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Category: Technology

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Broadband Coverage in Rural Areas

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Broadband Coverage in Rural Areas

    The parliamentary question asked by Daniel Kawczynski, the Conservative MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, in the House of Commons on 26 January 2023.

    Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury and Atcham) (Con)

    What progress her Department has made on expanding broadband coverage in rural areas.

    Selaine Saxby (North Devon) (Con)

    What progress her Department has made on expanding broadband coverage in rural areas.

    The Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Julia Lopez)

    I wish to echo your words about the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s important work, Mr Speaker.

    We are investing £5 billion through Project Gigabit to deliver lightning-fast broadband to hard-to-reach areas across our country. Last week, we announced that thousands of people living in rural Cornwall will benefit from a £36 million contract. We have now awarded six such contracts, covering up to 681,000 premises. More procurements are in the pipeline and we have also upped our voucher scheme so that more premises can benefit.

    Daniel Kawczynski

    I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. Obviously, I am delighted that last week we secured nearly £19 million from the levelling-up fund for Shrewsbury town centre, but we will never really have levelling up across the whole of the United Kingdom unless rural parts of our constituencies have broadband coverage commensurate with metropolitan areas in coverage and speed. What is she doing specifically to make sure that improvements are made in the county of Shropshire?

    Julia Lopez

    My hon. Friend is right to talk about the importance of digital connectivity to the whole levelling-up agenda, which is why we are prioritising our procurement to some of the really tough-to-reach parts of the country that have been poorly served by broadband previously. I know that he has been campaigning hard on these issues since 2015. He has good superfast coverage now in his constituency, but I appreciate that gigabit is not where it should be in his county. I am pleased to say that our Mid West Shropshire procurement is going to be awarded in April to June this year, and I hope that his constituents will benefit from that.

    Selaine Saxby

    The roll-out of rural broadband has made great progress in the past three years. Will my hon. Friend outline when the new framework and guidance for fibre community partnerships and the gigabit roll-out will be available, so that the roll-out can continue at pace across North Devon?

    Julia Lopez

    I thank my hon. Friend, because the progress has been substantial and she has been a key part of that by making sure that political pressure is maintained to get this kind of connectivity to places such as her constituency. On the fibre community partnerships, Openreach temporarily paused the registration while the supplier worked through the current requests. We have been working closely with Openreach to assist its review of that scheme. We hope it will be reopening it as soon as possible, but she will be pleased to hear that we are also on track to launch the Devon and Somerset procurements in April. Again, I hope that her constituents will stand to benefit from that.

    Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey) (SNP)

    I recently met people from CityFibre in my constituency to celebrate the roll-out of full fibre in Inverness. CityFibre is now moving into the rural areas, and it has taken the full fibre coverage from 0.8% to 60%. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that companies such as CityFibre, working in partnership with local councils and others, can continue to operate in this market as there is this competition, and that they have the ability to operate in and expand into rural areas?

    Julia Lopez

    I thank the hon. Gentleman for his constructive intervention and question. CityFibre been fundamental in driving stiff competition in this area, which has really accelerated the roll-out. We thank CityFibre and other altnets and providers for all the work they are doing. We absolutely prioritise having a competitive framework, because we think it has been so crucial to making sure that areas such as his are covered.

    Angus Brendan MacNeil (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP)

    As has been said, if levelling up is to mean anything, it would mean it in broadband. Often, what is needed is just a green cabinet and small amounts of money for rural areas. What confidence can people have that the Government will act in this Parliament? Other countries with a much worse topography have seen their rural areas get broadband years ago. What confidence can people have that the UK is going to act in the next two years—in this Parliament?

    Julia Lopez

    I am always grateful to hear from the hon. Gentleman. I know that his constituency is a very rural one with an island population, which creates particular challenges. Much of the broadband roll-out is being driven by the Scottish Government. Their R100 programme has had some problems, and I have spoken to Ivan McKee about how we can assist with those. We are keeping a very close eye on the matter, because we want to make sure that every part of our country is covered by this connectivity and is not disadvantaged by some of the local ways in which the projects are being managed.

    Esther McVey (Tatton) (Con)

    The Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme is not working as intended in the smaller rural villages of Tatton. The community groups have found that the scope of the local authority contract includes commercially viable areas, but excludes the remote areas. I thank the Minister for being very helpful, but, ironically, the more work that we did, the more we exposed the weaknesses. Will she meet me, representatives of Lower Peover and Building Digital UK to solve the issue?

    Julia Lopez

    I thank my right hon. Friend for all the work that she has done to make sure that Cheshire is connected. I have looked at the issues of Lower Peover. In particular, she highlights challenges with the voucher scheme. I want to assure her that we have upped the amount that can be claimed to £1,500 per premises. I am always happy to meet hon. Members on these issues, but I also hold BDUK surgeries regularly, so please book in for those, but, of course, I will meet her personally to discuss this.

    Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)

    I thank the Minister for her answers and for the help that the central Government at Westminster give to Northern Ireland for rural broadband. One issue is banking, online shopping and postal services. Has the Minister had the opportunity to assess how, in relation to rural broadband, these things impact on banking services in rural areas? We are moving forward to new technology and new times. We need help.

    Julia Lopez

    The hon. Gentleman highlights just how important good connectivity is to accessing all the services that are going online. One great thing about Northern Ireland is some of the progress that it has made on gigabit connectivity from its contract with Fibrus, and we thank Fibrus for all that it has done. I am happy to look into any of the issues that he raises, but, as I have said, he highlights very well just why it is so important that people do have that connectivity.

    Mr Speaker

    I call the shadow Minister.

