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Tag: 2015

  • Rishi Sunak – 2015 Article on Farming

    Rishi Sunak – 2015 Article on Farming

    The article written by Rishi Sunak, the then Conservative PPC for Richmond, in February 2015.

    Farming is very significant to our rural economy and communities – from the Upper Dales to Great Ayton, from sheep to dairy to arable, through Auction Marts at Hawes, Leyburn and Northallerton, farming touches every part of the constituency.

    Through visiting farms and auction marts and speaking with dozens of farmers, I have worked especially hard to understand the issues facing the farming community today.

    I will fight to relieve the costly burden of EU regulation. Farmers have to contend with complicated new greening requirements, standstill rules, helpful pesticides being banned, burdensome electronic sheep tags that don’t even work and burial requirements that are outdated. It can’t be fair that our farmers follow the rules and watch European competitors flount them to their advantage.

    Food labeling standards should be stricter – when shoppers want to “Buy British” they should “Get British”. I will also support efforts to encourage businesses to source locally – this would be beneficial for local farmers. We must do a better job educating consumers about the long term of impact of discount priced milk on our British dairy industry.

    Also, I will do everything I can to help our farmers can capitalise on the great opportunities ahead. As global food consumption rises, efficient and competitive farms can grow and export around the world. Farming is already a great British industry and I will ensure it has every opportunity to flourish in the years ahead.

  • Rishi Sunak – 2015 Comments on AV Dawson

    Rishi Sunak – 2015 Comments on AV Dawson

    The comments made by Rishi Sunak, the then Conservative PPC for Richmond, on 4 February 2015.

    I had the great pleasure of driving a locomotive to open a new facility at AV Dawson!

    The Dawson family founded the business 77 years ago. Today is it is a leading multi-modal logistics firm with a world class facility on the River Tees. The business is run by Gary Dawson, whose grandparents Vernon and Eleanor established the buisness. All they started with was a horse called Dina, a cart and a barrel load of coal! After some incredibly hard work by them and Gary’s father Maurice, the business now has revenues of almost £20m, 250 employees and global customers like Tata Steel and Nissan.

    The government set up a £3 billion Regional Growth Fund to help create jobs in areas where they are needed the most. AV Dawson benefitted from a multi millions pound RGF grant to help them build a state of the art new steel warehouse – the largest investment in their company’s history. The company also increased employment significantly. The new facility sets the standard in service, environmental sustainability and innovation. Nationally the RGF is predicted to help create half a million jobs!

    This is a fantastic example of investment in the North helping drive job creation and prosperity. Congratulations to everybody on AV Dawson on building such a great business. Thanks for giving me the fantastic opportunity to drive the train and blow that horn so loudly!

  • James Heappey – 2015 Maiden Speech in the House of Commons

    James Heappey – 2015 Maiden Speech in the House of Commons

    The maiden speech made by James Heappey, the Conservative MP for Wells, in the House of Commons on 1 June 2015.

    I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this House for the first time. The world around us is changing quickly; new threats emerge as readily as new opportunities. Therefore, for the sake of our security, our standing in the world and the good of our economy, it is important that we seek to shape the world around us, rather than waiting to be shaped by it. We must be proud of, and seek to maintain, the fact that Britain is a global power. That is about not only our ability to project military power across the globe, but the role we play in the UN, NATO, the Commonwealth and the EU. It is about maintaining our place as a global centre for business and trade. It is about recognising that British culture and values reach far further and carry more influence than even the largest military ever could.

    Before entering politics I served our country in the Army, first in the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment, and then in The Rifles. In that time I had the great privilege of serving alongside men and women from all parts of this United Kingdom, and indeed the Commonwealth, both here in the UK and overseas in Basra, Kabul and Sangin. Those who serve our country in the Royal Navy, Army and Air Force accept an unlimited liability. If the Government and this House ask them to deploy, they will. On land, at sea and in the air, we can have confidence that our forces will punch well above their weight, because I have seen at first hand just how courageous, determined and selfless our soldiers, sailors and airmen are.

    However, we owe those men and women the certainty that we will always support them and their families, both at home and overseas. Since the last strategic defence and security review, the threats facing our country have become much more complex. If Britain is to meet those threats, we must be clear in our intent to fund defence properly. We simply cannot ask our forces, regular and reserve, to meet all those threats without resourcing them to do so. Therefore, as we progress towards the SDSR, we must understand that any further cuts in defence must mean a cut to our strategic ambition as a nation. I hope that neither is needed.

    As this is my first time speaking in the House, I would like to pay tribute to my predecessor, Tessa Munt. Ms Munt was a committed supporter of our community in Somerset. Over a long and difficult campaign in a marginal seat there has been much on which we have disagreed, but it is important to note at this first opportunity the hard work of Tessa Munt and her dedicated staff.

    It is an incredible honour to stand here as the Member of Parliament for Wells, and I would like to thank my constituents for sending me here to speak on their behalf. Mine is a constituency that contributes greatly to Britain’s standing in the world. The city of Wells is England’s smallest city, but with the most complete ecclesiastical estate in Europe it is a major tourist attraction and the backdrop to many television programmes and films. In Street is the global headquarters of Clarks Shoes, a brand recognised around the globe and enjoying growth in new markets, while in Chilcompton is the fashion icon Mulberry. Shepton Mallet is the capital of cider production in this country. Only this weekend, the Royal Bath and West show hosted, once again, the largest cider competition on the planet. In Highbridge, Burnham-on-Sea, Berrow and Brean, we welcome well over 1 million tourists a year who come to stay on the magnificent Somerset coast and to journey inland to the Mendips area of outstanding natural beauty. Our local farmers produce the best milk money can buy; we just need to make sure that they are paid what it is worth. Glastonbury hosts the best music festival on earth. Cheddar is famed for its gorge and for lending its name to the world’s most popular cheese.

