Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to support utility companies in (a) removing and (b) recycling redundant copper cables following infrastructure upgrades.

The Government hopes to see as much as possible of the copper network reused for other purposes. For example, the Government welcomes the recent commercial deal between BT Group and a recycling company to repurpose legacy copper cables that are being replaced by its new full fibre network. Copper is a valuable material and the Government expects the network providers to make the best use of it in line with their in-house policies, but does not plan to intervene in this emerging market.