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Written Question
Broadband: Dwyfor Meirionnydd
Tuesday 13th April 2021

Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department made of the affordability of quoted excess costs for consumers who have requested a universal service connection in Dwyfor Merionnydd since January 2020.

Answered by Matt Warman

The Department is aware that some BT quotations for connection under the Universal Service Obligation (USO) are significantly above the Reasonable Cost Threshold of £3,400 per premise. In September 2020, I wrote to Ofcom’s Chief Executive, Dame Melanie Dawes to outline my concerns with some of the quotes and how BT was aggregating demand from USO eligible premises.

In October 2020, Ofcom opened an investigation into BT’s compliance with its obligations as a Universal Service Provider. In January 2021, Ofcom issued a statement, stating that they had completed their initial information gathering, would be gathering additional evidence and expected to provide an update by the end of March.

Alongside the USO, the government is investing £5 billion to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to the hardest to reach 20% of premises in the UK. The government recognises that the UK has some very remote places - around 0.3% of the country or less than 100,000 premises - that may be too expensive to build a gigabit-capable broadband network to, even with substantial public subsidy. These premises are also likely to be significantly above the USO’s Reasonable Cost Threshold. On 19 March, the government launched a call for evidence to explore the barriers to improving the broadband of these premises and how innovative new technologies could help.


Written Question
Broadband: Voucher Schemes
Tuesday 13th April 2021

Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Welsh Government on the continuation of the top-up to the gigabit broadband voucher scheme in Wales for 2021-22.

Answered by Matt Warman

Building Digital UK has regular discussions with all Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme Top-Up partners, including the Welsh Government, and during the development of the UK Gigabit Voucher these discussions have included options for topping up the new voucher.


Written Question
Cultural Heritage: Tax Allowances
Monday 22nd February 2021

Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits for (a) the heritage sector, (b) the Welsh economy and (c) rural jobs of lifting the cap on Sideways Loss Relief for heritage attractions for the 2020-21 financial year.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The UK’s heritage assets are important to tourism and are internationally admired, but any change in the current Sideways Loss Relief system, such as an increase in the cap to £100,000, must be thoroughly considered and protected against abuse.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has been working hard to support our sectors through this period of uncertainty, including the heritage sector. DCMS will continue to explore this proposal with HMT as we move forward into future fiscal events.


Written Question
Listed Buildings: VAT
Monday 22nd February 2021

Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on cutting VAT on the repair and maintenance of listed buildings.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

My officials are in contact with Her Majesty's Treasury regarding cutting VAT to repairs and maintenance to Listed Buildings. I understand that many in the heritage sector regard the current system as a negative incentive to demolish existing buildings entirely and start again. As with all tax matters, this is something which HMT keeps under regular review. My officials and I will continue to engage with the heritage sector to build a robust evidence base and develop targeted interventions that might benefit listed buildings in this space.


Written Question
Broadband: Dwyfor Meirionnydd
Wednesday 23rd December 2020

Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many broadband cabinets in the constituency of Dwyfor Meirionnydd are not enabled for fibre or their locations.

Answered by Matt Warman

The release of information regarding cabinets is a matter for Openreach due to commercial sensitivity. However, Open Market Review data suggests that in Dwyfor Meirionnydd there are 38,285 properties which can either access superfast broadband speeds or are in plans to receive it within the next two years. These may be commercial or public sector plans. There are 4,439 properties which both cannot receive superfast broadband speeds and are not in any plans to receive it. Although not a devolved matter, this specific data is captured by Welsh Government and can be found at https://gov.wales/next-generation-access-broadband-2019.

For queries about coverage, please refer to Ofcom Connected Nations data. Ofcom published the Connected Nations 2020 data on 17 December, which includes a table of data aggregated to parliamentary constituency level - Dwyfor Meirionnydd: 82.9% of premises have at least Superfast, of which 16.4% have full fibre. Constituency data is available from the HoC library, that does some constituency level aggregations: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/constituency-data-broadband-coverage-and-speeds/

We would also draw your attention to this web site. Whilst the “official data” is the Ofcom Connected Nations report, the ThinkBroadband data tends to be slightly more up to date and is easier to search at National or Constituency level.https://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/W07000061

It also has a useful map facility so you can see geographical information about speeds and not-spots in your area. We have centered this map over your constituency and turned on the layers for BT Openreach connectivity https://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/broadband-map#10/52.8152/-3.9970/openreach/adsl/geafttp/virgin/gfast/


Written Question
Broadband: Wales
Wednesday 23rd December 2020

Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many broadband cabinets in Wales are not enabled for fibre or their locations.