    I am so proud to represent such a beautiful and varied part of the world, but while there is much to celebrate, so is there much to do. The Prime Minister has called Her Majesty’s speech a one-nation programme that will benefit all in our country. I am delighted about that, because for too long rural areas have not received the same investment as our large towns and cities. Our market towns and villages struggle with poor road connections, very limited access to the rail network, weak phone signals, and achingly slow broadband. To unlock the incredible potential for economic growth in rural communities, we must improve that infrastructure. The investment by this Government in broadband has already brought formidable results. Village by village, fibre-optic connections are being made and life is speeding up. However, the final 5% of the superfast broadband roll-out is disproportionately concentrated in constituencies like mine, and so I urge the Government to push on with that final phase as soon as possible. Within that final few per cent. will be some of Britain’s most isolated communities; we simply cannot leave them behind.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Maiden Speech in the House of Commons

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Maiden Speech in the House of Commons

    The maiden speech made by Louise Haigh, the Labour MP for Sheffield Heeley, in the House of Commons on 4 June 2015.

    Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for allowing me the opportunity to make my maiden speech. I, too, congratulate you on your re-election.

    It is a great pleasure to speak after so many distinguished colleagues who have done their constituents proud in this debate. I am incredibly proud to be the youngest Labour MP serving in the House of Commons. It is often claimed that young people are apathetic or disengaged, but the young people I campaigned with and for in this election were far from apathetic. They were angry and felt let down because they thought that they did not have a voice. Young people have been under-represented in this Chamber for too long, but it is clear that that is changing on both sides of the House. It is a great honour to be part of the most diverse Parliament ever.

    As the fourth Labour Member to represent Sheffield Heeley, it is also a great privilege to succeed Meg Munn, who served in this House for 14 years. She was renowned for her assiduous promotion of women’s issues, particularly in the science, technology, engineering and maths industries, and for building on her extensive experience as a social worker before entering this House to highlight child protection issues and improved rights for young carers. These are her very proud legacy.

    Like Meg, I was born and raised in Sheffield, the very heart of God’s own county, a city renowned for its industrial heritage and now the greenest city in the UK, with more trees per person than any other city in Europe.

    My constituency boasts a number of beautiful parklands, from Graves Park past Heeley City Farm and Heeley development trust to Richmond and Norfolk parks, all of which not only provide precious and much-loved green space but are important community hubs, providing childcare and family activities as well as adult education and training opportunities.

    Colleagues may know that, like Rome, Sheffield is built on seven hills, which means that areas of my constituency command spectacular views of the rest of Sheffield and the surrounding Peak district. However, it also means that the inequality that scars our great city can be viewed in sharp relief. Young people who live at the top of hills in Gleadless Valley and Arbourthorne can look down on the two world-leading universities that we host—universities that they have been priced out of. They can look down on the dwindling industrial bases that their parents and grandparents would have been proud to work in, but which no longer create the jobs they desperately need. And they can look across to the west of Sheffield, where a baby girl can expect to live almost 10 years longer than another born and living her life about four miles away, by virtue of nothing more than her socioeconomic circumstances and the area she was born into. Our duty to our constituents is one that we share in all parts of the House, and the inequality that scars Sheffield, like so much of our nation, is something that I know we will all aspire to eradicate.

    Before I entered this place, I worked in the City of London, and that experience motivated me to run for Parliament. I know from my time there that it makes a valuable contribution to our economy, but I also know that the culture and attitudes inherent there have been unaffected by the events of the last eight years. The culture of excessive pay, short-termism and cavalier risk-taking was demonstrated only last week with yet another case of LIBOR fixing. While our constituents remain worse off as a continued result of the financial crisis, again I know that this is something we will all aspire to solve.

    It was disappointing, therefore, to hear very little in the Gracious Address on how we can reform the financial system. Given that the consequences of the weak recovery will be familiar to all of us—low wages, poor productivity and insecure work—it is incumbent on us all to address the reasons why our financial system is not providing the long-term investment that we need in cities like Sheffield. Being literally the greenest city in the UK is not enough; this must be at the heart of our industrial strategy and economic policy. If we are to secure a sustainable economy that delivers benefits for all, we must transform the way our economy works, incentivising investment in green, productive industries and penalising those short-term industries and practices that have done our economy and society such harm.

    But, Madam Deputy Speaker, we in Sheffield Heeley have waited too long for change. My predecessor’s predecessor, Bill Michie, in his maiden speech in 1983—four years before I was born—spoke about the plight of the long-term unemployed, the young people out of work, the educational inequalities and the lack of investment in my constituency. Those problems pervade to this day. Change for the very vulnerable, the low paid and all working people is long overdue and we face a very clear choice in this Parliament—to continue down the same economic path that has entrenched inequality and embedded vested interests or to stand for a system that will protect the vulnerable, reward working people and create a fairer society so that my successor does not have to repeat the same tired list of issues in another generation’s time.

  • Simon Hughes – 2015 Speech to the Data Protection Practitioner Conference

    Simon Hughes – 2015 Speech to the Data Protection Practitioner Conference

    The speech made by Simon Hughes, the then Minister of State for Justice and Civil Liberties, in Manchester on 2 March 2015.

    Thank you for your introduction and for inviting me to join you at today’s conference.

    The issues around access to information matter hugely to people, and increasingly so.

    When private and personal data goes missing it is a matter of real concern to those affected.

    When data is misused, for example to make nuisance calls, it can cause real distress.

    When information is not managed effectively, for example in connection with the need to check the backgrounds of those working with children, it can lead to serious lapses of safety and security.

    When the public and the media cannot access legitimate information, for example about decisions made by the government, they are rightly frustrated.

    I am clear. And the Coalition government is clear. The issues you are discussing today, but deal with every day, matter to the public and can have a real impact on people’s lives.

    I want, therefore, to first thank you for all that you do in the fields where you work.

    The UK’s information rights regime is one of which we should be proud – and you can be proud of the advances which have been made.

    I want to take this opportunity to commend the Information Commissioner for his work, and all who work in the Office of the Information Commissioner for their work, particularly to make sure that individuals understand their right to information.

