Political Monitor 21/05/2021

21 May 2021

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Broadband

 

DCMS questions on rural broadband roll out and digital infrastructure

Conservative MPs questioned DCMS Minister Matt Warman over the progress of gigabit broadband roll and the steps the Government are taking to improve digital infrastructure. In his responses, Warman praised the progress of the gigabit roll out reaching 40% of premises and emphasised the Government’s expectation that this will increase to 60% by the end of the year.

DCMS question on Digital Inclusivity

Rachel Hopkins (Lab) questioned DCMS Minister Caroline Dinenage on what steps the Government is taking to increase digital inclusivity and tackle the digital divide. Dinenage highlighted DCMS’ 10 tech priorities including building a tech savvy nation with free of charge qualifications for adults designed to build up digital skills up to level 1. Dineage also stated that low-cost broadband is already available to those on lower incomes and social tariffs for individuals on means tested benefits with the Government encouraging all broadband providers to bring in a social tariff.

Chi Onwurah (Lab) followed asking ‘The Minister says that no one should be left behind, but 60% of over-50s with household earnings under £20,000 per year are not online; more than half of adults who are not online are disabled; 2 million households in the UK have been without internet access during lockdown; and there are up to 900,000 children without devices. Yet the Government’s digital inclusion strategy was last updated in 2014 and there is still no target for inclusion. Why will the Minister not tell us what proportion of the population she is happy to leave behind in this digital age?’ Dinenage responded by explaining the Government’s agreed set of commitments with the UK’s major broadband and mobile operators to support vulnerable customers, additional laptops, as well as the launch of the digital lifeline fund to support 5,000 people with learning disabilities to access devices, connectivity and digital skills support.

Written question on the Gigabit Programme and WFTMR

Chi Onwurah (Lab) asked what assessment DCMS has made of the adequacy of the interaction between the Government’s Gigabit Programme subsidy plans and the geographic price regulation approach taken in Ofcom’s Statement entitled Promoting investment and competition in fibre networks. Warman responded stating DCMS have engaged closely with Ofcom on the Government’s commitment to spend £5 billion supporting gigabit-capable deployment in the hardest to reach areas. Warman welcomed Ofcom’s regulatory framework, which will promote investment and competition in new gigabit broadband networks. Ofcom’s proposed regulations will allow those deploying networks to make a fair return on their investment whilst ensuring that customers across the country can continue to access world-class broadband at affordable prices.

 

 

Cyber

 

Government announces call for views on supply chain security and managed service providers

DCMS published a call for views  with the intent of putting in place a new framework for the managing of cyber security risks in digital supply chains and specifically managed service providers. The call for views is divided into two parts:

Government is considering basing a new Managed Service Provider security framework on the existing Cyber Assessment Framework that was established alongside the NIS Directive implementation, i.e. Managed Service Providers would be held to standards that are currently applied to critical national infrastructure sectors. However, there is no commitment to legislation in the call for views and the Government is considering a wide range of options, including awareness campaigns assurance marks, updated procurement or regulatory guidance and legislative intervention.

The call for views recognises that there will be a potential overlap between the new regime and existing or upcoming initiatives such as and the Telecoms Security Bill. The closing date for evidence is 11th July and can be submitted via an online survey here. If you would like further information, or would like ISPA to respond to the survey, please contact elly@ispa.org.uk.

 

 

Online Safety

 

Ofcom launch ‘Digital Passports’ for children in care

Ofcom launched digital passports for children and young people in care. This follows research by internetmatters.org and Youthworks which shows that those in care are more likely to encounter greater risks online. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) is ‘increasingly concerned about impact of pornography on the lives of young children’ as age verification measures not included in new Bill. At the same time, many foster parents are tech hesitant and can restrict digital access when this is a lifeline for many young people trying to keep in touch with family. The digital passports, created by the UKCIS Vulnerable Users Working Group have two main parts to reflect these issues: one brings together information for the foster carer and other professionals about the ‘digital life’ of the child and the other is for the child to express their own feelings and interests.

Written questions on online safety

A number of questions were submitted to DCMS on issues relating to online safety. These included:

 

Subgroup news

 

 

Broadband

Cyber

Liability

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