Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the concentration of ownership of UK mobile towers among wireless infrastructure providers; and what assessment she has made of the implications of this market structure for competition and mobile coverage.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government continually monitors developments across the mobile market to understand how they may shape investment in comprehensive, high-quality mobile connectivity that is secure and affordable for consumers and business.
On 10 February, the Government published the Mobile Market Review call for evidence, inviting stakeholders to provide detailed evidence on the technological, structural and financial developments across the mobile ecosystem and how they impact investment, competition and consumer outcomes, and on what further actions the Government could take to support these objectives.
The call for evidence closes on 5 May. The Government encourages all relevant stakeholders to engage with the process and provide robust evidence to help inform future policy development.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of 2017 Electronic Communications Code reforms on relationships between telecoms operators and site providers; and whether she has made an estimate of the number of site providers who have declined to renew mast agreements as a result.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government wants Code agreements to be negotiated collaboratively; and the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 made changes to the Code intended to support this.
The Department has not undertaken comprehensive monitoring of the number of active Code agreements following the 2017 reforms.
However, landowners can terminate agreements governed by the Electronic Communications Code for a number of reasons, including if they intend to redevelop the land. Therefore, any data on the number of terminated agreements alone would not be indicative of the effectiveness of the 2017 reforms.
It should also be noted that 4G geographic coverage from all four operators has risen from 40% in 2016 to 81% in 2025 and 5G premises (outdoor) coverage has reached 47% from all four operators in 2025.
The 2022 reforms also introduced a requirement for operators to inform landowners of the availability of alternative dispute resolution and to consider using it before issuing legal proceedings. Section 70 of the Act, which will be implemented in due course, will introduce a new process for the handling of complaints about the conduct of operators under the Electronic Communications Code.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of ownership of UK mobile towers among wireless infrastructure providers; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of that market structure on competition, pricing and mobile coverage.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government continually monitors developments across the market to understand how they may impact investment in comprehensive, high-quality mobile connectivity that is secure and affordable for consumers and business.
On 10 February, the Government published the Mobile Market Review call for evidence, inviting stakeholders to provide detailed evidence on how technological, structural and financial developments across the mobile ecosystem may impact investment, competition and consumer outcomes, and on what further actions Government could take to support these objectives.
The call for evidence closes on 5 May, and the Government encourages all relevant stakeholders to engage with the process to help inform future policy development.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of mileage restrictions applied to Motability scheme vehicles on disabled people and families living in semi‑rural and rural areas, particularly those reliant on their vehicle to travel longer distances to work, education settings and schools, healthcare appointments and other essential services; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that such restrictions do not create geographic inequality for disabled people.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Responsibility for the terms and administration of the Scheme sits with Motability Foundation and its Board of Governors.
The changes to the leasing package were announced on 26 March and include reducing the mileage allowance from 20,000 per year to 10,000 per year. Changes only apply to new leases and there are no changes to the mileage allowance of existing leases. Motability Foundation have advised that approximately 75% of customers on the Scheme already use less miles than the proposed new mileage allowance. They have acknowledged that there will be an impact on some customers and are considering if the impact can be mitigated in some limited circumstances.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to oppose proposed changes submitted to the Police Remuneration Review Body on reducing compensation for cancelled rest days and altering re-roster arrangements for police officers.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) makes recommendations to the Government on the appropriate level of pay and allowances for police officers, including payments for cancelled rest days. The PRRB gathers and invites parties to submit evidence to inform their decisions. The Government will give very careful consideration to any recommendations made by the PRRB.
The Government expects any changes to police pay and conditions to take into account the welfare, morale and retention of officers, alongside the operational needs of policing. We are clear that officer wellbeing must remain a central consideration in any changes.
More widely, this Government remains firmly committed to supporting the wellbeing of police officers and staff through the Police Covenant. This includes ongoing work to ensure that officers have access to appropriate support in key areas such as mental health, physical protection, and support for their families.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposals by the National Police Chiefs’ Council to change compensation arrangements for cancelled police rest days on officer welfare, morale and retention.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) makes recommendations to the Government on the appropriate level of pay and allowances for police officers, including payments for cancelled rest days. The PRRB gathers and invites parties to submit evidence to inform their decisions. The Government will give very careful consideration to any recommendations made by the PRRB.
The Government expects any changes to police pay and conditions to take into account the welfare, morale and retention of officers, alongside the operational needs of policing. We are clear that officer wellbeing must remain a central consideration in any changes.
More widely, this Government remains firmly committed to supporting the wellbeing of police officers and staff through the Police Covenant. This includes ongoing work to ensure that officers have access to appropriate support in key areas such as mental health, physical protection, and support for their families.