    The Information Rights Balance of Competences review which we recently conducted – and which some of you may have contributed to – confirmed that the Data Protection Act strikes a good balance between the interests of data controllers and data subjects.

    I am equally clear that there can be no room for complacency.

    As the Minister with responsibility for these issues for just over a year, I have been determined that there is no complacency in government.

    Every year, if not every month, brings a new technological advance.

    Last week I celebrated the 32nd anniversary of my election as an MP in 1983. In that time I have seen a transformation in how I communicate with my constituents and the way their information – often hugely personal and highly sensitive – is managed. Those changes have brought huge benefits and helped me to improve, I hope, the way I can serve my constituents as their MP. I am now an email or a tweet away, rather than a letter or a surgery appointment away – although of course these methods of engagement continue. I can direct constituents to sources of government information on the internet which previously would have been available only by post or on the end of an agency’s helpline, often with a lengthy wait. Our systems are now cloud-based.

    The Internet of Things will transform our lives in ways we cannot imagine.

    And each of these advances brings with it new and ever more difficult issues of privacy and data protection.

    It is our job to meet the challenge of safeguarding personal data, whilst also facilitating its use and flow.

    Let me give you just four brief examples which I imagine you are all aware of which show how we are meeting that challenge.

    First, just last month, we have taken a really important step to widen the protection of data by passing legislation that will extend the Information Commissioner’s powers of compulsory audit to public authority NHS bodies.

    This now allows the Information Commissioner to undertake mandatory ‘spot-checks’ on specified NHS data controllers.

    In practical terms, this means that the ICO can now work with data controllers in the NHS to rectify problems at an earlier stage. He can now carry out inspections when he deems it necessary.

    The reforms should encourage NHS bodies to improve their compliance with the data protection framework. These changes should also go some way towards improving public confidence in the ability of NHS bodies to protect sensitive personal data.

    This is just one example of how government has worked with the ICO and stakeholders to improve data protection legislation.

    The second example is one that I am particularly pleased about, as it fulfils a promise I made at this conference last year.

    I said then that the government intended to end the practice of enforced subject access.

    I am pleased to say that legislation to make this a criminal offence will come into force on 10 March. From this date, it will be a criminal offence for any employer to ask a prospective employee to submit a personal data request and then disclose the results to them in order to obtain employment or secure services.

    Of course, appropriate safeguards are in place which make it possible to access an individual’s criminal records where it is legitimate to do so. The relevant sections of the Police Act 1997 now provide an appropriate statutory regime for employers and others to obtain criminal records across the UK without the need to resort to the practice of enforced subject access requests.

    This is a really important reform which I know will be welcomed by employees.

    A third example is the government’s efforts to protect individuals’ rights in the work we are doing in conjunction with industry bodies, consumer groups and regulators to tackle the menace of nuisance calls.

    Nuisance calls can be an annoyance to all of us, but for the vulnerable and elderly they can be genuinely distressing. The government takes this issue seriously. We have made some progress in this area and we are working hard to target those companies which operate outside the boundaries of the law.

    I am pleased to say that legislation will now come into force on 6 April that will make it easier for the ICO to take enforcement action against rogue businesses which breach the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations.

    The new legislation will make sure that the ICO will only need to prove a company has breached the rules, rather than as is the case now, having to find evidence of significant harm and distress from unsolicited communications.

    This is a welcome step in a raft of measures aimed at tackling nuisance calls. The Claims Management Regulator is also working hard, in partnership with others such as the ICO and Ofcom, to address the challenges posed by rogue claims companies.

    We have given the Claims Management Regulator new powers to impose financial penalties on claims companies which break the rules. That includes using information gathered by unlawful unsolicited marketing. We have also introduced tough new rules, requiring claims companies to make sure that when they contact consumers to offer claims services, they do so within the legal boundaries. These changes show that we are committed to strengthening individuals’ data protection and privacy rights.

    My fourth and final example demonstrates the other side of the coin – our determination to open up access to information to which the public has an absolute right.

    I know that Tony Blair has described the Freedom of Information Act as his biggest regret and, in his autobiography, called himself an imbecile and a nincompoop for introducing it, but I don’t agree.

    I think it has been a hugely significant reform that has helped throw open the curtains and let in much needed light on government and public bodies, the decisions of which affect all aspects of people’s lives. Those should be open to full and proper scrutiny – and I will always be a strong promoter of FOI.

    I am therefore particularly pleased last month to have been able to take through an Order in Parliament to extend the FOI Act to Network Rail.

    This measure will give the public an enforceable right to access a wide range of information about the operation, maintenance and development of the rail infrastructure. It brings more than £3.5 billion of public spending every year into the light. Not only does this include Network Rail’s work to maintain and develop the rail network, but it also includes its operation of key railway stations, provision of light maintenance depots, and allowing train-operating companies to use its tracks and stations. It also covers information about corporate issues which relate to the discharge of these functions, such as pay and rail safety.

    Network Rail joins 100 other bodies that have been brought within the scope of FOI by the coalition government.

    I believe there is further to go. I want to see all public service delivered by the private sector put on an equal footing and subject to FOI – they are, after all, being paid for by the taxpayer. There is not coalition agreement on that as of today, but I will continue to press for it until there is.

    Those are my four examples.

    Extending the Information Commissioner’s powers of compulsory audit to public authority NHS bodies.

    Ending the practice of enforced subject access.

    New powers to tackle the menace of nuisance calls.

    Extending Freedom of Information.

    I could go on with many others, but I think those four alone are evidence of our determination to strike that balance between facilitating the use and flow of data yet safeguarding personal information.

    So let me conclude by looking ahead.

    I am clear, and the government is clear, that the absolute priority for 2015 is to reach an EU-wide agreement on a new a new data protection framework.

    We must have an updated data protection act that meets the needs of the 21st century.

    We have to strengthen the information rights framework.

    We have to do so in a way that both protects personal data and facilitates economic growth.

    And that means doing so in a way that respects individuals’ rights to privacy without being too prescriptive or costly for business.