    Stephanie Peacock (Barnsley East) (Lab)

    Thank you, Mr Speaker. I wish to begin by echoing your words about Holocaust Memorial Day.

    From April, families across the country will face a 14% rise to their broadband bills, but, even before that increase, there were already more than 1 million households struggling to pay for the internet. Expanding gigabit coverage is vital, but it is pointless if families cannot afford a broadband package. How will the Department work with Ofcom to examine the impact of mid-contract price increases and wholesale prices rising by inflation?

    Julia Lopez

    I thank the hon. Lady for her question. She is right to highlight the cost of living challenges that are affecting so many households. We have worked hard on this. It is important that we have a stable regulatory framework that allows companies to invest, but we have hitherto had some of the most competitive telecoms prices in Europe and consumers have benefited from that. In relation to those who are really struggling with their bills, we have done a lot of work with telecoms providers on social tariffs. Unfortunately, the uptake of those tariffs is not where it should be, so I ask every Member of this House to help us raise awareness, because their constituents can get deals from as little as £10 a month. Trying to get them that connectivity is so important to people’s job chances, life chances and so on.

  • Grant Shapps – 2023 Statement on Spaceport Cornwall and the First Launch of Satellites

    Grant Shapps – 2023 Statement on Spaceport Cornwall and the First Launch of Satellites

    The statement made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in the House of Commons on 10 January 2023.

    Last night, Virgin Orbit attempted the first orbital launch from Spaceport Cornwall. Unfortunately, the launch was unsuccessful. We will work closely with Virgin Orbit as they investigate what caused the failure in the coming days and weeks. While a failed launch is disappointing, launching a spacecraft always carries significant risks. Despite this, the project has succeeded in creating a horizontal launch capability at Spaceport Cornwall, and we remain committed to becoming the leading provider of commercial small satellite launch in Europe by 2030, with vertical launches planned from Scotland in the next year.

  • Gordon Brown – 2009 Podcast on Harnessing the Power of Technology

    Gordon Brown – 2009 Podcast on Harnessing the Power of Technology

    The text of the podcast made by Gordon Brown, the then Prime Minister, on 5 December 2009.

    All our lives are being transformed by the digital revolution.

    For many the internet and mobile phones are now seen as indispensible as electricity, gas and water.

    And the wealth of information instantly available – literally at our fingertips – is giving you enormous power over the choices you make for you and your families. Whether it is where to do the weekly shop; which utility company to use; or who insures your car.

    And in this new world, you rightly want a bigger say and more accountability in all the decisions that affect you.

    Rightly, you also demand more control over public services – and the same level, the high standards, that you expect as consumers on the high street.

    And that is why this government will ensure that each citizen has new guarantees and new rights: for example the personal guarantee that you will see a cancer specialist within two weeks and the guarantee that your son or daughter will have one-to-one tuition if they need it in English and Maths.

    And in these challenging times it is vital that we protect those front line services which we all pay for, which we all value, and on which we all rely.

    We value them because they are always there to teach our children; look after us when we are sick; and protect us from harm. They are part of our everyday lives but we should never take them for granted.

    This is not a time for reckless experiments. We will harness the power of technology to further improve our hospitals, schools and police forces at the front line.

    But the power of technology also allows us to secure better value for money. Already some GPs send text messages to remind people of upcoming appointments. This is helping the NHS save a substantial amount of the £600 million annual cost of missed appointments.

    We are committed to giving parents of secondary school pupils guaranteed online access so they can see what their child is learning and how they are getting on – saving the cost of expensive materials.

    There’s evidence to show that using online instead of sending paper through the post can save councils £12 a time; and using it instead of the phone up can save up to £3.30 a time.

    Switching services online also frees up more staff to provide personal support and advice – including face-to-face, where it is most needed.

    The opportunities for enhanced services and better value for money are enormous. So over the next five years we will make as many services as we can available to you online. And this has the potential to save at least £400 million a year.

    It all means that you get a better service and the costs are kept down – so you win as taxpayers and users of public services.

    And we are going to help more people to get online. There are now 6,000 public places with internet access in England, including every library, where there are more than 30,000 terminals, many community and adult education centres; and even some pubs.

    But clearly some people are still excluded. So we will reach out particularly to mothers, older people, the unemployed and those who lack skills to ensure that they can use all the facilities that will be available. The savings we will make in this way are considerable but we will also need to do more.

    And in the pre-budget report this week we will tell you how we will make the further savings needed to protect our front line services; cut the budget deficit and go for growth.

    As always, our decisions will reflect our deepest values of fairness and responsibility. That is why we have raised the top rate of tax on those earning in excess of £150,000 in order to pay down the deficit and contribute to public services.

    We are proud of what we have achieved over the past 12 years. And we are proud of the real help we’ve given people over the past 12 months.

    But we will not sit back. And next week we will set out our bold and radical plans for ensuring a fairer, prosperous and sustainable future for Britain.

  • Gordon Brown – 2010 Article on Super Fast Broadband

    Gordon Brown – 2010 Article on Super Fast Broadband

    The article written by Gordon Brown for the Daily Telegraph on 8 January 2010 and released by 10 Downing Street as a press release.

    The severe weather gripping Britain has closed businesses and schools and left many people unable to get to work or keep appointments. Police advice – rightly – is not to travel unless your journey is essential. But if you urgently need to see a doctor, or keep a business running, you may feel that you must venture out in spite of the conditions.

    Rural communities particularly suffer at such times. But imagine if you could hold a consultation with your GP over the internet in real time, or easily access your office computer network from home, or hold two-way video conferences. These are the very real possibilities that super-fast broadband could offer within just a few short years.

