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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference the Written Statement of 30 November 2020, HCWS610 on Telecoms Update, how much and what proportion of the £250 million initial investment for telecoms diversification has been spent.

The Government recognises that there is a need to work at pace to make early progress on 5G market diversification. As a first step towards delivering our long-term vision, we have committed an initial investment of up to £250 million, to kick off work to deliver key priorities.These priorities include: the establishment of a world-class UK Telecoms Lab; investing in a R&D ecosystem; and seeking to lead a global coalition of like-minded partners to mount a coordinated international approach to diversification.

The Government's work in this area has been informed by the Telecoms Diversification Taskforce report, which is now available for you to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/telecoms-diversification-taskforce-findings-and-report

We will respond to the Taskforce’s findings, and outline our next steps on diversification in the summer. This will include outlining how we will use the initial investment, of up to £250 million, to deliver our key priorities and maximise benefits across the UK.