    We have already made progress in those negotiations and there have been many changes made to the European Commission’s original proposals, published in January 2012.

    New elements of the data protection regulation which have been revisited include: ‘the right to be forgotten’, 24 hours breach notifications, a cross- EU regulatory one-stop shop and mandatory data protection impact assessments.

    We have made good progress in negotiating these and other parts of the Regulation.

    In particular, we have worked hard to ensure that the original text, which was too prescriptive and process driven, is now more balanced so that data protection obligations on business are proportionate to the degree of harm of the processing activity.

    Many of you here today have helped us with our negotiations.

    You may have met with my officials to engage in the details of the new proposals; or you may have raised your concerns by writing to my office and meeting with MEPs.

    With your help we will continue to negotiate for a sensible and proportionate data protection framework which protects civil liberties while allowing for economic growth and innovation in the digital economy. These can and should be achieved in tandem, rather than at the expense of one another.

    With your help, I will continue to do all I can to make sure that the UK plays a full part in the negotiations ahead so we can meet that commitment we have made to secure agreement on the new package by the end of 2015.

    Thank you again for all that you do.

    These are exciting and challenging times for everyone involved in this area of work.

    Our shared goal is an information rights framework that is easy to understand, easy to apply and is effectively regulated

    To achieve that, let us all continue to support the good work that is being done by the ICO and others in this area.

    Thank you for inviting me to join you today.

  • Ed Vaizey – 2015 Speech to the Oxford Media Convention

    Ed Vaizey – 2015 Speech to the Oxford Media Convention

    The speech made by Ed Vaizey, the then Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on 4 March 2015.

    Introduction

    Good morning. Thank you very much for inviting me to speak to you today.

    With an election only weeks away, now seems like a good moment to reflect on what has been achieved in the last five years.

    I know that you share my view that I have done an outstanding job as your minister during that period.

    Along with my officials, I’ve been at the heart of the DCMS, slogging my guts out on your behalf.

    So I am surprised that you’re debating later this afternoon … “What is the point of the DCMS”?

    A real vote of confidence in my tenure, I must say.

    I won’t play tit-for-tat, no matter how tempting it might be to call this speech “What’s the point of the Oxford Media Convention”?

    It’s always fun to play the Whitehall parlour game of how to re-arrange policy responsibilities.

    But the real questions worth looking at are: “what is the role of government in this multi-media age?” and “what are the challenges for the next five years?”

    What we have achieved

    We have the best broadband of the EU5 and the highest level of take up.

    Ofcom has just recorded the single biggest rise in average UK broadband speed ever recorded – a fifth.

    We have the highest level of e-commerce per head in the world.

    The proportion of households that have a tablet has almost doubled in the past two years.

    And thanks to many of the people in this room, we have the best television in the world.

    Since 2009, the Creative Industries as a whole have been a brilliant success, rising three times faster than the economy as a whole.

    TV and advertising revenues are up.

    The independent sector has enjoyed an annual growth rate of 6.6 per cent each year since 2009, with revenues over £3bn for the first time in 2014. International sales and commissions have more than doubled in the same period.

    And substantial contribution to the health of the TV industry comes from the UK’s commercial broadcasters, with:

    overall investment in content growing at five per cent a year since 2011;

    £725m investment in UK production in 2013;

    investment in first run UK production grew at seven per cent a year from 2011 to 2013; and

    investment in UK content from external producers grew by almost 10 per cent each year since 2011.

    A lot of this success has nothing at all to do with government.

    And indeed, some of that success has been down to government leaving well alone – sometimes government not doing something can be as important as government acting.

    But where we have seen that government can make a difference, we have acted.

    We have invested heavily in our digital infrastructure.

    Our rural broadband programme has seen two million homes connected, with 40,000 homes being reached every single week. That’s supported by extensive commercial roll out by BT and Virgin media.

    Our successful auction of 4G spectrum has seen the fastest take up of 4G in the world, after successfully completing digital TV switchover on time and under budget.

    Sajid Javid has concluded a ground breaking deal with mobile firms to deliver 90 per cent geographic coverage in the UK by 2017.

    We have launched local television.

    And we are building out the network for digital radio. London has more digital stations than any city on the world, and next year we will have 24 national commercial digital stations.

    And we continue to look at future innovation.

    To back innovation we have published our strategy for the Internet of Things.

    Ofcom is pioneering a framework for white space technology.

    And we are leading the way with 5G technologies – the University of Surrey’s 5G innovation centre announced last week that they had tested one a terabit per second connection – many thousands of times faster than current mobile data connections.

    There is another great success story it is worth pausing to reflect on – the impact of the screen tax credits introduced by the Chancellor.

    The Film Tax Credit helped see film investment increase by nearly a third in the last year alone. It has been responsible for almost £8 billion of film investment in the UK.

    In the first full year of the TV tax credit, almost £400 million of investment was made in high-end television supporting our home-grown media and record inward investment.

    And the animation, video games and visual effects tax credit will also, I am sure, stimulate significant levels of investment in the UK.

    Now we are looking at introducing a tax credit for documentaries and children’s television.

    The net result of all this, I would argue, is that the UK’s creative industries have never been healthier. Their profile in political debate has never been higher. They are the UK’s most effective calling card.

    The next Government will want to build on this success.

    Future challenges

    What are the challenges and issues it will face?

    The issue at the top of the in-tray will be the review of the BBC’s Charter, which has to be renewed at the end of 2016.

    The next government will have, in effect, 18 months to conduct the process.
    We made a conscious decision not to start the Charter Review before the general election.

    We didn’t want to get the BBC mixed up in partisan point scoring.

    There are many reasons why we need the BBC.

    Their recent commitment to work with UK-wide arts institutions and to support coding in schools are just two recent examples of this.

    Radio 1’s commitment to new music is another.

    We want to see a BBC that is fit for the digital age, able to fulfil the many roles that the BBC has done so successfully for many years – not just great content, but education and training, technical innovation, and a huge and irreplaceable contribution to civic society.