    By investing now in this digital revolution, we can bring to households and businesses all over the country internet speeds 50 times faster than most people experience today. Such advanced communications will encourage more employees and employers to make greater use of teleworking. This can deliver benefits both to the firm and the worker, as well as the wider economy, society and the environment.

    Teleworking can mean more job opportunities, for example, for the disabled and those with child-care responsibilities who wish to work part-time – or allow someone to take a job with a firm based too far away for a daily commute – while also improving work-life balance for many. Potentially, it can also contribute to reducing congestion and lowering carbon emissions.

    The number of people working remotely from home more than doubled in the decade to 2007 and, as next-generation broadband becomes more widely available, this figure will only increase rapidly. All our lives will be transformed beyond recognition by the exciting opportunities for business, education, leisure and access to public services. Indeed, it will soon be seen as indispensable as electricity, gas or water.

    The private sector is rightly leading the way, and investing significant sums in next-generation digital communications and technologies. But, left alone, they are likely to reach only the two-thirds of communities, mainly urban and highly populated, seen as commercially viable. And I am clear that this revolution must benefit all, and so here there is also a role for targeted, strategic action by government.

    We must complement and assist broadband providers to move farther and faster; to bring super-fast connections to households and businesses to every corner of the country. That is why we have set out plans for £1 billion of extra investment to ensure that all regions of Britain – including those with sparse populations – are covered by 2017. We are doing this, even in a recession, because the fastest and most modern broadband network will create and expand thousands of companies and mean thousands of new jobs.

    The digital initiative is just one of the many ways through which we believe we can create 1.5 million new skilled jobs in the coming years. And no one area should be left out of this expansion in opportunity simply because of its location.

    We are determined in particular to see rural communities benefit from this investment and the economic and social advantages that will inevitably follow.

    So, by using the previously announced fixed-line levy to finance this, we must move forward quickly with digitalisation and extension of broadband to make Britain a leader in the digital world.

    A comprehensive digital infrastructure is one of the key foundations of the UK’s future growth and prosperity. And government will help to unleash the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit at which Britain excels, by releasing thousands of publicly held data sets, as a result of the vision of Sir Tim Berners-Lee.

    When, for example, figures on London’s most dangerous roads for cyclists were published, an online map detailing where accidents happened was produced almost immediately to help them avoid blackspots and reduce injuries. After data on dentists went live, an iPhone application was created to show people where the nearest surgery was to their current location.

    Thanks, too, to the exceptional work of Martha Lane Fox, our aim within the next five years is to shift the vast majority of large transactional services online. This should help secure even better value for money. Evidence from local authorities indicates that on average, carrying out a telephone transaction online can save £3.30 and switching from paper and mail to online can save £12 per time. In all, it is estimated that shifting significant transactions in this way could save £1 billion.

    Yesterday, we launched a plan for going for growth – “Our Future Prosperity” – setting out how we will harness the value of enterprise, knowledge and of our greatest asset: people. And investing in a modern infrastructure, including high-speed rail and super-fast broadband, is critical to its success.

  • Kenneth Baker – 1969 Parliamentary Question on the Waiting List for Telephones

    Kenneth Baker – 1969 Parliamentary Question on the Waiting List for Telephones

    The parliamentary question asked by Kenneth Baker, the then Conservative MP for Acton, in the House of Commons on 23 January 1969.

    Mr. Kenneth Baker asked the Postmaster-General what progress he has made in meeting his undertaking to reduce within 18 months the waiting list for telephones which stood at 140,000 in the summer.

    Mr. Stonehouse I am very glad to inform the House that the waiting list has already been reduced by 37,000; that is from 138,000 to 101,000 between 1st April and the end of December 1968. A further 14,000 reduction is expected by 31st March. This will be the largest reduction in the waiting list in any one year since 1957–58.

    Mr. Baker Though that answer is unsatisfactory, I will not seek to raise it on the Adjournment. But does the right hon. Gentleman never feel a little dissatisfied about making his forecast last September that the waiting list would be substantially reduced and virtually eliminated within 18 months when he knew at the time that this was wildly optimistic?

    Mr. Stonehouse No. I said at that time that we would meet this objective provided the manufacturers were on time in the supply of equipment. I stick by that.

    Mr. James Hamilton I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his reply. But will he pay attention to the letter which he received from the hon. Member for Bothwell putting forward the suggestion that we should, as it were, manufacture our own equipment, with particular emphasis on the Bothwell constituency? This is a recurring sore throughout the whole country. Therefore, will my right hon. Friend now take my advice?

    Mr. Stonehouse This matter is being discussed in the Committee stage of the Bill and it would not be right for me to refer to it.

    Mr. Bryan Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that many of the overseas orders that manufacturers receive have penalty clauses for non-delivery? I do not think that the G.P.O. orders have such a clause. Does the G.P.O. suffer from this omission?

    Mr. Stonehouse I should like to look at that and see whether we could not include such a provision in future, but we have had very good co-operation from many of our suppliers, who have had to increase their capacity by a factor of 2 or 3, and in some cases 4, to meet the additional demand that the Post Office, encouraged by the present Administration, has put on it, so making up for the neglect that prevailed during the thirteen consecutive years of Conservative Government.

  • Andrew Smith – 2000 Speech at the Electronic Government Conference

    Andrew Smith – 2000 Speech at the Electronic Government Conference

    The speech made by Andrew Smith, the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury, on 5 October 2000.

    Good morning everybody, it’s a great pleasure to be here and great to see so many people here. The new information economy presents us all with terrific opportunities and important responsibilities and I think there is a very simple message here for Government, as for business, and it is that the information economy gives the opportunity to modernise Government, we see how industry and services are being revolutionised in the information age and the simple message is that Governments must do the same, we must move to on-line Government.  And it really goes without saying that that is about modern Government, it’s about improving the way that Government serves its customers, it’s about realising the huge efficiency gains also which IT makes possible.

