Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what progress has been made on revising the Cabinet Siting and Pole Siting Code of Practice.

Under the existing regulations telecommunications operators are responsible for the guidelines governing the deployment of above ground infrastructure. In response to my concerns about the installation of unnecessarily intrusive telecommunications infrastructure, the industry convened a working group to examine the existing Cabinet Siting and Pole Siting Code of Practice, and to issue new guidelines for the deployment of telegraph poles.

Whilst this work is entirely for industry to undertake, I understand that industry trade bodies expect to publish the guidelines this spring and urge them to do so as soon as possible.