    But as I say, that debate won’t begin until May 8, and we won’t be expressing any views before then.

    Except to confirm that we “heart” the BBC.

    The second big – somewhat related – issue will be the next phase of the transformation in media brought about by technology.

    These are massive changes, bringing to the fore important issues – privacy, data, content regulation, intellectual property, competition.

    The rise of Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Netflix have transformed the experience of consumers. They bring huge opportunities, but also challenges to traditional media businesses.

    We have always believed in an open internet, as free as possible from regulation, and we have made the case again and again with our allies in international fora. But an open internet doesn’t mean a lawless free for all.

    Whenever a politician raises concerns in this area, they are accused of being a technological ignoramus, of stifling innovation.

    That’s a crude response to a sophisticated and nuanced landscape.

    There is still a role for government and for politicians in this arena. But it has subtly changed, moving from top-down one-size-fits-all regulation to an approach that focuses on flexibility and partnership.

    Let me give you an example, the issue of protecting kids online.

    Rather than legislate, we chose to work with industry. And as a result, in short order, we achieved parental filters for all the major ISPs; a major education campaign; and deep and meaningful changes to the way Google deals with search in this area. To try and legislate here would have been difficult – controversial, time consuming and inflexible.

    So in my view future issues will have to be approached on the basis of cooperation and partnership.

    The best approach in my view is not knee-jerk regulation or legislation, but to work with major players to achieve the best outcome.

    As I have said before, people need to meet us halfway. Politicians have legitimate concerns that reflect the wider concerns of society. Screaming “internet censorship” every time an issue is raised is utterly self-defeating.

    There are other big changes on the way as well.

    We will soon have a Europe-wide data protection regime, which is a great prize for those operating across borders provided it is not overly bureaucratic.

    And an energetic debate is starting on the opportunities for a digital single market.

    Our submission to the Commission is called a non-paper. That’s Euro speak for “think piece”. It contains our vision for what a digital single market could look like.

    But we won’t achieve it by imposing it on you – we want to, we have to, take you with us. So rise to the challenge and put forward your ideas and proposals to support further investment.

    If we can remove barriers to enable you to reach out to 500 million consumers, that has to be a good thing.

    And it has to be a good thing for the UK as well. We are already home to over 500 broadcasters. Major companies like Discovery, Disney and Viacom not only employ thousands of people here, they are major investors in UK content. We want to give them reasons to continue to invest here.

    The third challenge is our digital infrastructure and, alongside it, digital inclusion.

    As I said earlier we have made huge progress in rolling out Britain’s digital infrastructure in TV and radio – and in terms of mobile and fixed broadband But we need to go further and faster.

    We want the whole country to have access to superfast broadband.

    We want good mobile coverage everywhere.

    And we want to ensure people who live here have the skills to access services and content online.

    The point is that building digital infrastructure doesn’t have a start or finish date – the next government will have to look at where to go next.

    The final great challenge is diversity. I know you are talking about it later today.

    Media remains a powerful force for good in this country. To maintain its role, it has to reflect the society we live in. At the moment, it doesn’t.

    I became passionate about the cause two years ago, when I saw Lenny Henry perform in the Comedy of Errors at the National Theatre. I looked around me and saw a completely different audience. And all those abstract words such as outreach and engagement suddenly became real.

    I knew Lenny was vocal on the subject so invited him in for a chat, and found someone champing at the bit to effect real change. And the more people I talked to the BAME media community more I discovered the frustration, and yes anger felt by the BAME community who felt that not only had it all just been talk for the last thirty years, we were actually going backwards.

    Thanks to Lenny, Oona King and others, we are seeing change. I want to pay tribute to what has been achieved.

    Thank you too to all the major broadcasters now have clear diversity policies with real targets.

    We have uniform industry-wide monitoring for the first time which will make a real difference.

    The Creative Diversity Network has been put on a permanent footing. But we have only just started.

    The building blocks are in place and now we need to get on and do it.

    The people in this room can make that change.

    Conclusion

    I am as ambitious as ever for the future of our country, and so is the Government I’m lucky enough to be a member of.

    I am really proud that the Creative industries sit at the heart of this country’s success.

    We will continue to support you.

    We will intervene where we need to – but we will always work with you.

    We will build the infrastructure for the future that we all need.

    We will support investment in content and strong IP rights.

    And we will build an environment in which you can all succeed.

    It has been a great pleasure to have been your Minister.

  • Ed Vaizey – 2015 Speech on Drive to Digital

    Ed Vaizey – 2015 Speech on Drive to Digital

    The speech made by Ed Vaizey, the then Secretary of State of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on 10 February 2015.

    Good morning everyone.

    Well here we are again at the fantastic home of BBC Radio.

    I have had the enormous pleasure and honour of being the Minster responsible for radio over the last five years during a time when there has been a massive creative explosion across all UK creative industries – of which radio remains a fundamental part.

    The creative industries are an area that the UK excels at and which has grown by almost ten per cent in 2013, three times that of the wider UK economy and accounted for 1.7 million jobs in 2013, which was 5.6 per cent of UK jobs.

    This massive contribution is an all-time high and equates to around £8.8m per hour, or £146,000 every single minute, therefore playing a key role in supporting our long-term economic plan, which has turned the economy around.

    Perhaps the most dramatic change since 2010 has been the leap in connectivity and the roll out of superfast broadband – pushed by our investment – and the resulting explosion of access to video and audio entertainment.

    With an apparently endless choice of TV channels, on demand content, thousands of radio stations and music services like Spotify and Deezer what is most surprising – certainly to many outsiders – is the strength of the UK radio industry – more popular and just as relevant as ever.

    Radio does face challenges against competition for advertising. Though it remains a powerful medium it is not perceived as sexy – rightly or wrongly – by lots of advertisers. It remains the most underrated medium in terms of its share of advertising.

    But radio has shown itself time and time again that it is a medium which remains well adapted for the digital age: the perfect accompaniment to just about anything from digital surfing, cooking, working to driving home.

    The trick for radio is to grow both its reach and commercial impact – as gauged by average revenue per listener.