    On-line Government isn’t therefore simply about the business which Government does internally, it’s about changing the way that Government does its business externally. It’s about more than improving the way Government does things and between Civil Servants and between departments, it’s how we deal with clients, with customers and with the general public and getting Government on-line is a crucial part of building the wider knowledge economy in the UK.  So we want to see the Government taking the initiative so that it can move into the lead and not simply follow what is happening in other sectors in embracing new technology and in order to achieve this we have set a number of targets that the United Kingdom should be the best place to trade electronically by 2002, that we should have universal net access by 2005 and that all Government services should be on-line by 2005.

    So what is the Government doing to make the UK the best place to trade electronically? Firstly, of course, our policies for economic stability that we have built since 1997, low and stable inflation, low interest rates, the long term framework for stability carrying forward economic growth in a sustainable way, a very important foundation. Secondly, what we have done on taxation. Corporate taxes at the lowest in our history are lower than any major competitors, capital gains tax now at 10% for investments held for more than 4 years, the research and development tax credits we have brought in, the other help we are giving to small businesses as well as larger ones. Thirdly, the establishment of a thousand centres where small businesses can find help and support with IT. The 100% capital allowances we have brought in for IT investment too.  And fourthly, and very importantly, ensuring that people have the skills which they and e-businesses need in order to be able to flourish in the information society.  So we are enabling adults to get 80% discount on basic computer courses, courses which will be free for unemployed people and through the schools providing a billion pounds for schools ICT over the next three years to deliver at least one computer for every five secondary pupils. We have also of course set e-commerce targets that we will have 1.5 million small and medium enterprises on-line by 2002, well things are moving so fast that progress has overtaken that particular target because we have got l.7 million on-line already. The target also to have 1 million trading on-line by 2002, we are presently at some 450,000.

    Now in moving towards universal net access by 2005 we have established UK on-line as a cross Government brand. We are putting in place 6,000 physical access points with internet access and assistance with technology. Many will offer training in IT skills. We are ensuring that the costs of internet access in the UK are amongst the cheapest in Europe and through last year’s budget we ensured that employees can borrow computers from their companies free of taxation.  And we are also developing a system in which poorer individuals can lease or buy recycled computers cheaply and 100,000 will be available by the end of next year.  So we are on the way to meeting our targets and in this year’s spending review we allocated one billion pounds to boost electronic service delivery in Government because we are very much aware that the public sector needs to be, not only a better operator but a better procurer of services. We need to be able to specify our requirements more clearly, to negotiate with the private sector on equal terms or better and we need to secure best value for the taxpayer as we establish the best standards for the public.

    So the Office of Government Commerce as you have heard was created to ensure that best practice in procurement is adopted right across Governments. The position of the E-Envoy was created to drive electronic procurement right across Government and to realise the benefits of properly joined-up Government.  And we now already have 33% of Government services on-line, a significant achievement but it gives us still some way to go. An example of what is possible is the Inland Revenue’s pioneering service offering on-line tax returns. That has already got more than a hundred thousand people now registered and indeed twenty four thousand have already filed their returns.  Through the Government’s secure intranet we now have 69 connections to departments, agencies, non-departmental public bodies, we have got 90,000 e-mail users, 55,000 web access users, the GSI directory which has been populated by 31 departments – this means that those civil servants know how to access colleagues right across Government.  So we can say that through the secure intranet we do have something of a success story in Government but it only really hints as to what more actually is possible.

    We can see too how the targets that we have set actually support and reinforce one another. For the UK to be the best place to trade electronically of course we need Government backing for e-business. That actually reinforces the way Government itself works as an e-business and as we get more of the population on-line then we are upskilling our employees and staff at the same time. So making Britain the best place to trade electronically, getting Government on-line and getting more people on-line are all part of the same drive and we are putting our money in this endeavour very much where our mouth is because through the cross cutting review of the knowledge economy, which was an important part of the spending review, we earmarked one billion pounds to improve on-line service delivery across Government. Money also will be available through the Capital Modernisation Fund for  priority services.

    Now the overall target for getting Government on-line belongs to the Cabinet Office, but all departments have their own targets and their own funds for electronic service delivery and they will have support from the centre in carrying their work forward working on three key aspects.  First, how Government deals with its suppliers through electronic procurement; secondly how it deals with the public through electronic service delivery;  and thirdly how Government procures major IT projects and we obviously need to get all of these three right if electronic government is to be a success.

    In the whole area of electronic procurement our aim is to use Government’s power as a purchaser to boost the markets and to encourage successful on-line business and also to make gains in the way Government procures by ensuring that electronic procurement makes joining up Governments itself easier.

    Now both the Office of Government Commerce and the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency have a central role to play in Government’s electronic procurement strategy. For example the OGC are working on ways to make electronic tendering more reliable and more wide-spread and there are considerable gains to be made there.  On-line delivery of services is of course the most publicly visible aspect of on-line Government and it has got great potential to improve the way that Government deals with and serves the public. UK On-line has been established as a single portal which will make it easier to access all the functions of Government and if people can meet their needs more easily and faster on-line, if the service is designed to be user friendly then we will carry forward the culture of doing things electronically. It can and will be more convenient and accessible to people. Access of course can be 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Services can be joined up on-line which can’t be joined up physically.  And the E-Envoy will be looking at Government on-line services to find and use the opportunities for joining up services from different departments and agencies.  And in the long term on-line service delivery should bring great gains in efficiency with lower transaction costs and less physical infrastructure, but for this to happen there needs to be improvement in the way Government goes about procuring IT projects. In the past there have been some pioneering projects, but these have not, if we are honest, always been managed well and one of the reasons we set up the OGC was to improve procurement powerfully right across Government.

