Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 26719 on Broadband: Telford, what steps her Department is taking to help (a) expand consumer choice and (b) reduce the cost of 5G services in Telford.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has created a pro-competition regulatory framework that has allowed more than a hundred alternative networks to enter the fixed broadband market since 2018. This has led to the fast roll-out of fibre across the UK and more choice for consumers. We continue to support a pro-competition environment for the sector, as set out in our draft Statement of Strategic Priorities for telecommunications, the management of radio spectrum, and postal services, published in July.
The mobile market is highly competitive with three wholesale providers and over 100 retail providers. The Government has no role in setting prices in the mobile market. The average cost per gigabit of data in the UK decreased 8% in real terms between 2023 and 2024.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the timetable is for the (a) introduction of 5G and (b) the rollout of fibre broadband in Telford constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government wants all areas of the UK, including Telford constituency, to benefit from good quality mobile coverage. Our ambition is for all populated areas to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030.
5G is already available in the Telford constituency. I have raised my concerns about the reporting of mobile connectivity with Ofcom, but according to Ofcom’s Connected Nations report (published on 5 December 2024) 5G is available from at least one operator outside 99% of all premises in the Telford constituency.
In the Telford constituency, over 99% of premises can access superfast broadband speeds (>=30 Mbps) and over 87% have access to gigabit-capable broadband coverage (>1000 Mbps). There is high existing gigabit coverage and commercial plans in the area. Therefore, this constituency is not expected to see significant benefits from Project Gigabit.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the average length of paternity leave taken by staff in his Department was in each of the last three years.
Answered by Feryal Clark
Our records show that between 2021 and October 2024, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) employee’s have taken 160 days paternity leave for the birth or adoption of a child.
The average working days taken per colleague (AWDT) is shown in the table below.
Year | AWDT |
2021 | - |
2022 | - |
2023 (Feb 2023* to Dec 2023) | 10 |
2024 (Jan 2024 to Oct 2024) | 12.9 |
*The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) was established in February 2023. Data before this time is unavailable.