Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to manage the potential impact of the Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 on future trends in litigation on telecommunications infrastructure installation.

The Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 (“the 2022 Act”) introduced specific measures affecting applications to the courts on telecoms matters. These included a requirement for operators to inform landowners of the availability of alternative dispute resolution and to consider using it before issuing legal proceedings. This is intended to reduce costs and litigation.

DSIT is working with counterparts in the Ministry of Justice to understand the impacts of the changes made by the 2022 Act, including measures to transfer the jurisdiction for cases currently dealt with by the county court to the First-tier Tribunal or the Upper Tribunal.