    Peter Gershon will be saying more about this later on, but there is great scope for improving procurement in IT. The IT Projects Review is about helping departments to get large projects up and running and on budget and the OGC is already delivering great benefits. I mean it recently brokered a deal with Vodafone that will save the Government no less than thirty eight million pounds over the next two years and I would like to congratulate Peter Gershon and his team on that Vodafone deal. It’s not everybody who in their first few months working for the Government saves us thirty eight million pounds, so it’s an example to us all.

    How will OGC actually improve procurement? Well first it will help departments with their own projects and where a Government-wide approach is needed it will manage commercial relationships on behalf of departments. We faced a situation in the past frankly where very often big firms we are dealing with  know more about their business with Government than we know about our business with them. We need to change that for an intelligent strategy in procurement. Moreover the gateway  process which OGC is developing in a general way to handle large complex and novel projects, especially in Information Technology, offers great  potential gains. It’s proven in industry as a valuable tool in managing all aspects of projects, organisational, risk management and business case as well as technological aspects and it will also help spread best practice and because OGC will be working with departments they will be able to bring to bear the benefits of other departments’ experience and avoid reinventing the wheel or repeating avoidable mistakes.

    So in conclusion my message is today that OGC and the CCTA have had a relatively short time to sort of get up and running and drive forward electronic procurement, but they are already delivering and we can expect more, very much more for the future.  And for all of you here today there is a very important task in driving forward electronic procurement and e-service delivery in your own departments and agencies in partnership with industry, in partnership with other public services too, but I would just like to assure you that you will have very strong and committed support from the centre in this critically important endeavour.  So thank you all for coming today, thank you all for what you are doing and I believe that together we can and will build successful electronic Government in a successful on-line Britain. Thank you very much.

  • Gordon Brown – 1999 Speech to the UK Internet Summit

    Gordon Brown – 1999 Speech to the UK Internet Summit

    The speech made by Gordon Brown, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 28 October 1999.

    Can I first of all congratulate the New Statesman, one of the country’s oldest established journals founded in the days of the quill pen, for organising this, one of the first national conferences on the opportunities of the Internet.

    Thirty years ago this month the Internet was invented and the modern Internet was invented by a Britain. Today in Britain and throughout the world the Internet is revolutionising our access to information – the way we communicate, educate, buy and sell, and entertain ourselves – and from the acquisition and servicing of people to the management of stocks and supplies the Internet is transforming the way we do business.

    We are determined that Britain lead in the next stage of the Internet revolution.

    Let me set this target of our Government – within three years we want to become the world’s best environment for electronic commerce.

    And today I want to set out how we plan to achieve this great ambition — how we plan to benefit from being part of the European Single Market of 390 million people, how we plan to employ our language, educational and communications strengths to grow with speed, how creativity and adaptability – our British talents – will be put to best use.

    Of course with 50 per cent of all people on the Internet, and 75 per cent of all Internet commerce, the US leads in the Internet. And if we examine why the US enjoys such an advantage it is not just because it has the largest domestic market, but because it leads in innovation, it has an economic culture which supports risk-taking and thus the introduction of new technologies, it has a better record of turning good ideas into businesses that succeed. Commercial links between business and universities bring a speedier commercial application of cutting edge technologies. Clusters, like Silicon Valley in California and Silicon Alley in New York, generate a wave of technological innovation.

    But we believe that in the next few years the rate of innovation will continue to accelerate.

    The rewards for uncovering lucrative ideas will be even greater.

    Whichever country is able to make use of inventions and innovations fastest will come out ahead.

    I want that country to be Britain.

    And I believe the UK can lead in Europe.

    Today, one in ten companies in the UK sell-online.

    One in four companies make purchases on-line.

    Over forty percent of households already have computers.

    Over ten million people are already on the Internet.

    And we have a number of key strengths and advantages:

    • our language. More than 80 per cent of web sites are in English;
    • our telecoms market. We lead the world in having a highly liberalised and competitive telecoms market;
    • our capital markets. London is one of the world’s leading financial centres, and can provide a good source of capital;
    • our willingness to embrace new technologies. Our strong track-record of early deployment of new technologies, including interactive digital TV, multi-media mobile communications and pervasive computers;
    •  our access to a market of 390 million people. Today 10 per cent use the web. By 2002 it is expected to be 35 per cent. Half of Europe is expected to be on-line by 2006. I want Britain to lead the world in getting people on-line.

    We recognise success will not come automatically.

    So I want to explain today the key building blocks we are putting in place for success:

    First, greater economic stability;

    Second, a more competitive environment including a new independent competition authority;

    Third, the right legislative framework for e-commerce;

    Fourth, fostering innovation;

    Fifth, transforming education;

    Sixth, widening access for all;

    Seventh, modernising government – a public sector willing to innovate.

    We will review progress every year in the Budget.

    Let me explain our policies in detail.

    The precondition for all else is of course macro-economic stability so that businesses and individuals are able to plan for the long term.

    In today’s global marketplace, national economies must be founded on a platform of monetary and fiscal stability.

    So we have put in place a new long term framework with clearly defined objectives: a symmetrical inflation target and a golden fiscal rule; new rules for delivering them – Bank of England independence and a Code of Fiscal Stability — and a new openness and transparency that builds confidence and trust.

    With these reforms and the record – the lowest inflation for over thirty years, and long term interest rates at historically low levels – I believe that Britain now has a sound and credible platform of stability from which to achieve steady growth.

