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Esther McVey) and the hon. Member for Sunderland Central (Julie Elliott) on securing this vital debate.

In my maiden speech in January, I pledged to work to roll out gigabit broadband in my constituency as it would be a great asset to local businesses and those who work from home. As colleagues have mentioned, the importance of that has become increasingly apparent in recent months as we have seen a great shift in working patterns, with more people working from home than ever before to help stem the spread of covid-19. While it is not yet clear what long-term effects the virus will have on working patterns, with more services moving online the need for high-speed broadband will remain. That is particularly true of rural areas, many of which we know are still unable to receive decent broadband.

In my constituency, much of Loughborough town is in the best 10% of areas in the UK when it comes to lines receiving superfast speeds. When it comes to being able to receive even decent broadband, two of the nearby villages, Sileby and Wymeswold, are in the worst 30%, which is reflective of the countrywide divide between urban and rural areas. I therefore welcome the Government’s commitment in the recent national infrastructure strategy to work with industry to target a minimum of 85% gigabit-capable coverage by 2025 and seek to accelerate the roll-out further to get us as close to 100% as possible.

Crucially, I welcome the emphasis that the strategy places on continuing to implement an ambitious programme of work to remove barriers to broadband deployment and maximise coverage in the hardest-to-reach areas of the country, backed by £5 billion of funding. As part of that, it is right that legislation will be introduced to ensure that new build homes come with gigabit-capable connections. However, we need to go even further and apply that retrospectively so that housing developments built in the last decade benefit from superfast broadband. Over the last year, I have supported the residents of the relatively new housing estate built on the edge of Sileby to access full-fibre connection. Unfortunately, they were faced with the prospect of having to find a significant amount of money to fund the project either through existing Government-backed funding pots or out of their own pockets. I am grateful that, after much deliberation, Openreach has funded the project and made superfast available. However, that does not happen in all cases, and there are still residents who find themselves with a poor broadband connection despite having moved to a newly built property, where we would naturally think that such vital facilities would be available from day one.

Let me say publicly that I am keen to work with fibre suppliers to gain superfast connections for all my constituents, wherever they live in and around Loughborough. What steps can the Minister take to ensure that superfast connectivity—landline, fibre connectivity—is available to all constituents throughout Loughborough?

--- Later in debate ---

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)]

I would like to start by thanking the right hon. Member for Tatton (Esther McVey) and my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland Central (Julie Elliott) for securing this important and excellent debate. When I first entered Parliament 10 years ago after 20 years as a telecoms engineer, I was somewhat disappointed by the lack of discussion on digital connectivity and digital opportunity. That has really changed in the past few months, although not significantly in Government time. Members have shown real knowledge, passion and understanding, and I hope that the Minister has been listening.

As several Members—most eloquently, I thought, my hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Siobhain McDonagh)—pointed out, the covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the significant role that online services play in supporting people’s social lives, education, workplaces and communities. We have seen a huge shift in people’s dependence on digital. The Office for National Statistics estimates that almost 50% of people are currently working from home, and 80% of people told it that they feel digital technology has been a vital support to them in lockdown, if they have access to it.

Several Members—in particular the hon. Members for Beaconsfield (Joy Morrissey) and for West Dorset (Chris Loder) and the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael)—emphasised the economic importance of digital connectivity, but for it to play that role, we need it to be reliable and fast. The 2020 National Audit Office report “Improving Broadband” found that, at 14%, the UK has one of the lowest full-fibre coverage rates in Europe, as several Members observed.

The fact is that successive Tory Governments have presided over 10 wasted years for our telecoms infrastructure. The last Labour Government made great strides in building a digital economy. Our Communications Act 2003 set the strategy and vision, and our office of the internet was a world leader. We oversaw the roll-out of first-generation broadband to 50% of households by 2009 and were in the top 15% of global broadband speed tables, with competitive infrastructure positions.

[Jane Hunt]

I wonder whether the hon. Member agrees with me that, actually, it was the Labour Government who made telecommunications companies spend billions of pounds buying bandwidth that previously had been only a matter of hundreds of pounds. If they did not have that bandwidth, they did not have that network and they were not in the market.

[Chi Onwurah]

I am afraid that I do not have the time fully to go into the reasons why that intervention is wholly without value. First, we are talking about fixed networks here. Secondly, the huge improvement in the services that could be offered on spectrum meant that that spectrum was valuable, and it is in the public interest that valuable spectrum should have its value recognised.

This Government have flip-flopped and U-turned when it comes to our network infrastructure. As the right hon. Member for Tatton reflected, the Prime Minister initially promised full fibre to all by 2025. In their 2019 manifesto, the Government downgraded that pledge to universal gigabit-capable broadband to every home. Then, only last week, they sneaked out in the spending review plans to water down their broadband promises; instead of keeping to their manifesto promise, the Government are now aiming only to have a minimum of 85% coverage by that date. The budget for that plan remains the same, but now only £1.2 billion of the £5 billion will be made available up until 2024. We were promised roll-out; what we got was roll-back.