Answered by Matt Warman

Around 95% of properties in Wales can receive a superfast broadband service. The UK and Welsh Governments have invested over £200 million of public funding to roll out fast, reliable broadband to around 733,000 properties under the Superfast Cymru programme. This included funding from UK Government, Welsh Government, and the EU. There are now around 79,000 properties in Wales which cannot currently access superfast broadband speeds and are not in any commercial or public sector plans to receive it. Although not a devolved matter, this specific data is captured by Welsh

Government and can be found at https://gov.wales/next-generation-access-broadband-2019.

For queries about coverage, please refer to Ofcom Connected Nations data. Constituency data is available from the HoC library, that does some constituency level aggregations: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/constituency-data-broadband-coverage-and-speeds/

We would also draw your attention to this web site. Whilst the “official data” is the Ofcom Connected Nations report, the ThinkBroadband data tends to be slightly more up to date and is easier to search. https://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/wales


Written Question
Independent Press Standards Organisation
Monday 14th December 2020

Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether IPSO has met the 38 recommendations set out in the Leveson Inquiry report 2012.

Answered by John Whittingdale

The media landscape has changed significantly since the Leveson Inquiry, and with it, the system of press self-regulation. We now have a stronger system through The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO).

The government is committed to independent self regulation of the press, and does not intervene in or oversee the work of IPSO.

In 2016 IPSO commissioned its own external review which found it had made some important achievements in demonstrating it was an independent and effective regulator, and that it was largely compliant with the recommendations of the Leveson Report.


Written Question
Independent Press Standards Organisation
Monday 14th December 2020

Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)

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 IPSO’s procedures for processing complaints from individuals affected by press abuse.

Answered by John Whittingdale

The media landscape has changed significantly since the Leveson Inquiry, and with it, the system of press self-regulation. We now have a stronger system through The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO).

The government is committed to independent self regulation of the press, and does not intervene in or oversee the work of IPSO.

In 2016 IPSO commissioned its own external review which found it had made some important achievements in demonstrating it was an independent and effective regulator, and that it was largely compliant with the recommendations of the Leveson Report.


Written Question
Football Association of Wales: Finance
Monday 2nd November 2020

Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department has had with (a) the Welsh Government and (b) the Welsh Football Association on providing additional funding for the Welsh Football Association.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Although sport is a devolved matter, the Government continues to liaise closely with its counterparts in the Welsh Government.

As part of a promotional deal with the Football Association (FA), the National Lottery has provided a total of £10m in funding for the 66 clubs in the National Football League. This is a promotional deal led by the National Lottery and the Football Association. The National League is responsible for distributing funds and determining how and when the clubs receive this funding.

The National Lottery is now working with the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland FAs to explore similar initiatives.


Written Question
Mass Media: Coronavirus
Tuesday 16th June 2020

Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support package he plans to provide to (a) newspapers and (b) media outlets more widely in response to the covid-19 outbreak, and whether conditions will be attached to that funding.

Answered by John Whittingdale

Media outlets across the UK are facing existential pressures due to the impacts of Covid-19. The government remains in regular dialogue with stakeholders across the media sectors regarding ways in which this can be mitigated, in addition to the unprecedented package of nationwide support announced by the Chancellor.

In terms of newspapers in particular, the government has provided specific support to publishers during the crisis. The government has clarified that all journalists, including broadcast journalists, and other ancillary staff, are ‘key workers’ for the purposes of access to childcare and educational places. The government also issued guidance to local authorities on the importance of newspaper delivery, which has been critical to the continued dissemination of public interest news.

The government has also sought to maximise newspapers’ advertising opportunities by implementing a public information campaign to ensure the distribution of authoritative, up-to-date information about Covid-19, while also alleviating publishers’ financial pressures. The current partnership brings together over 600 titles across the UK, the vast majority of which are local papers. As with any media planning approach, titles are selected on their ability to engage with audiences at a national, regional and local level and to ensure value for money, reach and targeting efficacy.

For online media outlets, the government has taken steps to ensure the use of ‘keyword blocklisting’ technology is not inadvertently damaging any news publishers’ online advertising revenues for Covid-19 related stories. Additionally, the Chancellor brought forward the commencement of zero-rating of VAT on all e-newspapers in order to bring savings to readers and support digital publishing.

The department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is in regular dialogue with stakeholders about ensuring the support offered is as effective and fair as it can be. Ministers are engaging with broadcasters (both TV and radio) and news publishers on a regular basis to understand the impacts of Covid-19 on their day to day operations, and how the government can support them. The government will continue to consider all possible options in the interests of promoting and sustaining high-quality news journalism.