Government Efficiency and Reform

Lord Benyon Excerpts

Monday 23rd March 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Maude]

I cannot imagine a greater contribution to that reputation than the hon. Gentleman going on about it all the time. As he above all people ought to know, most people come into this particular form of public service, known as politics, for high reasons and with high motivation, and they do their job in an honourable way. He might just occasionally shrug off that carapace of cynicism and give due credit to the public servants in this House as well as to those outside it.

[Richard Benyon (Newbury) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend can leave the House knowing that he has done an outstanding job in reforming our public services, and it would have been nice to hear a little more humble pie from the hon. Member for Manchester Central (Lucy Powell). On the question of getting better digital coverage across our country, does he agree that the public estate should be made more available for things such as mobile phone masts if we are to have a 21st-century digital economy? What more can be done to encourage the public sector estate to make up for the absence of support from the private sector estate in getting greater digital coverage?

[Mr Maude]

My hon. Friend makes a really good point, and there is much more that we can do. For example, we will make available public sector Government-owned land and buildings for the siting of mobile phone masts, which will be beneficial in lots of ways. It will provide locations for the masts as well as income for the Government. We have now also published the second iteration of our map of the publicly funded digital infrastructure. This includes the many thousands of miles of fibre that have been paid for by the taxpayer but which are massively underused and under-exploited. If that network can be mobilised to support the roll-out of mobile coverage and rural broadband, it could accelerate the programme to which my hon. Friend and I are both deeply committed.