    And digital radio is absolutely central to this – there has been a widening of choice and content over the last four years to the point where we are now short of national capacity.

    As well as the massive success of BBC 6 Music, almost as successful has been the launch and rise of Radio 4 Extra. Launched in 2011 it is now the 2nd most popular digital station.

    Over on national commercial radio we have seen an increase in the number of stations available from four in 2009 to 14 today.

    Many of those stations are doing well, with Absolute 80s being the leading commercial digital station with over 1.5 million listeners. In the last few years we have seen more new national stations added such as Capital Xtra, LBC, and Magic and the capacity is now totally full.

    However, there is a risk of radio descending into sameness, with the same formats and playlists chasing the same mainstream audience. In my view, digital radio needs to promote a broader and more diverse range of services.

    So the new D2 multiplex and the ability to deploy DAB+ with the new service seems to me to be a golden opportunity to broaden the range and types of radio content, to widen its reach to listeners and help increase it’s commercial impact and I was very pleased with the plans presented by both bidders – Listen2Digital and Sound Digital – to broaden and strengthen the appeal of DAB.

    But to even discuss issues arising from a full national commercial multiplex and D2 shows how much has changed since 2010 and the scale of what was needed to get from there to here.

    One of my early actions when I came to DCMS was to launch the three-year Digital Radio Action Plan.

    The previous Government had put in the legislation – but there was an urgent need for a comprehensive plan supported by Government, industry and Ofcom to support the expansion of digital radio, tackle the barriers to digital migration and to assess the feasibility of a future radio switchover.

    The issues then included:

    the lack of an agreed set of technical standards for DAB receivers;

    very limited DAB coverage at a local level with national services also falling short of FM; and

    limited engagement with the car industry and a very low level of standard DAB conversions in cars

    Following the completion of work on the Action Plan, I set out our long-term vision of a digital future for radio at the Go Digital conference in December 2013.

    I did say that it was too early to set a date for a future radio switchover and that we need to see the majority of listening move to digital and have DAB coverage expand to close to FM equivalence before we will be ready to be talking about switchover dates.

    But what I was able to announce was a series of measures that helped us achieve those criteria.

    Well today I can confirm that the planning and – the lengthy debate about expanding DAB coverage has finished and we are now ready to commence the biggest ever expansion of DAB.

    Today we are formally announcing the building of 182 new digital transmitters across the UK – in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as modifications and frequency changes at a further 49 sites.

    Ofcom have now published the detailed coverage maps and an outline timetable for the completion of this work – by summer 2016. The programme will almost double the number of local digital transmitters and will take local DAB coverage up to the level of local commercial radio on FM.

    It will also create more of an even playing field so commercial stations can compete more effectively with the BBC on digital.

    These new transmitters start to be built next month and will increase local DAB coverage from less than 75 per cent of households today to above 91 per cent.

    This is fantastic news for millions of listeners who will now be able to listen to their favourite local stations on DAB – including BBC local and nations stations.

    It is also great news for motorists who will now be able to enjoy an uninterrupted DAB signal on thousands more miles of roads. I look forward to benefiting from the improved services when I’m out and about on the campaign trail.

    The new local transmitters are being part funded by Government along with the BBC and the commercial multiplex operators. And I can also announce that we have laid the regulations which will allow local Mux operators who build out to the plan to extend their local licences to 2030, something I announced in December 2013.

    Getting to this point has taken a long time, it has been difficult and complex process but I think it is a great example of cross industry cooperation working closely with Government and Ofcom.

    But it also a very tangible sign of the Government’s long-term support for digital radio.

    I would like to thank everyone who made this happen especially Will Harding [Global] Grae Allen [Bauer] Gregory Watson [Muxco] Jimmy Buckland [UTV] Paul Eaton [Arqiva] Tony Moretta and to Tim Cockram and Hellen Keefe at the BBC.

    In 2013 the BBC announced a programme of 162 new transmitters to take their National DAB BBC coverage to beyond 97 per cent.

    I would like to congratulate the BBC and Arqiva on this excellent progress. Already 100 new transmitters have been added and BBC national DAB coverage increased to 95 per cent. This work is scheduled to complete by the end of 2015.

    During our deliberations about radio’s future I have been struck by the importance of local radio stations and the passion of those who run them.

    I believe local radio – in all its forms has a strong and sustainable future – whether on FM, which will be sustained for the smallest stations, or on local DAB. But small local stations do need a DAB solution that works for them.

    For that reason I was pleased to announce in December 2013 £500,000 of funding for an important programme of work by Ofcom to develop a low cost solution for small local stations to get onto DAB.

    I am delighted that Ofcom are making very good progress on this development and I am pleased to confirm that Ofcom will be commencing a series of 10 area trials – more than originally envisaged – for small scale DAB starting this summer.

    So taken together the expansion of local and national DAB coverage and the launch of the 12 licensed but un-launched local DAB multiplexes over the past 18 months is a massive step forward by the industry.

    It means that so many more people can enjoy their favourite stations on DAB. It means that the entire primary road network will be fully covered. Hopefully it will finally end all those conversations about how much people love digital radio but it does cut out for 10 seconds under that bridge….

    It will also signify that – by the end of 2016 – coverage criteria set by Government for a switchover decision will have been met.

    The priority for radio going forward is for the radio industry, supply chain and vehicle industry to really come together and take the next step to deliver the benefits and communicate the benefits of digital radio.

    Given the collective work already in train I am sure that together you will be able to move the digital listening from 38 per cent towards the switchover criteria of 50 per cent in the next couple of years – but as we have seen from the latest RAJAR figures there is much to do.

    The theme of the conference is ‘drive to digital’. A huge amount of progress has been made since 2010 to tackle perhaps the biggest barrier to any future switchover – the conversion of cars. The car is where 22 per cent of radio listening occurs and digital radio in car is a much better listening experience than analogue.