    Second, competition

    But stability is not enough, the sharpest spur to innovation, efficiency and improvement is competition.

    Monopoly protects the privileged. Competition empowers the consumer. Competition promotes better services and better prices.

    The new economy of the next decade will need more competition, more entrepreneurship, more flexibility and more long term investment.

    That is why this Government is reviewing every barrier to competition in the emerging e-commerce market. Old monopolies and cosy cartels have no place in this new market.

    So, our new Competition Act for the first time prohibits all anti-competitive practices.

    So that competition will be encouraged for the long term needs of the economy and the public, we are making our competition authority – like the Bank of England – independent of political influence.

    In every area we are asking what we can do to enhance competition.

    We must ensure that the price of telephone use is not a barrier to greater Internet use, or lead to a divide between IT-haves and IT-have nots.

    So the forthcoming Utility Bill will place a new primary duty on the telecoms regulator to protect the interests of consumers through promoting competition.

    Already competition is forcing the price of Internet access down. BT are reviewing charges for Internet access. OFTEL will continue to ensure that competition drives down the cost of Internet access.

    And competition will be essential to promote innovation in the new generation of digital technology and broadband access.

    • first, Britain is at the forefront of the new third generation technology that will revolutionise the mobile phone – allowing access to data up to two hundred times faster than through existing mobile phones; the new spectrum auction – the auctioning of five licenses, one of which will be reserved for a new entrant into the market – is designed to maximise competition, the best way of rolling out this technology;
    • secondly, broadband fixed wireless access can deliver fast and inexpensive broadband services. This would provide additional competition in the provision of broadband services. Having consulted on this the Radio Communications Agency of the DTI is reviewing the responses and an announcement will be made shortly.
    •  and thirdly, making available BT’s local loop to competitors widens access to the local network. Again, using competition to roll out new technology.

    And BT has now announced a an upgrade of their local network. This will promote the early introduction of high speed access to the Internet to homes and businesses across the UK.

    Third, the legislative framework

    The Internet economy needs the right legislative framework for electronic commerce, and Patricia Hewitt will say more about this later.

    The Electronic Communications Bill – which we will introduce this year – will not only recognise electronic signatures, but remove unnecessary legal obstacles that force people to use paper.

    And we are determined to advance the Internet not just by implementing the best British legal framework but also by pushing for the best European framework to encourage competition, innovation and e-commerce.

    Fourth, fostering innovation

    The Internet economy will need higher levels of private investment – not least in university science and commercial R and D, and in hi tech start ups and in skills.

    To modernise our science base, we have invested in an innovative 700 million pound public-private partnership with the Wellcome Trust and the awards that have already been made include for example support for an advanced Technology Institute in the University of Surrey.

    The new R and D tax credit which we propose to next April for SMEs will mean that nearly a quarter of new investment is underwritten even before a penny profit is made.

    We have created a new University Challenge Fund to help universities commercialise their inventions and help university based companies transform British inventions into British-made products.

    And to help universities gain management expertise to commercialise inventions and to help transfer technology from the science lab to the market place, the Government is creating new Institutes of Enterprise.

    Indeed we are keen that British universities build trans-Atlantic and trans-European alliance in research and commerce.

    A new government backed regionally based Venture Capital Fund is being created to encourage investment in early-stage, high technology companies.

    And to encourage investment in new companies, we have cut small business tax from 23 to 20p and introduced a new starting rate of tax for small companies of 10p in the pound. Every company making profits of up to £50,000 will benefit.

    Corporation tax has been cut from 33 to 30 per cent. And to encourage and reward new business investment, we have cut the long term rate of capital gains tax from 40p to 10p.

    Corporate venturing has been vital in Silicon Valley and elsewhere – providing smaller high tech firms with a strong capital base, better skills in marketing and management, and a greater market-reach. So to help the large companies sponsor the development of the small, we are considering new incentives to promote corporate venturing.

    The City of London is one of the largest financial centres in the world and this month alone a number of UK Internet start-ups have found financial backing.

    But we need to do more to build on the strengths of our capital markets.

    Next week, I will be launching Techmark, a new market within the London Stock Exchange for companies whose success depends on innovation.

    And today with the publication of a new Treasury consultation document we are announcing new proposals for cutting through red tape for dynamic new high tech businesses – freeing high tech start ups from unnecessary regulation to allow quicker access to finance. Our proposals could save months, in an area where this can make the difference between business failure and business success.

    These new companies will be able, from next April, to benefit from the Government’s Enterprise Management Incentive Scheme. To recruit top managers for smaller high risk companies, we are offering tax relief for key employees on stock options worth up to £100,000.

    Fifth, Transforming education

    Success in the Internet age depends upon an educated economy. The extra £19 billion our country is now investing in education is designed to give everyone the opportunity to master the skills and technologies of the new information age.

    Today we are pushing through huge educational reform. We are introducing early learning; a new focus on basic skills in primary schools; restructuring teachers’ pay and performance; zero tolerance of failing schools; expansion of further and higher education through an extra 800,000 students by 2002.

    When we came to power two years ago barely one in ten of our schools were linked to the Internet.

    I can report to you that the extra investment this Government has made is already giving access to the Internet’s new world of knowledge to pupils in two in every three schools across Britain.

    By 2002 there will be 32,000 schools connected to the Internet, with around 400,000 teachers computer-trained. We are well on track to achieve this target with over 20,000 schools already on-line. Our IT strategy is allowing for the first time teachers and head teachers to share experience and good practice techniques over the web.

    New help worth 20 million pounds is making it possible for more teachers to have computers for home use.

