Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Vaizey of Didcot Excerpts

Thursday 22nd March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Nokes (Romsey and Southampton North) (Con)]

13. What progress he has made on his plans to extend superfast broadband to rural areas.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

May I apologise for the Secretary of State’s absence from questions today and thank you, Mr Speaker, for giving him leave of absence? The whole House will be aware of the happy reasons for that absence.

We anticipate that the broadband delivery framework contract will be signed with suppliers in mid-April, and we expect the first three projects to enter procurement using the framework immediately after. We have set a target for all broadband procurement to be completed by the end of 2012, so that delivery can be completed by 2015.

[Julian Smith]

I thank the Minister for that answer. Rural north Yorkshire is already benefiting from the Government’s investment in broadband, and after yesterday’s Budget cities will, too, but at higher speeds. How do we avoid a continued digital divide between rural and urban areas, but at higher speeds?

[Mr Vaizey]

My hon. Friend has been a doughty champion of his part of the world in securing superfast broadband. All the country will benefit from superfast broadband, but it is quite right that we continue to invest in higher speeds, particularly for cities, to maintain our global competitiveness.

[Karen Lumley]

Will the Minister congratulate Worcestershire county council, which has set aside £8.5 million in these difficult times to secure superfast broadband? In Redditch we have a £300,000 project to enable residents to stay at home and work instead of travelling into cities. What can the Government do in these times to help local authorities further?

[Mr Vaizey]

We continue to invest a substantial amount in broadband roll-out, and I am happy to join my hon. Friend in congratulating Worcestershire county council on investing alongside the Government. It is a great testament to the scheme that we have put in place that we have secured private funding and local government funding alongside central Government funding.

[Caroline Nokes]

What progress has been made to overcome the issues of state aid in unlocking the rural broadband fund, which will help in counties such as Hampshire?

[Mr Vaizey]

We have applied for a UK-wide scheme for state aid approval. We believe that we are close to approval, and we continue to work closely with the European Commission on the issue.

[Stephen Timms (East Ham) (Lab)]

The cumbersome and expensive Broadband Delivery UK process appears almost to have eliminated competition, which ought to have had a very important role in it. Ministers made a big strategic error in supporting superfast broadband at county level, rather than regionally. Does the Minister recognise that it will be a scandal if the outcome of the process is that, in the end, all the money is just handed over to BT?

[Mr Vaizey]

I am surprised that the right hon. Gentleman, as a former telecoms Minister, does not understand that, if we had had a national or a regional scheme, competition would have been even harder to secure. As it is, three major competitors remain in play in terms of broadband roll-out.

[Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central) (Lab)]

How, in rolling out broadband, will we ensure that the people who undertake installation in different regions—rural areas as well as urban—do not simply move from London and then take their skills back to London, and that a skill repository is left among the work force where broadband is installed?

[Mr Vaizey]

I cannot guarantee that the engineers who lay broadband will stay in the areas in which they work, but the key point about broadband roll-out is to ensure that all parts of the country benefit from the infrastructure so that we can base companies with high skills all over the country.

[Helen Goodman (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)]

Yesterday the Chancellor of the Exchequer found extra money to extend superfast broadband to small cities, but, as the hon. Member for Skipton and Ripon (Julian Smith) said, the real digital divide today is between those with broadband and those without. Peter Cochrane, former chief technical officer at BT, giving evidence in the other place, described access as “a fundamental human right”. Two million people, mainly in rural areas, are still without broadband, and Labour pledged to guarantee 2 megabits to almost every household by 2012, but this Government will not achieve that until after 2015. Why are Ministers so unfair in their treatment of rural Britain?

[Mr Vaizey]

I certainly reject the accusation that we have been unfair on rural Britain, and my glass, unlike the hon. Lady’s, is half full not half empty. I look forward to going on a tour with her to Belfast, Cardiff, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester and so on and telling people that they are getting unfair treatment from the Government because we are investing in their broadband networks.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

Rural Britain, in the shape of the small town of Bradford on Avon in my constituency, welcomed the news this week that it is to have superfast broadband with the conversion of its exchange. [Interruption.] In the Budget yesterday the Government announced pilots, including one in Wiltshire, for rural growth networks to address the barriers to economic recovery. Will funding from those networks be available to increase the roll-out of superfast broadband in rural areas?

