Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2024 to Question 17385 on Broadband: Social Tariffs, what steps she is taking to ensure that access to social tariffs is equitable across (a) regions and (b) nations.
Answered by Julia Lopez
Social tariffs are available in 99% of the UK and are offered by a range of telecoms providers. National providers, such as BT, Virgin Media, Sky and Vodafone, as well as regional or local ‘alternative network providers’ (often referred to as altnets) such as Community Fibre, Greyshott Gigabit Connect, and Lothian Broadband offer social tariffs. Mobile social tariffs are also available nationwide, using normal mobile networks across the UK. Ofcom has published a full list of social tariffs and the locations they are available on their website.
We recognise that the delivery of social tariffs by regional or local altnets means that not all eligible consumers are able to access every social tariff, however provision by internet service providers (ISPs) on Openreach’s national telecoms network means that vast majority households across the UK will have social tariff options from their provider.
We continue to work with operators to encourage them to do all they can to support customers and ensure strong provision of social tariffs across all the UK.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has set a target for (a) total provision and (b) provision in rural areas of broadband social tariffs.
Answered by Julia Lopez
Social tariffs are currently available in 99% of the UK which includes both urban and rural areas.
Social tariffs are commercial products which are offered voluntarily by telecoms providers to support those on low incomes. Social tariffs are currently offered by 28 different providers across the UK and are available to an estimated 5 million households on Universal Credit as well as other means-tested benefits. In December 2023, Ofcom’s Pricing Trends report showed that 380,000 UK households now take up a social tariff, an almost 160% increase from September 2022.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has not set a target for the provision of social tariffs. The Government and Ofcom continue to press operators to do more to raise awareness of social tariffs so that eligible households make use of them. Ofcom’s report also showed that just 45% of eligible households were aware of low-cost broadband offers. In July 2023, Ofcom’s Chief Executive wrote to the sector to set out the regulator’s expectation that they should do more to promote awareness, such as by highlighting tariffs on bills and end-of-contract notifications.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that there is adequate provision of social tariffs in rural areas.
Answered by Julia Lopez
Social tariffs are currently available in 99% of the UK which includes both urban and rural areas.
Social tariffs are commercial products which are offered voluntarily by telecoms providers to support those on low incomes. Social tariffs are currently offered by 28 different providers across the UK and are available to an estimated 5 million households on Universal Credit as well as other means-tested benefits. In December 2023, Ofcom’s Pricing Trends report showed that 380,000 UK households now take up a social tariff, an almost 160% increase from September 2022.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has not set a target for the provision of social tariffs. The Government and Ofcom continue to press operators to do more to raise awareness of social tariffs so that eligible households make use of them. Ofcom’s report also showed that just 45% of eligible households were aware of low-cost broadband offers. In July 2023, Ofcom’s Chief Executive wrote to the sector to set out the regulator’s expectation that they should do more to promote awareness, such as by highlighting tariffs on bills and end-of-contract notifications.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2024 to Question 14701 on Broadband: Social Tariffs, whether the data on the number of households that were taking up a social tariff from Ofcom's December 2023 Pricing Trends report is available by (a) nation and (b) region.
Answered by Julia Lopez
Ofcom has a legal duty to monitor the affordability of telecommunications services and regularly publishes data on awareness and take-up of social tariffs on a UK-wide basis.
Ofcom’s December 2023 Pricing Trends report does not break down data on the number of households that take up a broadband or mobile social tariff by nation or region.
As social tariffs are commercial products, detailed information on the regional or geographical take-up could be commercially and market sensitive.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2024 to Question 14701 on Broadband: Social Tariffs, if she will provide a breakdown of the households on a social tariff by (a) region and (b) nation.
Answered by Julia Lopez
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not hold information regarding the take-up of social tariff by region and nation.
Social tariffs are low-cost, commercial products offered by telecommunications providers on a voluntary basis, as such information regarding the geographical take-up of services would be commercially and market sensitive.
Ofcom, the independent regulator of telecoms services, has a legal duty to monitor the affordability of telecommunications services and regularly publishes data on awareness and take-up of social tariffs on a UK-wide basis.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that providers of broadband social tariffs apply the same (a) discount levels and (b) eligibility criteria to those tariffs.
Answered by Julia Lopez
The Government recognises that this is a difficult time for households across the country who are struggling with their bills due to the rise in the cost of living.
Social tariffs are offered on a voluntary basis by 27 telecommunications providers and are available in 99% of the UK for the around 5 million eligible households on Universal Credit as well as other means-tested benefits. The design of broadband and mobile social tariffs, including pricing, speeds, and eligibility, are decided by individual operators, and this has resulted in a good range of offers for people to choose from.
The Government does not currently have plans to intervene in the telecommunications market to prescribe the make-up of social tariffs. We recognise that low-income households need help with their bills now and any legislative proposal will take time to design and deliver and may cause operators to withdraw their existing social offers. In December 2023, Ofcom’s Pricing Trends report showed 380,000 households were taking up a social tariff. This is an increase of almost 160% since their September 2022 report. We continue to work closely with Ofcom to monitor market provision and stand ready to act if necessary.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what data his Department holds on a potential correlation between properties being off the gas grid and having poor access to broadband.
Answered by Julia Lopez
Across Great Britain in 2021, an estimated 15 percent of domestic properties were not connected to the gas grid. This equates to around 4,393,000 properties. The devolved administrations have a higher percentage of properties not connected to the gas grid as in Scotland and Wales it is 19% each, compared to 15% in England.
Ofcom Connected Nations 2022 states that around 80,000 premises (0.3%) in the UK do not have access to a decent broadband service via either a fixed or wireless network. This figure continues to decrease year on year (down from 123,000 the previous year). The devolved administrations have a higher percentage of premises eligible for the broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) as in Scotland and Wales 0.7% of premises are eligible, compared to 0.15% in England.
While the Department does not have data to show whether properties that are not connected to the gas grid are the same as those eligible for the broadband USO, we know that Scotland and Wales are disproportionately affected in both cases.