Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure households in (a) Skipton and Ripon constituency and (b) northern England can access reliable smart meter signal.

The Data Communications Company (DCC) is obligated under its licence conditions to provide Wide Area Network (WAN) coverage to at least 99.25% of premises across Great Britain and 99.5% in the ‘North’ region, which includes the Skipton and Ripon constituency.

The DCC is required by licence conditions to assess opportunities to increase the overall level of smart meter Wide Area Network coverage and is examining several options to reach homes not currently able to get coverage as part of its Future Connectivity strategy, which includes consideration of a full range of technical solutions.