[Mr Vaizey]

I did not hear the entire question because of the continued carping from the Opposition at our support for our major and smaller cities. I will happily work with the hon. Gentleman to ensure that all broadband funding is used as effectively as possible in his area.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

2. What progress he has made in improving access to superfast broadband.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

We have now approved the local broadband plans for Durham, Warwickshire, Northumberland and Staffordshire project areas, which means that 24 of the 45 plans received by the 29 February deadline have been approved; that is more than half. All submitted plans, including Greater Manchester’s, will be approved by the end of April 2012.

We anticipate that the contract for the broadband delivery framework will be signed with suppliers in mid-April and expect the first three projects to enter procurement using the framework immediately following the contract’s being signed. We have set a target for all broadband procurements to be completed by the end of 2012.

[Mr Nuttall]

Will there be any scope for transferring funds from the moneys announced for Greater Manchester —the city region—to fill in the gaps in rural broadband?

[Mr Vaizey]

I will happily discuss that issue with my hon. Friend. I take his point—unlike the Opposition, he welcomes the investment in Greater Manchester.

[Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries and Galloway) (Lab)]

The announcement last August also indicated a figure of almost £70 million to be used in Scotland. What contact, if any, does the Minister have with the Scottish Government about how services are being developed north of the border?

[Mr Vaizey]

I have regular contact with the Scottish Government, who have welcomed the funding and are putting in their own funding to support broadband roll-out in Scotland.

[Jake Berry (Rossendale and Darwen) (Con)]

It was once said that the entire empire hung by Lancashire’s thread. Will the Minister join me in congratulating Lancashire county council on prioritising superfast broadband? The entire county now hangs from its fibre optic cable.

[Mr Vaizey]

I am happy to join my hon. Friend in congratulating Lancashire on its superfast broadband. It is a very innovative and go-ahead authority, which has also been particularly pioneering in libraries.

[Jim Sheridan (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (Lab)]

3. What assessment he has made of the potential effects on local newspapers of the closure of the Press Complaints Commission.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

The Leveson inquiry was established by the Government last July and will make recommendations to my Department about reform for the system of press regulation. The closure of the Press Complaints Commission is a matter for the industry, but the new structure will apply to all newspapers, local or national.

[Jim Sheridan]

My local press are watching with interest to see what replaces the PCC. What measures are in place to defend or protect the general public when taking redress against, mainly, the national newspapers? Will the Minister share with the House how many meetings, if any, his Department has had with national newspaper editors or proprietors?

[Mr Vaizey]

I do not have the details of meetings with national editors, but I am happy to share them with the hon. Gentleman by way of a letter. The Press Complaints Commission mediation procedures will continue during the transit to a new arrangement.

[Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)]

I draw Members’ attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. The Press Complaints Commission is engaging in a pretty ludicrous example of shenanigans at the moment; it is trying to bounce Leveson into some new plan that it is trying to put forward. Will the Minister make it absolutely clear that the only thing that the Government are interested in is what Leveson comes up with—not some shoddy deal struck by the editors?

[Mr Vaizey]

I am not sure that the hon. Gentleman is being entirely fair. My understanding is that although the final answer lies absolutely with Lord Leveson’s inquiry, Lord Leveson has made it clear that he wants the press to begin to make moves to get their house in order while he considers all the evidence.

[Ms Harriet Harman (Camberwell and Peckham) (Lab)]

The harrowing evidence at the Leveson inquiry from victims of phone hacking and other abuse by the press means that we all want a new press complaints system, which must be independent of politicians and editors and able to enforce its rulings on all newspapers. Does the Minister recognise that the proposals being put forward by Lord Hunt, chair of the Press Complaints Commission, fail to meet either of those tests? Until they do, they will amount to nothing more than a change of name and business as usual. That will simply not be acceptable.

[Mr Vaizey]

Lord Hunt has put forward his proposals and I urge the right hon. and learned Lady to work with him if she thinks that they are not adequate.

[Lindsay Roy (Glenrothes) (Lab)]

4. What consideration he has given to the response from the Football Association, Premier League and Football League to the Government’s response to the report from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on football governance; and if he will make a statement.

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[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

9. What support his Department is providing to the creative industries.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

We have introduced the Creative Industries Council and maintained existing direct support for film through the national lottery and film tax relief. Building on this success, I am sure that the whole House will welcome yesterday’s announcement by the Chancellor of the introduction of similar tax reliefs for the video games, animation and high-end TV production sectors. The UK has some of the world’s most successful creative industries, and yesterday’s Budget will ensure that they can continue to grow and support jobs up and down the country. [Interruption.] The hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) is almost as loud as his tie.

