Political Monitor 10/07/2020

10 July 2020

Broadband

DCMS Oral Questions

On Thursday, Marion Fellows MP (SNP) asked what steps the Government was taking to ensure the effective delivery of broadband services. Digital Infrastructure Minister Matt Warman MP noted the £5billion investment provided for broadband and stated that further barriers to roll-out would be removed. Fellows argued that reliable broadband internet was more important than before the outbreak of coronavirus and asked for increasing funding for this in Scotland. Responding, Warman outlined the millions of pounds already invested in Scotland in this area.

John Nicolson MP (SNP) said he was concerned that the Government had gone silent on the 2025 gigabit broadband rollout target. He asked if 2025 was still the target. Warman said the Government had been clear that they would go as fast as they could and that this was an immensely challenging target. Kate Griffiths MP (Con) asked what progress DCMS has made on the roll-out of the Rural Gigabit Connectivity programme. Warman said progress had been “excellent” with 200 more schools than planned serviced.

Parliamentary Question on higher speed broadband.

Lord Stevenson (Lab) asked the Government how many individuals have enquired about the availability of higher speed broadband under the Universal Service Obligation launched on 20 March. Baroness Barran, DCMS Minister, responded that performance monitoring of the Universal Service Obligation is the responsibility of Ofcom. Barran continued that  BT and KCOM will be required to report at least every six months on the number of USO requests received, the number of requests accepted, the number of Confirmed Orders received that involved a customer agreeing to pay excess costs and the number of requests rejected by the Universal Service Provider including an explanation of the reason why. Therefore, an update on this can be expected around September.

Ofcom reports on monitoring compliance with the EU Net Neutrality regulation
Ofcom has published its report into Monitoring compliance with the EU Open Internet Regulation. The report covers the year ending April 2020. Some key points include:

Cyber Security

Huawei and CPs give evidence to Science and Technology committee

Yesterday, the Science and Technology Committee heard evidence as part of its inquiry into UK telecommunications infrastructure and the UK’s domestic capability. Witnesses spoke on behalf of Huawei, Vodafone, BT and Samsung. Some key points included:

Parliamentary Question on Huawei

Bob Seely MP (Con) asked Nigel Adams, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister, how the Government were still considering Huawei considering its connection with the Xinjiang Public Security Department. Adams replied that there are credible reports of Huawei providing IT and high-tech technology with security forces in Xinjiang. On its participating in the UK’s 5G network, Adams assured that the Government was aware of and considering the full range of risks in the run up to the decision on whether to use high-risk vendors in the UK telecoms network.

Data Protection

Investigatory Powers Commissioner to oversee UK-US Data Access Agreement

The Home Office has announced that the Investigatory Powers Commissioner (IPC), Sir Brian Leveson, will be responsible for providing independent oversight of the UK’s use of the new UK-US Data Access Agreement when it comes into use later this year. This will allow UK public authorities such as law enforcement, to request electronic data directly from US telecommunications operators through a court-approved order or a warrant, speeding up investigations and the prosecution of serious criminals. As part of the agreement, both the UK and the US are required to ensure that the agencies which use the agreement maintain high standards of data protection and privacy safeguards.

Online Safety

Oral Parliamentary Question on Online Harms

During oral questions to the Leader of the House, Stephen Doughty MP (Lab) referenced delays to the online harms Bill. Doughty said the Bill was of great importance as many extreme right-wing organisations that have antisemitic, racist, Islamophobic and homophobic ideology are organising, recruiting and grooming new followers online. Doughty concluded by asking what the Government’s plans were to bring the Bill forward. Leader of the House, Jacob Rees Mogg MP replied that the absence of the online harms Bill does not remove the responsibility from the providers of services to ensure that they are run and provided properly.