BT’s own analysis shows that at the current rate, full-fibre coverage will reach only 70% of UK premises by 2025 without the removal of key barriers, making even the revised target unrealistic. At the current rate, the Government’s 100% target will not be met until 2033, disappointing many Members, including the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Jonathan Gullis).

The Local Government Association also has major concerns about the Government’s intention to centrally procure and manage the contracts for the delivery of gigabit-capable broadband infrastructure. I hope that the Minister will take this opportunity to reassure local authorities that they will be involved in the local delivery of both broadband and 5G infrastructure.

For many, access to fibre is but a dream. As the hon. Members for Totnes (Anthony Mangnall), for Devizes (Danny Kruger), for North Devon (Selaine Saxby) and for North Norfolk (Duncan Baker) set out, in the wastelands of Wiltshire and the deserts of Dorset they have no, or very little, broadband access. There are 1.9 million households without access to the internet and 155,000 UK properties are unable to get decent broadband. In rural areas, 50% of rural premises have patchy and unreliable mobile reception. Nearly half a million rural premises cannot get decent broadband. The broadband universal service obligation is no such thing, with rural residents potentially charged tens of thousands of pounds to connect to broadband, as the hon. Member for Loughborough (Jane Hunt) highlighted.

We need to provide network access to protect the most vulnerable in our society. FutureDotNow estimates that between 175,000 and 500,000 of those who received letters instructing them to shield during the pandemic had no internet access, yet because the letters were peppered with references to websites, those individuals would find it incredibly difficult to access the information they need. Yet the Government do not even have a target for digital inclusion. Could the Minister speak to that?

Many Members made the point—I pay tribute to the work of my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland Central and her all-party group, and the passion of my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting) in this area—that digital infrastructure is not enough. We need digital skills, which are economically key to keeping us safe online and unlocking the potential of digital. A lack of digital skills isolates people. To participate effectively online, individuals need devices on which to access the internet. Without them, individuals are excluded. What is the Minister doing to provide the digital skills and access that are needed?

I am aware that the Minister previously told the Select Committee on Digital, Culture, Media and Sport that although he wanted to do more to help those who are digitally excluded, there were limited resources. I think the Chair of the Select Committee dealt effectively with that point. I urge the Minister to find the political will and set out plans to ensure that nobody in the UK is left behind through a lack of digital literacy in this digital age, and that everyone can be an active participant in our increasingly digital world. Digital should be an enabler, not a divider.

Covid-19: Restrictions on Gyms and Sport

Jane Hunt Excerpts

Monday 23rd November 2020 Westminster Hall

[Jane Hunt (Loughborough) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I thank the petitioners, the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Catherine McKinnell) and, of course, the 1,659 people in my constituency who signed the petitions.

I recognise that this unprecedented situation has required us to take unprecedented steps to protect the public, including temporarily curtailing some freedoms. However, physical activity and sport play a critical role in building individual resilience and tackling obesity, in addition to the excellent benefits to mental wellbeing. It is vital that that is recognised.

Loughborough, including its world-renowned university, is synonymous with sporting excellence and is home to a number of national governing bodies. It should therefore come as no surprise that many of my constituents are passionate about health and wellbeing. That is especially true of the large student population. Mr James Greer, the Athletic Union president of Loughborough students’ union, recently explained to me that organised sport is important to the wellbeing of all students, not only those who are world champions in their chosen field.

From correspondence I have received, local residents agree. People from all walks of life want gyms and sporting facilities of all types to be back open as soon as possible, so I was ecstatic to hear the words of our Prime Minister earlier today. Earlier this month, local sporting facilities followed the new rules and closed. That included CrossFit gym, which is in a converted warehouse and has a huge bay door that could remain open for ventilation, in addition to the social distancing already practised. I urge that we look at a risk assessment of individual venues in any future arrangements, rather than implementing a blanket ban on the operation of all sporting facilities.

I have been contacted by Swim England, which set out a compelling case for why it is particularly important for swimming facilities to remain open throughout the outbreak. It has explained that the unique properties of water mean that swimming pools are an ideal place for people who may otherwise struggle to be active on firm ground. Furthermore, swimming pools are chlorinated controlled environments where the risk of transmission can be successfully mitigated. That has been proven by the safe way in which they operated between the first and second lockdowns.

The impact of the strict restrictions on pools is exacerbating the existing problem of permanent pool closures. Before covid-19, Swim England was already forecasting a 40% reduction in the number of swimming pools by the end of the decade. The Government’s announcement of £100 million for public leisure centres is welcome, and I am hopeful that that will alleviate the situation. I am keen for swimming facilities to be available, now and in the future, as a key element in the education of every child and as a much-needed facility for many adults.

I put on record my support for Swim England’s calls for swimming pools to be allowed to remain open throughout any restrictions. I also support starting from the presumption that gyms and other sporting facilities and activities should stay open, unless their particular circumstances mean that it is unsafe.