[Alun Cairns]

I am grateful to the Minister for his answer and welcome yesterday’s statement by the Chancellor in support of the creative industries. The advertising industry is one of the most creative and innovative in the UK economy, and it is worth £7.8 billion. Does the Minister accept, though, that constant threats of regulation and red tape can stymie that innovation and creativity, and that the pendulum might have swung too far and there could well be a need for a review of some of the regulations?

[Mr Vaizey]

I never lose an opportunity to praise the advertising industry in the UK, which is one of the most successful, or its regulatory system under the Advertising Standards Authority.

[Mary Macleod]

I welcome yesterday’s announcement from the Chancellor about games tax relief. Does my hon. Friend agree that it will benefit companies such as Sega in my constituency, establish the UK as a world-leading games maker, and stop the brain drain of talented games developers to overseas?

[Mr Vaizey]

I never lose an opportunity, when I drive over the flyover, to look at the huge headquarters of Sega in my hon. Friend’s constituency. Not only will that proposal stop the brain drain; it will create a brain import scheme.

[James Morris]

Birmingham and the black country have a very creative software and hardware development industry, but it often finds it difficult to recruit the skilled people it requires from the region. What support can the Minister give to local centres of excellence, such as the Aston and Wolverhampton science parks?

[Mr Vaizey]

We continue to focus on skills. The higher apprenticeships scheme will help to provide talent for the UK’s IT industry. May I take this opportunity to praise Ian Livingstone and Alex Hope for their “Next Gen.” report, which has led to a revolution in the computer science curriculum in schools?

[Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab)]

I welcome the Government’s U-turn on support for the creative industries, but I note that there is less talk today about this being a “Downton Abbey” Budget. I wonder why that is. Will the Minister explain the exact difference between the support that he has announced for the video games industry and the support that the Labour Government introduced two years ago, which his Government scrapped in their first Budget?

[Mr Vaizey]

The difference is that the new support includes help for television drama and animation. Fundamentally, the difference is between the ambition of the Government and the poverty of ambition of the Opposition.

[Pete Wishart (Perth and North Perthshire) (SNP)]

The Minister will know that the Hargreaves review of intellectual property and the Intellectual Property Office consultation continue to exercise and concern our creative industries. Does he believe that having the maximum number of exceptions to copyright helps or hinders our creative industries? Will he come and give evidence to the inquiry of the all-party parliamentary intellectual property group in the next few weeks?

[Mr Vaizey]

The hon. Gentleman has been a doughty champion for rights holders and the protection of intellectual property. As he knows, I ensure that rights holders’ views are expressed regularly during the Hargreaves consultation. I have not yet received an invitation to give evidence to the all-party parliamentary group, but I look forward to receiving it.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

The Government want philanthropy and corporate giving to replace public subsidy for the arts. However, the excellent Nottingham Playhouse tells me that sponsorship and donations are falling due to the flatlining economy. Does this funding black hole not threaten the future of our regional theatres?

[Mr Vaizey]

The hon. Lady is quite wrong. We do not want philanthropy to replace Government support for the arts; we want there to be a partnership between philanthropy and Government support for the arts, which is extraordinarily generous.

[Stephen Williams (Bristol West) (LD)]

Hundreds of my constituents who work for Aardman Animations, Europe’s largest animation company, were delighted by the reference to Wallace and Gromit in yesterday’s Budget. Does my hon. Friend agree that the extension of film tax credits to the TV and animation industries is important not only for maintaining British talent and ingenuity in Bristol and other places in our country, but so that children grow up watching programmes that are made in Britain and sound as though they are made in Britain?

[Mr Vaizey]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I was privileged to visit Aardman’s headquarters. I gather that it has just held the premiere of “The Pirates!”, its new film. Those in the House with young children may want to go and see it. He is right that the proposal is about keeping talent in this country.

[John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

7. Whether he plans to submit evidence to the Leveson inquiry on culture, practice and ethics of the press.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

Following a request from the inquiry, the Secretary of State will submit evidence as part of the elegantly named “module 3”, which is considering the relationship between the press and politicians. In addition, my Department is working constructively with the Leveson inquiry by providing background information where possible.

[John Cryer]

In that evidence, will the Minister at least say that the replacement for the Press Complaints Commission should be politically independent and independent of what used to be Fleet street?

[Mr Vaizey]

As is well known, the desire is to see independent self-regulation that is independent of the press and independent of the Government.

