The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent steps he has taken to reduce the incidence of death during armed forces training.
Penny Mordaunt
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 1 February 2016 to Question 24067 to the hon. Member for Romford (Mr Rosindell).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what representations he has received concerning paintings left by Sir Hugh Lane to the National Gallery.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy met with Paul McGuinness, Roy Foster and Sir Donnell Deeny in September to discuss the bequest left by Sir Hugh Lane to the National Gallery. The department has received no other representation concerning the bequest.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the state aid approval in relation to BDUK requires BT to provide Wholesale Open Access to other communication providers for ducts and poles built with BDUK funding which are (i) over one km in length and cost more than £50,000 to build and (ii) less than one km in length and cost less than £50,000 to build.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The UK 2012 state aid Decision applied different wholesale access conditions to new and existing infrastructure. On new infrastructure over one km in length and costing more than £50,000 to build, BT must provide access for any purpose, while on existing infrastructure and on new infrastructure less than one km in length or costing less than £50,000 to build, the primary use must be retail services (with business services only permitted where it supports the primary objective.) Both cases exceed what is required by Ofcom under regulation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many (a) ducts and (b) poles have been built with BDUK funding which are (i) more than one km in length and cost more than £50,000 to build and (ii) less than one km in length and cost less than £50,000 to build.
Mr Edward Vaizey
BT predominately uses existing duct and pole infrastructure in BDUK project areas, but where state funded infrastructure has been used, they report it on their website at: https://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/home/products/ductandpolesharing/contracts/contracts/downloads/State_Aided_Infrastruture_One_Truth.xls“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the proportion of small and medium-sized enterprises in Essex that will have access to superfast broadband by completion of phase two of the superfast broadband programme.
Mr Edward Vaizey
By the end of phase two of the Superfast Broadband Programme approximately 93% of homes and businesses in Essex will have access to superfast broadband.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the total annual cost to the UK economy of broadband connections that do not reach Ofcom’s acceptable minimum speed of 10Mbit/s.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The economic benefits of broadband are clear – and that is why we have done and invested more that ever since 2010 than ever to ensure that 95% of homes and businesses right across the UK will have access to superfast broadband by the end of 2017. The benefits are supported by SQW Consulting’s UK Broadband impact study in 2013 estimated that the availability and take-up of faster broadband speeds will add about £17 billion to the UK’s annual Gross Value Added (GVA) by 2024.
In November, the Prime Minister announced our ambition to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) at 10 Mbps. This new broadband USO will give people the legal right to request an affordable broadband connection from a designated provider, up to a reasonable cost threshold, no matter where they live. We will be consulting on these proposals shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the cost is of subsidising satellite broadband to a further one per cent of premises; and how much of that cost will be borne by each of the superfast broadband programmes.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The government is making available a subsidy of up to £400 for each installation of satellite broadband in premises which are currently unable to access a broadband speed of at least 2Mbps throughout 2016 and 2017. The total cost of the scheme will depend on the level of demand.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, by when he expects all households and businesses to have access to fibre optic broadband.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Government will launch a public consultation early next year in preparation for the implementation of a new broadband Universal Service Obligation by 2020, with the ambition to give people the legal right to request a connection to broadband with speeds of 10 Mbps, no matter where in the country they live. Almost 90% of households and businesses in the UK currently have access to superfast broadband – and we are on target for this to reach 95% by the end of 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with counterparts in the Cabinet Office on the privatisation of Channel 4 in each year since 2010.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Ministers and officials regularly meet with counterparts in other departments to discuss a range of issues. Historic records of internal government meetings are not kept.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) civil servants in his Department have had with (i) James Murdoch and (ii) representatives from Sky UK Limited in each year since 2012.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Details of Ministers’ and Senior Civil Servants’ meetings with external organisations, including senior media figures, are published routinely and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications on Gov.uk.
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