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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Answer of 17 November 2020 to Question 114987, whether local planning authorities that were made competent authorities under EU Directive 2014/61/EC retain that status under EU Directive 2018/1972/EC.

The European Electronic Communications Code Directive updated the EU telecommunications regulatory framework, and was transposed into UK law via the Electronic Communications And Wireless Telegraphy (Amendment) (European Electronic Communications Code And Eu Exit) Regulations 2020.

Whilst the Directive gave member states flexibility to assign certain functions to competent authorities, as under prior EU and domestic law, Ofcom is retained as the designated telecoms national regulatory authority in the UK

Local planning authorities were not made competent authorities through EU Directive 2014/61/EC, as the government was already content that the functions in question relating to planned civil works were already in place. The transposition of the EECC would have no effect on the status of local planning authorities where they are considered competent authorities under EU Directive 2014/61/EC.