[Brandon Lewis (Great Yarmouth) (Con)]

11. What economic legacy his Department expects to result from the London 2012 Olympics.

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[Elizabeth Truss (South West Norfolk) (Con)]

12. What steps he is taking to promote the digital economy.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

My Department is delivering a number of programmes and initiatives that will support growth and innovation across the digital economy and the economy more generally. We are investing up to £830 million in digital communications infrastructure by 2015 and working with Ofcom to deliver the 4G spectrum auction this year, and we will shortly publish a Green Paper setting out proposals for a regulatory framework for the communications and media sectors aimed at providing a thriving environment for growth and innovation in the UK.

[Elizabeth Truss]

I was delighted to read earlier this week that Britain leads the world in e-commerce, with 10% of all business taking place online. However, I am concerned about getting more young people involved in the industry, given that the number of people studying computer science is lower now than it was a decade ago and the proportion of women doing computer science has gone down to only 14%. What are we going to do to get more young people involved in the industry?

[Mr Vaizey]

I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. As she is probably aware, e-Skills, the sector skills council, had a specific computing for girls scheme to encourage girls at school to study computing, but the Secretary of State for Education’s important speech on revolutionising the computer science curriculum in January shows that this Government are committed to ensuring that more people study computer science. We are working with industry to ensure that more children choose that option.

[Ian Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

Why is superfast broadband being delivered in Morocco by 2013 and in Britain by 2015?

[Mr Vaizey]

Because Britain is bigger. [Laughter.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am sure that that is an immensely amusing and informative reply and we are grateful, but the House will want to hear Mr Weatherley.

[Mike Weatherley (Hove) (Con)]

Will the Minister welcome with me and the digital economy in Hove the news yesterday that Hove will be included in the next round of superfast broadband bids?

[Mr Vaizey]

May I say, if you will indulge me, Mr Speaker, that I find it odd that Opposition Members have such distaste for Morocco? What is wrong with Morocco getting superfast broadband? Why is that seen as some kind of weird phenomenon? [Interruption.] Perhaps I am channelling my inner Boris.

May I congratulate my hon. Friend on how well he has campaigned for superfast broadband in his part of the world in Brighton and Hove? We will ensure that we work with him to ensure that the generous Government funding that is available supports his constituents.

[Dame Joan Ruddock (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

16. What information the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games has provided to his Department on ticketing arrangements for the London 2012 Olympics.

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[Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab)]

Given the recent presentation by the WI of a 70,000-signature petition against library closures, demonstrating the strength of public support, and with no vision, no strategy and no urgency from a Minister who is fast becoming the Dr Beeching of libraries, does he share my view that he has a responsibility to act as a champion for libraries across government? If so, how would he assess his performance to date?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

The trouble is that the hon. Gentleman has no view. When I was in opposition I gave my view on Wirral. What is his view on Labour-controlled Brent closing libraries? Has he got a view? When he gets a view, he can start talking about libraries.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

T4. All local authorities in England, bar one, and certainly the Conservative local authority in Wales, publish details of invoices in excess of £500. I raised the matter with the BBC as I believe it should do the same, and Mark Thompson rejected the idea on the basis of the benefits of confidentiality and competitive tension. Does the Minister agree that it is time that the BBC followed the example set by others?

[Mr Vaizey]

My view is that the BBC is quite rightly independent from Government, but my hon. Friend may wish to take that point up with Mr Thompson’s successor who should be appointed some time later this year.

[Caroline Lucas (Brighton, Pavilion) (Green)]

T5. The Minister will not be surprised that I am delighted that a cross-party campaign has resulted in the announcement of £50 million for a competition for small cities, such as Brighton and Hove, for ultra-fast broadband. When will we get the bid information and what timetable does the Minister have in mind for the competition? So that we might welcome him for the second time and the Secretary of State for the first time to see first hand what Brighton and Hove’s digital cluster is already achieving, will they accept an invitation to come to Brighton’s digital festival in September?

[Mr Vaizey]

We will publish our consultation on this issue as soon as possible, and that will detail the chronology for awarding the £50 million. I am so pleased that the hon. Lady welcomes this funding, unlike the Opposition, who continue to carp about it. Of course I will come to Brighton, for the second time, for this wonderful digital festival.

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

T6. In north-west England, we have BBC Radio Merseyside, BBC Radio Manchester and BBC Radio Lancashire, but no BBC Radio Cheshire—it is an outrage. Furthermore, the community station, Cheshire FM, has recently closed down. What are the Government doing to encourage local stations and other local media to flourish and succeed?

