Broadband Universal Service Obligation

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Ian C. Lucas

Thursday 15th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. If everybody is to get equal time, Members should take up to 10 minutes; if they do not do that, other people will get squeezed out. If Members wish to make interventions, they should be short and sweet. I ask the people who are giving way to use up to 10 minutes. Ian Lucas, I know you are nearly ending your speech.

[Ian C. Lucas]

I am very aware of the position in Wrexham, because people contact me every week—every day, on occasion—to complain about a lack of provision. That includes complaints from businesses, and I can and will send the right hon. Gentleman a list of the complaints that I receive. I accept the position, but this is an important matter and I am not inventing these cases; they are cases that come to me.

BT is coming under a lot of pressure, and I have fought hard to get Virgin Media to come to Wrexham to provide competition to BT, which will improve the system. I do not think BT should be excluded in the future. As for the idea of a quick fix, splitting Openreach from BT is not a simple solution. One problem of the broadband market has been that a lot of the companies in the sector have spent far too much time arguing with each other about provision over the past few years. I want to make a constructive proposal for the sector, one based on my experience as a Minister. Regrettably, I am not right hon. because I do not have the right connections at present, but I was a Minister in the Labour Government who created the Automotive Council and, subsequently, the Defence Growth Partnership and the Aerospace Growth Partnership. They were put together to get businesses to work together for the benefit of the UK as a whole, to devise an effective system of businesses in individual sectors working together. I would like to see that in the broadband sector. I would like the Government, in pursuit of a universal service obligation, to construct a communications council, so that businesses work with each other and with Ofcom to devise a proper and appropriate approach to pursuing a universal obligation.

Providing broadband is not only a massive challenge for us, but a massive opportunity; the scale of the job is such that it provides training and skills potential for years to come. This should be a central task for the communications industry, and the Government should be working to ensure that the investment in infrastructure in the years to come leads to a parallel upskilling of our workforce right across the UK. A communications council should be tasked with that, and should take that objective forward.

Universal broadband should have been put in place years ago, and I welcome the fact that the Government have finally concluded that it should be introduced. They need to work with industry to look at the best way forward, and with Ofcom to secure the way forward, and then make sure that the investment made is used to upskill our young people and provide the type of service right across the UK that all businesses need in today’s world.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

Tax Credits

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Ian C. Lucas

Tuesday 20th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Ian C. Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker.

[Mr Deputy Speaker]

I will hear that later.