Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish the (a) annual total budget for and (b) amount of money allocated by the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme in each of the last five years.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The total annual budget for the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme is £42,000,000 per year. Over the last five years, the funding allocation for places of worship under the grant scheme has been as follows:
In the financial year 2022/2023, a total of £33,952,912 was allocated.
In 2021/2022, the allocation was £25,519,715.
In 2020/2021, the allocation was £28,708,075.
In 2019/2020, the allocation was £35,639,573.
In 2018/2019, the allocation was £35,994,884.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposals in The BBC Across the UK on local newspapers.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Charter requires the BBC to consider its market impact and to ensure that it seeks to avoid unnecessary adverse impacts on competition, including local news. The BBC’s ‘Across the UK’ agenda sets out plans to move more of its operation and expenditure out of London, to fulfil its duty to support the creative economy across the UK.
As the independent regulator of the BBC, Ofcom assessed the BBC’s plans to increase its online local news output in December 2022. It concluded that the change was not one that may have a significant adverse impact on fair and effective competition, while also committing to monitor the implementation of the BBC’s proposals, with a view to addressing any emerging evidence of adverse impact on competition.
In May 2022, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport launched the BBC Mid-Term Review, and the Terms of Reference, published in May 2022, stated that the Review will look at competition and market impact, including with regard to the local news market.We are engaging with stakeholders on this to understand their views.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which commercial operators have (a) agreed and (b) shown an interest in utilising the infrastructure associated with the Extended Service Area Masts at locations (i) EAS0021, (ii) EAS0028, (iii) EAS0701 and (iv) EAS1013.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As part of the Shared Rural Network £184m of the £500m in government funding for the programme will be made available to the Home Office and the mobile network operators to upgrade Extended Area Service (EAS) masts being built as part of the Emergency Services Network (ESN) for commercial use by the four mobile network operators. This will help eliminate ‘total not-spots’ - the hard to reach areas where there is currently no 4G coverage at all from any operator
All four mobile network operators have shown an interest in deploying on EAS sites. BT/EE will deploy on all feasible sites as part of the ESN project. The other operators will be able to commit to individual sites after design and acquisition work being performed for SRN by the Home Office has been completed
We can confirm that the design and acquisition of upgrades to enable SRN deployment on EAS0021, EAS0701 and EAS1013 have now started and should be handed over to the operators in 2023 at the latest, should the sites pass our reviews successfully. However, a site can be withdrawn from consideration at any point due to a number of factors such as value for money, planning issues and the level of coverage provided. Once a site is passed over to the operators they then have 12 months to activate it commercially.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with Channel 4 on the restoration of their subtitle service for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The department has been in contact with both Channel 4 and Ofcom on this issue. It is important that television content is accessible for all UK audiences and as such all public service broadcasters are required to ensure adequate provision of access services, including subtitling, for their broadcast channels. Ofcom, as the independent regulator, is closely monitoring the situation, including the actions being taken to restore normal service as quickly as possible and to keep viewers informed.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with the Drinking Water Inspectorate on health and safety check requirements for the approval of fibre optic products for use in trials of feeding those cables through water pipes.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has been involved in planning the Fibre in Water trial project from a very early stage and will remain key to its success throughout. The project will only allow trials using products which the DWI has fully certified as safe to use, and which meet critical requirements for security and resilience. The project will be steered by a joint governance board including DCMS, Defra, BEIS, Ofwat and Ofcom representatives with safe and resilient supply of both services as a central success factor.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support will be provided to people who (a) do not currently have an internet connection and (b) are unable to access a broadband connection, if the Public Switched Telephone Network is switched off in 2025.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is privately-owned and the withdrawal is industry-led. Fixed-line operators - such as Openreach and Virgin Media - will cease to provide legacy copper services in a phased approach; with the network expected to switch-off entirely in 2025. The PSTN is increasingly unreliable and operators are concerned about their ability to repair, maintain and source spare parts.
Operators will be replacing the PSTN with ‘voice over internet protocol’ (VoIP) technology, which carries voice calls over a digital connection. For many consumers the change will involve plugging their existing landline phone into their router rather than into a wall socket. The change is expected to offer consumers clearer and better quality phone calls.
It should be noted that the closure of the PSTN will not affect fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) broadband (also known as ‘superfast broadband) where copper cables extend to roadside cabinets before a fibre cable carries the connection to the telephone exchange. Fibre-to-the-cabinet broadband is currently available in 97% of the country and operators continue to roll out services across the country.
While PSTN withdrawal is an industry-led process, the Government and Ofcom are working together on matters relating to the withdrawal process. This includes close engagement with the emergency services, as well as other organisations providing critical national services.
Ofcom has a statutory duty to further and protect the interest of consumers, including those who are vulnerable. As part of this duty, Ofcom has rules in place, known as general conditions, which all providers must follow, that mandate communication providers to have procedures and policies in place to identify and support vulnerable consumers.
Ofcom has also published a Vulnerability Guide for providers, setting out their expectations and good practice on how vulnerable telecoms consumers should be supported. This includes steps providers can take to identify vulnerable consumers, and an expectation that all providers implement specialist teams in order to provide extra support.
The telecoms industry - via the Broadband Stakeholder Group - have been collaborating on this issue, and in June 2020 launched a consumer-facing website as a resource to inform the public of the process. This website was developed with the support of telecoms companies, Ofcom and DCMS and is funded by TechUK. The website can be accessed here: https://www.futureofvoice.co.uk/.