[Mr Vaizey]

I could be here for hours talking about the success of local television, community radio, BBC local radio and commercial radio, but I will address the specific point about BBC Cheshire. The BBC is independent of Government and my hon. Friend may wish to take the matter up with the successor director-general when they are appointed later this year.

[Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)]

T3. I am sure that by now the Minister has seen the recent “Dispatches” programme “The Great Ticket Scandal”. If he and, in particular, the Secretary of State have not, they can have my DVD copy. It makes for good watching and I recommend that he watch it. As he knows, the programme provides the most damning proof yet that consumers are being ripped off—or at least priced out of cultural events —on an industrial scale. Will he now please commit to examining the secondary market again with a view to ensuring that we put fans first?

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[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

T7. Last year, Arts Council funding was cut by £71 million, local authority funding was slashed and investment in the arts by private business fell by almost £10 million. Would the Minister like to have another go at providing a credible answer to Nottingham arts organisations about how to fill the funding gap that his Government have created?

[Mr Vaizey]

Overall funding for the Arts Council will be reduced by less than 5% because we have given it back the lottery money that the Labour party robbed from it to pay for the Olympics. The answer for Nottingham Playhouse is to have an MP who champions its work and talks it up, not down.

[Simon Kirby (Brighton, Kemptown) (Con)]

Would the Minister be surprised if I joined other Brighton Members in saying that Brighton and Hove would be an excellent place for ultra-fast broadband and that we look forward to bidding as soon as possible?

[Mr Vaizey]

Indeed, and I again congratulate the work of all the Brighton MPs, but particularly my hon. Friend the Member for Hove (Mike Weatherley), on their campaigning skills.

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)]

In Manchester, as in Morocco, a digital economy requires a digital infrastructure, but more than 2 million people are excluded from that because they live in rural areas. Will the Minister reassure the House that he recognises the importance of geography by reinstating Labour’s universal broadband pledge?

[Mr Vaizey]

The hon. Lady mentioned Morocco. It is an interesting fact that Morocco has less than half the population of the United Kingdom.

[Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)]

Now that BT has lost its challenge to the Digital Economy Act 2010, when will the Government publish the initial obligations code and statutory instrument?

[Mr Vaizey]

We will publish it as soon as possible.

[Mr David Lammy (Tottenham) (Lab)]

There has been lots of bombast this morning, but does the Minister appreciate that for working-class children, two to three libraries closing a week, the withdrawal of arts education in our schools and a £71 million cut to the Arts Council are significant? Does he understand the intrinsic value of the arts to young people in this country?

[Mr Vaizey]

Okay, the right hon. Gentleman has thrown down the gauntlet. Let me tell him a few facts. First, two or three libraries are not closing. Fewer than 100 libraries have “closed”, and many of those have been transferred to communities. More than 40 libraries are opening, but Labour does not talk about that. We have just published our cultural education plan, the first such plan this country has ever had. Overall arts funding will be reduced by less than 4% over the next four years, so the right hon. Gentleman should stop talking down what is happening in the arts and talk about the huge success we are having.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

The parents of young people suffering from eating disorders are often distressed to find a hoard of press and magazine articles with graphic images and details of low weights and tiny amounts of food eaten, which have been used as inspiration. The media are rightly very careful when reporting on suicide. In a similar way, will the Minister urge media outlets to take cognisance of the media guidelines created by the eating disorder charity B-eat, to avoid the sensationalism of this illness, which can be very damaging?

[Mr Vaizey]

My hon. Friend has campaigned vigorously on this important issue. Magazine editors take their responsibilities extremely seriously, but I would be happy to meet her to discuss her campaign and also to work with her to engage with magazine editors.

[Stephen Timms (East Ham) (Lab)]

The Minister said that competition is still in play for superfast broadband procurement, but as he knows, many of the projects have only one bidder, BT. As far as I know, only one other bidder in the whole country is still in the frame for those projects. Will he confirm that, and say why he thinks the exercise has been so unsuccessful in engaging the degree of competition that we would all have wanted?

[Mr Vaizey]

We engaged a great many companies, but we cannot invent competition. However, at least three organisations are still involved in the bidding, and I firmly believe that the way we went about it—ensuring that local government had a say and that the contracts were awarded across local government areas, rather than regionally or nationally—promoted competition and offered up the opportunity for community broadband providers, for example.

[Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)]

How many jobs does the Minister expect to be created or lost in the gambling industry as a result of the changes in the Budget, how many online betting businesses that are currently offshore will come back onshore, and how many jobs will come back with them?