    We have had tremendous support from the vehicle manufacturers and their trade association the SMMT and I would like to thank to Mike Hawes, the SMMT and all the vehicle manufacturers for their brilliant support. I was pleased to hear that as of Q4 2014 over 60 per cent of new cars now come with digital radio as standard with a further 14 per cent having digital radio as an option.

    That’s an incredible shift since 2010 when the percentage of cars with digital radio fitted as standard was only four per cent.

    In the last 12 months 1.5 million cars have been sold with DAB. The Q4 2014 data also shows that commercial vehicles are now increasingly being fitted with digital radio as standard with now almost 30 per cent of vans coming with digital radio, which compares with four per cent at the beginning of the year.

    But there remains the challenge of the existing stock of cars and finding a new low cost solution for cars, which do not have an installed DAB. I am keen to look at ways we can support research and innovation and I will be discussing this further with Digital Radio UK to see what might be possible.

    When I spoke in December 2013 I was really pleased to be able to announce that DRUK would be taking a lead on the launch of the digital tick mark, working with manufacturers and retailers in both the domestic and vehicle sectors.

    This is important as it raises the specification standard of radios on sale and will provide consumer reassurance and a better listening experience.

    I am pleased to confirm that the majority of manufacturers have had their products tested and approved to use the tick mark and these products are beginning to arrive in stores.

    I am also delighted to confirm that the DVLA is working with DRUK and has started to include digital radio messaging and the tick mark on 40 million tax reminders they are sending to motorists.

    So in summary, good and continuing progress over the past 14 months, but there is still much to do.

    It’s probable that the radio switchover criteria will be met by 2017 and the Government of the day will be able to take a measured and informed decision of when to set a timetable for the switchover from analogue to digital.

    This will put us in line with other European nations such as Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden and potentially Germany where the rollout of DAB+ services has been given a recent boost by commitments from their public service broadcasters.

    I am confident that radio will continue to thrive and prosper – a powerful, relevant modern medium prepared for the digital age – and you can be sure that I will be listening somewhere.

  • Ed Miliband – 2015 Keynote Speech on the NHS

    Ed Miliband – 2015 Keynote Speech on the NHS

    The comments made by Ed Miliband, the then Leader of the Opposition, on 23 April 2015.

    It is great to be here with you at Manchester Metropolitan University.

    What a fantastic turn-out. And I particularly want to thank you for having us on exam day.

    And I want to thank John Brookes the Vice Chancellor here at the University.

    John’s going to be retiring in May after 10 years, so let’s pay tribute to him today.

    And let’s also pay tribute to all of the brilliant student nurses here today who are training to work in our health service. Thank you.

    The general election is getting closer and closer.

    There is just over two weeks to go now.

    Just over two weeks to decide what the future looks like for our country.

    Not simply a competition between parties.

    But a choice between two different visions of the country.

    Carrying on with the Tory way, hoping that the success of a few at the top will somehow be enough for us all to succeed, and cutting our public services back to the very bone.

    Or a Labour vision.

    A vision of a recovery that reaches not just the City of London but the front door of every working family.

    And a vision that knows we must invest in the future of our vital public services.

    And there is nowhere this choice matters more than the NHS.

    I don’t need to tell you here that the NHS is the most precious institution in our country.

    We all have our own reasons why we love the NHS.

    It looks after us when we’re born.

    It cares for us when we’re sick.

    And it so often cares for us also in our final days and weeks of life.

    It is the proudest achievement in our country and the envy of the world.

    But we know too that the NHS is facing one of the greatest threats since its foundation.

    We know it has been going backwards under this government.

    Harder and harder to see a GP.

    More and more elderly people who can’t get the care they need at home.

    And when that happens, the problems pile up in hospitals.

    Patients stuck outside hospital in ambulances because A&E is full.

    Seriously ill people waiting for treatment lying on trolleys in corridors for hours.

    So often doctors, nurses and midwives are rushed off their feet.

    Unable to do the job that they are so well-trained to do.

    Two-thirds of nurses today say patients are missing out on care because there just aren’t enough nurses on the wards.

    Today we hear the news that one-in-three NHS Trusts were investigated last year over safe staffing.

    And none of this has happened by accident.

    It has happened as a direct result of choices this government has made.

    A government that has wasted billions on a top-down reorganisation that no-one wanted.

    A government that has cut nurse training, meaning we don’t now have enough nurses.

    It is a government that has cut back on GP services and care for the elderly, increasing the pressure on hospitals.

    And it is a government that has overseen a creeping privatisation of our NHS.

    With a Health and Social Care Act that sees precious NHS resources spent on accountants and competition lawyers.

    Friends, that’s not the NHS I believe in.

    It is not the NHS you believe in.

    It is not the NHS the British people want to see.

    Of course now there is an election on again, it is all change.

    The Conservatives are committed to doubling the spending cuts next year, even deeper spending cuts than we’ve seen in the last parliament.

    But now they want you to believe they’re going to spend more on the NHS.

    With money they can’t identify, from a place they cannot name.

    These are promises that can’t be believed.

    They are false promises with an expiry date of May 8th stamped on them.

    And you know, nothing is more dangerous for the future of our NHS than pretending you are going to pay for it with an IOU.

    And what do the Conservatives say when asked about where they will find the money?

    “Just look at our record.”

    Well, we have.

    And it’s failed.

    I have a direct message for the British people:

    For five years, the NHS has gone backwards.

    For the next five if the Conservatives are returned to power the NHS will be starved of funds, it will face a rising tide of privatisation.

    This is the truth.

    David Cameron is now a mortal danger to the NHS.

    We have a fortnight to fight for our NHS.

    We have a fortnight to rescue our NHS.

    That’s why the country needs Labour’s immediate rescue plan for the National Health Service.

    The central idea is this: that we must invest in the NHS with a fully funded plan, so it has time to care.

    And we must join up services at every stage, from home to hospital, so you get the care you need, where you need it.

    That is how we make our NHS sustainable and successful for years to come.

    So we’ll have a Mansion tax on properties worth over £2 million.

    We will raise extra revenue from the tobacco companies.