    But we must go further. Next year we will double the money on IT in schools. We can now promise that by 2002 every school – rural and urban, rich and poor, north and south – all of our schools connected to that new world of knowledge. And parts of the National Curriculum will be taught through software accessed on the Internet, motivating all pupils.

    So everyone will have the chance to succeed in the new economy we are delivering Individual Learning Accounts. A million men and women can receive 150 pounds to set up their own Individual Learning Accounts – putting the power to plan and prepare for their own careers in their own hands. Next year any adult with an Individual Learning Account will be able to claim a discount of 20 per cent, an additional grant of up to 100 pounds, on the cost of their learning.

    For all adults signing up to improve on their basic computer literacy, there will be a discount of 80 per cent on course fees.

    The Internet not only brings home the need for lifelong learning but also enables lifelong learning to be brought into every home.

    The University for Industry will use the latest technology, including the Internet, to do in the 90s for lifelong learning what in the 70s the Open University did through TV for university learning – to bring education and training into the home and the workplace.

    With our new university, Individual Learning Accounts, and with help with computers and computer literacy, the Government is embarked upon the biggest public education programme on offer in our history-opening up new opportunities for millions of people.

    Sixth, Wider access

    And we must make sure that the opportunities of new technologies are shared by everyone.

    As a nation we could stand aside. We could have a society divided between information haves and information have nots. A society with a wired up superclass and an information underclass. An economy geared to the needs of some parts of Britain but not the whole of Britain.

    But the blessings of new technology give us the means to break down the walls of division, and the barriers of isolation.

    In Sweden the biggest single measure that increased the number of families with computers and the Internet was the tax incentive we are introducing in Britain.

    To bring more computers into more British homes, we have made it possible for employees to be able to borrow computers from their companies as a tax-free benefit.

    And we now expect the number of people doing so to rise to 300,000 over the next two to three years.

    Anyone left out of the new knowledge revolution will be left behind in the new knowledge economy.

    So in the last Budget, we allocated an additional half a billion pounds to the establishment of new ICT learning centres. Our target is a national network of 1,000 computer learning centres, one for every community in Britain. They will be in schools, colleges, libraries, in Internet cafes and on the high street.

    A whole new network of computer learning with one purpose only, that the whole of Britain is equipped for the information age.

    And here new forms of providing access are being introduced – as libraries pioneer easier access – including drop-in centres in shopping locations.

    And we will pioneer a system under which poorer individuals – sometimes through local partnerships – will be able to lease computers and software in the new century in the same way local libraries have loaned books in the last century.

    We aim to have 100,000 computers on loan by end 2001.

    So with our new University for Industry providing education in peoples homes, with one million Individual Learning Accounts that can finance computer courses, with help to loan computers and use them in computer learning centres, Britain is now embarking upon the biggest public education programme on offer in our history – opening up new opportunities for millions of people.

    Imagine it, every child in every school in every community given access through computers and the Internet to the greatest libraries and museums in the world.

    Imagine it. The 45 year old redundant worker in my part of the world – who has the courage and opportunity to go on an IT course and who acquires new skills and gets a new job.

    Imagine it. The disabled person. House bound, but now free – able to work from home through their personal computer.

    All based on the understanding that in the new economy the more individual talent we nurture the more economic growth and prosperity we will achieve.

    Seventh, modernising government

    Businesses and individuals are responding to new technologies and the new challenges of the Internet age. Government must do the same.

    Just as businesses have used the Internet to refocus their activities on the customer — supplying new services, when, where, and how the customer wants them — government needs to do the same.

    So we are restructuring our public services, from taxation to procurement, from health to our legal systems – organising government in new, innovative and more flexible ways.

    The £2.5 billion Capital Modernisation Fund was set up to support capital investment to improve public services.

    The Internet presents a great opportunity to enhance the interaction between people and government. As Bill Gates recently pointed out, this new technology is making government more democratic.

    And we have introduced the new £230 million pound Invest to Save Budget – funding innovative ways of delivering services.

    The first round of the Invest to Save Budget funded a number of innovative projects, including an electronic one stop shop for land and property information which will help reduce house buying delays; a pilot scheme enabling applications for vehicle tax discs over the Internet; and an electronic catalogue enabling public bodies to order goods and services more cheaply and efficiently.

    Almost 500 bids were submitted in round 2. These are now being considered. The winners are likely to include:

    • projects increasing electronic access to services for individuals and business;
    • new websites giving the public increased access to information; and
    • projects facilitating electronic data exchange between public bodies.

    By 2002, our aim is that the public will be able to access on-line:

    • book driving and theory tests;
    • look for work and be matched to jobs;
    • submit self-assessment tax returns and get information and advice about benefits;
    • apply for training loans and student support, all on-line.

    Businesses will on-line be able to:

    • complete VAT registrations and make VAT returns;
    • file returns at Companies House; and
    • receive payments from government for the supply of goods and services.

    Looking to the future

    Britain is well known for its tolerance, its strong traditions of fair play, its decency. But it is also known for its history of being adaptable, being creative, and being outward looking. These are precisely the qualities that will help us lead in the new information revolution.

    If as a country we now master the challenges of change, this transformation from industrial age to information age has staggering potential to make us more educated, more enterprising and more prosperous.

    We require both an industry sufficiently alive to the opportunities — and a public willing to adapt. I believe that with the changes I propose Britain will be ready to meet this challenge.

  • Julia Lopez – 2022 Speech on App Security

    Julia Lopez – 2022 Speech on App Security

    The speech made by Julia Lopez, the Minister of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in the House of Commons on 9 December 2022.