We would advise consumers who have questions about the PSTN withdrawal process, or would like further information, to contact their telecoms service provider who will be able to provide specific support.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what impact assessment he has made the proposed closure of the Public Switched Telephone Network in 2025 on those who (a) do not have internet and (b) are unable to access a broadband connection.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is privately-owned and the withdrawal is industry-led. Fixed-line operators - such as Openreach and Virgin Media - will cease to provide legacy copper services in a phased approach; with the network expected to switch-off entirely in 2025. The PSTN is increasingly unreliable and operators are concerned about their ability to repair, maintain and source spare parts.
Operators will be replacing the PSTN with ‘voice over internet protocol’ (VoIP) technology, which carries voice calls over a digital connection. For many consumers the change will involve plugging their existing landline phone into their router rather than into a wall socket. The change is expected to offer consumers clearer and better quality phone calls.
It should be noted that the closure of the PSTN will not affect fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) broadband (also known as ‘superfast broadband) where copper cables extend to roadside cabinets before a fibre cable carries the connection to the telephone exchange. Fibre-to-the-cabinet broadband is currently available in 97% of the country and operators continue to roll out services across the country.
While PSTN withdrawal is an industry-led process, the Government and Ofcom are working together on matters relating to the withdrawal process. This includes close engagement with the emergency services, as well as other organisations providing critical national services.
Ofcom has a statutory duty to further and protect the interest of consumers, including those who are vulnerable. As part of this duty, Ofcom has rules in place, known as general conditions, which all providers must follow, that mandate communication providers to have procedures and policies in place to identify and support vulnerable consumers.
Ofcom has also published a Vulnerability Guide for providers, setting out their expectations and good practice on how vulnerable telecoms consumers should be supported. This includes steps providers can take to identify vulnerable consumers, and an expectation that all providers implement specialist teams in order to provide extra support.
The telecoms industry - via the Broadband Stakeholder Group - have been collaborating on this issue, and in June 2020 launched a consumer-facing website as a resource to inform the public of the process. This website was developed with the support of telecoms companies, Ofcom and DCMS and is funded by TechUK. The website can be accessed here: https://www.futureofvoice.co.uk/.
We would advise consumers who have questions about the PSTN withdrawal process, or would like further information, to contact their telecoms service provider who will be able to provide specific support.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on ensuring adequate levels of funding for Welsh language free-to-air television channel S4C.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The UK government is committed to the future of Welsh language broadcasting and of S4C.
As set out in the government response to the Independent Review of S4C, completed in 2018, S4C will be fully funded from the licence fee from 2022 onwards. As part of the Licence Fee Settlement there will be a full and proper consideration of S4C's needs separate to those of the BBC.
The Government is committed to greater transparency in this settlement and the Secretary of State will lay his final determination before Parliament to allow time for debate before the settlement takes effect. Negotiations for the 2022 Licence Fee Settlement are ongoing, and the Government will not be commenting further on the process or the Government’s position on the licence fee negotiations at this time.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the merits of increasing the voucher support in successor schemes to the Broadband Upgrade Fund for small communities under 100 dwellings.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Broadband Upgrade Fund was a pilot conducted in the three areas of the UK from June 2020 to January 2021, running in parallel with the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme. It was set up to test whether we could collate demand for broadband in an area that suppliers could observe in order to see if this would attract new suppliers to build in rural areas.
The final stage of the Broadband Upgrade Fund only recently completed, in January 2021. A full assessment of the effectiveness of the Broadband Upgrade Fund Pilot will be undertaken once there has been sufficient opportunity for proposals to turn into gigabit capable connections. Following this assessment the Department will determine whether this approach is incorporated into the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme.
The Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme has existed since March 2018, and has provided eligible areas across the UK with vouchers to cover the installation of costs of bringing gigabit connectivity to people’s homes and businesses. So far more than 66,000 vouchers worth up to £127 million have been issued to premises across the UK.
Following the government’s announcement on 19 March 2021, rural homes and businesses across the UK currently struggling with slow broadband speeds will continue to be able to benefit from this unique form of funding without needing to wait for coverage under the new Project Gigabit procurement contracts. The government is investing up to £210 million to build on the success of its Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme and the new scheme is due to go live on 8 April 2021.
The new vouchers will be worth up to £1,500 for residents and up to £3,500 for businesses. There will be an online postcode checker available so people can check if their home or business is eligible. They can then search for and select a supplier that they wish to work with to set up a group project for their community. Suppliers registered to the scheme will guide each beneficiary through the process of application, and then, if eligible, through to connection. Group projects can be for as few as two premises only so are ideal for groups of less than 100 dwellings. If communities can group together to aggregate the value of their vouchers they can often accumulate enough funding to cover most or all of the costs for installation.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Broadband Upgrade Fund in Carmarthenshire.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Broadband Upgrade Fund Pilot provided an opportunity to test an innovative approach to demand stimulation in the broadband market. The final stage of the Broadband Upgrade Fund only recently completed, in January 2021, and many suppliers are still in the process of engaging with communities to put together project proposals to submit to BDUK for approval. Therefore, a full assessment of the effectiveness of the Broadband Upgrade Fund Pilot will be undertaken once there has been sufficient opportunity for proposals to turn into gigabit capable connections.
However, an initial assessment shows that communities in Carmarthenshire were particularly active, with over 3,200 residents and small to medium sized businesses registering their interest in the Broadband Upgrade Fund. Suppliers were also equally responsive to the demand identified in Carmarthenshire. Around 98% of businesses and residents who registered for the pilot received at least one offer from a broadband supplier, with 96% receiving two or more offers.