Select committee: Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee

Conclusion 1

Fourth Report - Broadband and the road to 5G Published 22 Dec 2020 Paragraph 27 Addressed to Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee Broadband and the road to 5G All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗

Conclusion (the committee's words)

Sticking to unachievable targets benefits no-one, and it was inevitable that the Government would have to abandon its unrealistic manifesto pledge to deliver nationwide gigabit connectivity by 2025. Ministers should be ready to respond openly, in answering questions from members of a select committee, accepting that a target will not be met when they already possess sufficient information to know that it is not going to be achieved. We welcome the fact it has finally listened to concerns, rethought the target and taken a more realistic outlook. However, the time it has taken to do so will have delayed industry, local bodies and consumers receiving the information they need to plan or build a robust investment case. Moreover, given that the previous target had been staunchly defended to us makes us question how much of a say DCMS had in the decision to scrap it, and the extent to which both the new target and its likely implications have been fully considered in consultation with industry.

From: Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Fourth Report - Broadband and the road to 5G (HC 153), paragraph 27, 22 December 2020

Government response

Correspondence from the Department for DCMS re Broadband and the road to 5G report, 1 April 2021

The government responded to the whole report on 20 April 2021.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The Secretary of State's letter supplies further information on the Department's response, setting out a target of a "minimum of 85% coverage by 2025" for gigabit-capable broadband and an ambition to get "as close to 100% as possible".

The Department states it is "confident that the 85% target will be met", citing coverage already reached and industry's commercial build ambitions, and says the government will monitor this closely, supported by Ofcom.
On funding, the £5 billion of capital funding "remains in place", with at least £1.2 billion to be spent in the period up to March 2025.
For semi-urban areas, the government anticipates a "substantial majority" will be served commercially by 2025. Where no operator has viable plans, it "will include these premises in the scope of our interventions".
On visas, the government points to existing routes, including the Skilled Worker visa, and notes the Migration Advisory Committee concluded there was "little evidence provided that there were insufficient resident workers to fill vacancies".

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Letter from the Chair to Rt Hon Oliver Dowden CBE MP, Secretary of State for DCMS, re Government's response to the Broadband and road to 5G report, 5 March 2021

Published 5 March 2021.

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Correspondence from the Department for DCMS re Broadband and the road to 5G report, 22 February 2021

Published 5 March 2021.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government sets out its strategy and targets for gigabit-capable broadband and 5G, agreeing with some recommendations, holding to a technology neutral approach, and in places noting or considering others.

On the 85% target, it says the target "is based on extensive engagement with industry". It expects the UK Gigabit Programme to spend "a minimum of £1.2 billion by March 2025" and reach "at least 5 percentage points of the final 20%".
It agrees that technologies should be future proof but says it is "strongly committed to a technology neutral approach" because this enables greater innovation.
On a formal review of gigabit and 5G targets by end 2022, it will "consider the timing of any formal review, noting the Committee’s recommendation", and is "content to report back" during the next two years and beyond.
On wayleave reform, it is consulting on whether further changes to the Electronic Communications Code are needed and will "carefully evaluate all responses". It will publish a procurement pipeline in Spring 2021.

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