    I am pleased to inform the House that the Government have published two documents titled “Code of Practice for App Store Operators and App Developers” and “Call for Views Response on App Security and Privacy Interventions”. This follows on from a call for views held between 4 May and 29 June 2022 where we sought feedback on our proposed interventions to protect users’ security and privacy from malicious and poorly developed apps.

    We are publishing a world-first voluntary code of practice that sets minimum security and privacy requirements for app store operators and app developers. Given that people’s lives are dependent on apps to use services, such as online banking, health and entertainment services, this code is essential as malicious and poorly designed apps continue to be accessible to users on app stores which can result in the loss of personal data, money and access to devices. This work will help deliver an objective within the national cyber strategy to reduce the cyber risk at source by ensuring that app stores—and app developers—follow better levels of cyber security.

    This code will improve the security and privacy practices of both developers and operators and therefore ensure that apps are more suitably built. The code, and the eight principles within it, have been informed by feedback from operators, developers and security experts following the call for views, and received support from a vast majority of respondents. It has been thoroughly tested to ensure it strikes an appropriate balance in protecting users whilst also not overly burdening operators and developers. Furthermore, the code will ensure that more information about an app’s data practices is conveyed to users so they can make informed decisions when deciding whether to download an app.

    Given the global nature of cyber security issues and digital markets, we plan to prioritise creating international alignment on the code’s security and privacy requirements. We will do this by engaging with international counterparts to promote the need for the requirements, particularly in the context of future competition regulation, and explore the viability of creating an international standard based on the code.

    I will place a copy of both the “Code of Practice for App Store Operators and App Developers” and “Call for Views Response on App Security and Privacy Interventions” in the Libraries of both Houses.

  • Julia Lopez – 2022 Statement on Telecoms Diversification

    Julia Lopez – 2022 Statement on Telecoms Diversification

    The statement made by Julia Lopez, the Minister of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in the House of Commons on 8 December 2022.

    I would like to inform the House that today the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is announcing a joint statement on telecoms diversification alongside the Governments of Australia, Canada and the United States of America. This further progresses His Majesty’s Government’s efforts to build global support for our approach to telecoms diversification and identify tangible opportunities for collaboration with a range of international partners as set out in the 5G supply chain diversification strategy in 2020, and following the recommendations of the telecoms diversification taskforce in 2021.

    The joint statement marks the one-year anniversary of the 2021 Prague proposals on telecommunications supplier diversity, to which our four Governments have reaffirmed our commitment. It also announces the endorsement of the UK’s open RAN principles by the Governments of Australia, Canada and the United States of America, which I would like to welcome.

    Collectively, these Governments hold a shared view that open and interoperable solutions could help to create a more diverse, competitive and innovative telecoms supply market. To support this we intend to work together across a number of areas ranging from sharing information on our respective policy approaches to supporting greater transparency in industry-led standard-setting processes. We also intend to seek ongoing support from other likeminded countries truly to realise the benefits of a diverse telecoms supply chain on a global scale.

    This announcement builds on the strong progress we have made to increase the resilience and security of the UK’s telecoms critical national infrastructure since the publication of the 5G supply chain diversification strategy, which is backed by the £250 million open networks fund committed at the 2021 spending review. The fund aims to accelerate the adoption of open RAN solutions as a means to diversify the market. It includes research and development interventions of up to £36 million for the Future RAN Competition, up to £25 million for the Future Open Networks Research Challenge, as well as funding for testing facilities such as the SmartRAN Open Networks Interoperability Centre, and the UK Telecoms Lab. HM Government has also previously announced a joint ambition with UK mobile network operators to increase the share of open and interoperable equipment in UK networks by 2030. Indeed, we are also seeing positive progress from industry, for example, Vodafone and Telefonica have now deployed their first live open RAN sites, with both using new market entrants.

    While there is still more to do, today represents a significant milestone in the Government’s efforts to grow international consensus on telecoms diversification. In order to support a lasting and meaningful change it will be crucial for the global community to work together. I am grateful to the Governments of Australia, Canada and the United States of America and look forward to working with them, along with partners around the world, to achieve our vision of a more innovative, competitive and diverse telecoms supply market. Full details of the announcement will be published on www.gov.uk today.

  • Julia Lopez – 2022 Statement on Project Gigabit (Autumn 2022)

    Julia Lopez – 2022 Statement on Project Gigabit (Autumn 2022)

    The statement made by Julia Lopez, the Minister of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in the House of Commons on 1 December 2022.

    Today we have published Building Digital UK’s latest Project Gigabit delivery update. We continue to make excellent progress with Project Gigabit, the Government’s £5 billion mission to deliver lightning-fast, reliable broadband across the UK.

    In this Project Gigabit autumn update, we report on the awarding of a £108 million contract in Cumbria that will bring gigabit-capable connectivity to up to 60,000 homes and businesses across the region. This is the first regional contract awarded under Project Gigabit, and follows local contracts awarded in Teesdale and north Northumberland in the past two months.

    We also report on the boost we are giving to the gigabit broadband voucher scheme, increasing the value of vouchers to £4,500 for all beneficiaries, up from £1,500 and £3,500 for homes and businesses respectively. To date, over 111,000 vouchers have been provided through the scheme and its previous iterations, with more than 77,000 vouchers used to connect premises to gigabit-capable broadband.

    The report also provides an update on the progress of the Project Gigabit procurement pipeline. BDUK has now undertaken market engagement exercises across the whole of England, and has launched procurements with a total value over £780 million, to connect up to 545,000 premises. The publication also reports on the completion of a public review by Highland and Islands Enterprise, working with BDUK and the Scottish Government, ahead of a first potential local procurement in Scotland.

    I will place a copy of the Project Gigabit delivery plan autumn update in the Libraries of both Houses.