Asked by: Kevin Bonavia (Labour - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of mandating internet service providers to charge existing customers the same as new ones.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government continues to work closely with Ofcom, the independent regulator of telecommunications, to ensure customers are empowered to navigate the telecoms market and find the best deals for their needs.
A range of measures have been implemented, for example since 2020 Ofcom has required providers to issue end-of–contract notifications. These alert customers when their contract/discounts are ending, encouraging them to secure better deals.
The Government has no plans to mandate providers to charge new and existing customers the same price, however we will continue to work with Ofcom to monitor the market to ensure that consumers are receiving fair deals.
Asked by: Kevin Bonavia (Labour - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to make government digital services accessible to people in rural areas.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The new digital centre exists to enable Departments to deliver digital public services that work for everyone. GDS guide, monitor and assure all digital public services, incentivising departments to provide support for service users with low digital skills or limited access to the web.
Through Project Gigabit and the Shared Rural Network, we are continuing to deliver broadband and mobile connectivity to hard-to-reach areas with limited or low coverage.