Tag: broadband

Bishop of St Albans asks about promotion of broadband social tariffs for the elderly

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 13th December 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to increase their promotion of social tariffs in areas of deprivation in the light of the finding that many older people are unaware of social tariffs, particularly in the broadband sector, in the report A constant struggle: The impact of high household costs on older people facing financial hardship, published by Independent Age in September.

Viscount Camrose (Con, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology): The Government has worked closely with internet service providers to ensure provision of social tariffs for those on Universal Credit and other means tested benefits – including Pension Credit.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about digital connectivity in rural areas

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on digital connectivity in rural communities on 22nd November 2023, following a government statement on the levelling-up agenda:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I declare my interests as president of the Rural Coalition and a vice-president of the LGA. The 9.6 million people living in rural areas are glad that there is a mention of rural in the opening paragraph, but we cannot quite see how that rolls out. I wonder whether the Minister can help us a little. One of the crucial things about rural sustainability, improving levels of employment and offering healthcare in rural areas is digital connectivity, yet 17% of rural houses are not on superfast broadband, and nor are 30% of rural commercial premises. How does this relate to the need across the country to roll out a much higher level of rural connectivity? It has been done with a fantastic project in Cornwall and a lot was done in Shropshire at one stage, so it can be done. How do we get that sort of rural levelling up in digital connectivity?

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Bishop of St Albans asks about internet access in rural communities

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 17th April 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay on 9 February (HL4988), what estimate they have made of the number of people relying on Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites for internet access.

Viscount Camrose (Con): Ofcom estimates that as of October 2022, 13,000 customers have opted for a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) broadband service from Starlink. Based on analysis of Starlink’s data, at least some of these customers are based in areas which do not have access to traditional decent broadband services. Premises may also use satellite services in conjunction with other terrestrial services.

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Bishop of Exeter asks about broadband supply to rural and unconnected areas

The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answers on 24th March 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that the 500,000 properties currently unable to access a broadband service running at a minimum of 10Mbps via a fixed line will be able to access broadband.

Viscount Camrose (Con): The Government has set out its plan to deliver Project Gigabit, our £5 billion mission to deliver fast, reliable broadband across the UK, and we are making good progress. Our target is for 85% of UK premises to have access to gigabit-capable broadband by 2025, and over 99% by 2030. This will include some premises currently unable to access more than 10Mbps.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about broadband access in rural areas

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 27th April 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of rural communities’ access to reliable broadband on the fiscal wellbeing of businesses in those areas.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about expansion of broadband coverage

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 2nd February 2021:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government, further to their report Planning for Gigabit Delivery in 2021, published on 22 December 2020, what percentage of (1) “red: large contract procurement areas”, (2) “blue: small procurement areas”, and (3) “grey: forecast build areas”, will be covered by gigabit broadband by 2025.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about access to broadband in rural areas

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 22nd July 2021:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of OpenRAN (1) as part of their gigabit capable broad rollout, (2) in increasing connectivity to rural communities, and (3) in extending connectivity to rural ‘notspots’.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about full fibre broadband rollout

On 11th March 2021, the Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government, further to their revised target to reach a “minimum of 85 per cent gigabit broadband coverage by 2025”, as set out in the National Infrastructure Strategy, published in November 2020, whether they still intend to use an “outside-in approach” to support full-fibre rollout.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about access to broadband in deprived areas

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on enabling access to broadband for young people in deprived areas and the importance of education in light of the coronavirus pandemic on 28th January 2021, during following a government statement on COVID-19:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, the position for young people in school and education is mixed, with some students in poorer areas still not having access to online education and those in remote rural areas with not-spots simply not able to get online. Could the noble Baroness comment on the priority of trying to ensure that we move much more rapidly on the provision of broadband, particularly in those difficult areas? Secondly, we are going to have to do a big catch-up on educational standards and achievements, but it is important, at the same time, to look holistically at the spiritual, emotional and psychological work we are going to have to do with our young people. What plans are being made by Her Majesty’s Government?

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Bishop of St Albans asks about rural broadband rollout

On 16th November 2020 the Bishop of St Albans received a written answer to a question on gigabit-capable rural broadband:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 3 November (HL9493), whether the commitment to provide gigabit-capable broadband nationwide will be rolled out equitably between rural and urban communities. [HL10103] Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about rural broadband rollout”