    And we’ll do something the Conservatives would never do: we’ll clamp down on tax avoidance, including by the hedge funds.

    And we will use that money for a plan to transform services, and have 20,000 more nurses, 8,000 more doctors, 5,000 more care-workers and 3,000 more midwives.

    So that we have what every nurse wants, every doctor wants, every patient wants:

    An NHS with time to care.

    And this investment will not be for an NHS that stands still but one that keeps up with the challenges of our time.

    Let me tell you what I have learnt most from talking to people in the NHS.

    The most important principle is that the success of what goes on inside a hospital depends on what goes on outside in the community.

    When people can’t get to see their GP, many go to A&E instead.

    When problems with mental health aren’t spotted early at school or work, people can end up in crisis, needing more intensive support.

    When elderly people can’t get the care they need at home, they are more likely to struggle, grow ill or have a fall, and end up in hospital.

    In each and every case, failing to act early is worse for the person involved and it costs more for the NHS too.

    We have to give people the right care at the right time in the right place.

    And that is what we will do:

    We will hire more doctors and by saving resources on privatisation and bureaucracy, we will guarantee everyone who wants it an appointment with a GP in 48 hours.

    Our new care workers will be a new arm of the NHS, to help elderly people with the greatest needs.

    And we will meet the central challenge of the 21st century with integrated, not fragmented services.

    We’ll put the right values at the heart of the NHS:

    Care, compassion and co-operation.

    Not competition, fragmentation and privatisation.

    So we will repeal the Health and Social Care Act.

    But to save the NHS from the trouble it’s in, we can’t wait.

    With A&E in crisis, staff shortages, and hospitals weighed down by large deficits, this plan has to start immediately.

    Straight away.

    With real money, right now.

    So today I can announce in our first 100 days, our first Budget, our first year in office, we’ll begin to bring in funds from the Mansion Tax and tobacco levy .

    And we will use that money to support the NHS with our immediate Rescue Plan.

    An emergency round of nurse recruitment.

    Funding for 1,000 extra training places this year.

    Getting extra resources into the NHS right from the very start.

    First things first: We’ll save the NHS.

    To begin easing frontline pressures as soon as we can.

    To begin bringing down the spiralling bill for agency staff.

    To begin opening the doors of places just like this to more talented young people.

    Giving them the opportunities they need.

    And to do this on their first day in office, Labour ministers will instruct officials to write to colleges and universities, and call on them to reopen admissions for highly-oversubscribed nursing courses this year.

    And we’ll take further action too, so we can get more nurses on the wards straight away, we’ll persuade nurses to stay in practice and to return to practice.

    This is part of our plan for 20,000 more nurses.

    And let me say to all of the student nurses here today, that by putting in more resources, it will mean that there are jobs for you to go to in the NHS.

    Using your dedication, your commitment and your compassion for the health of our country.

    And that is only the start of our rescue plan for the NHS.

    We are also going to begin immediate planning to avoid an A&E crisis for the coming winter.

    Improving GP access and ensuring there are GPs in all A&Es.

    Increasing the numbers of clinically-trained NHS staff on the 111 phoneline.

    And we’ll take action to tackle the increasing scandal of ‘delayed discharges’, where patients end up stuck in hospital when they could be being looked after at home.

    And we’ll immediately halt the cost and chaos of privatisation in our National Health Service.

    With a Bill to Parliament to repeal the Health and Social Care Act within the first 100 days of a Labour government.

    Because the right principles and the right care go hand in hand in our NHS.

    So this is our plan.

    And as I look around this room today, I know that you are the future of our NHS.

    We have the best doctors and nurses in the world.

    The pride of our country.

    Our job – my job as Prime Minister – would be to help you do all you can to make the difference.

    To care.

    To keep our country well.

    A better plan for the NHS today.

    A better plan for the NHS in the future.

    Labour’s commitment to the NHS is part of who we are.

    We’ve got just 16 days to start to make that difference.

    Let’s not let the NHS slip further and further backwards.

    Let’s show that the idea that was right for our parents and our grandparents, is right for our children and grandchildren too.

    Let’s rescue our NHS.

    Let’s make sure it is there for our country.

    Let’s elect a Labour government.

  • Douglas Alexander – 2015 Comments on Migrants in Mediterranean

    Douglas Alexander – 2015 Comments on Migrants in Mediterranean

    The comments made by Douglas Alexander, the then Shadow Foreign Secretary, on 22 April 2015.

    Foreign Office Ministers spent months arguing against search and rescue missions, opposed them at an EU level and didn’t even reference them in recent public statements as recently as this weekend.

    Yet today, under pressure in the BBC’s Daily Politics Election Debate on Foreign Affairs, Philip Hammond admitted that search and rescue must form part of any EU response to this crisis in the Mediterranean.

    Now it’s time to turn Philip Hammond’s words into practical European action. So when he goes to Brussels this week, David Cameron carries a heavy responsibility to ensure an urgent reassessment of the current EU patrol mission to prevent further loss of life.

    Six months ago it was his own Minister, Baroness Anelay, who said that search and rescue in the Mediterranean created “unintended pull factors”, but today the Foreign Secretary has been forced to admit the government were just wrong.

  • Ed Miliband – 2015 Comments on Cancer Treatment in the NHS

    Ed Miliband – 2015 Comments on Cancer Treatment in the NHS

    The comments made by Ed Miliband on 23 April 2015.

    The NHS needs a real plan with real money right now – not an IOU.

    Yesterday I set out our NHS Rescue Plan for our first 100 days, our first Budget and our first year in office. Now I want to set out the next stage of our fully-funded plan, an investment of £150 million a year, every year in the key equipment patients need to get quick access to cancer tests and improve early diagnosis.

    There can be nothing more worrying for patients and their families than waiting to hear if you have this terrible disease. Speeding up cancer tests will help reduce the anxiety of waiting for a test result, improve early diagnosis, and ensure those who need it can start treatment sooner.

    And we know that early diagnosis dramatically improves the chances of successful treatment while saving the NHS on the costs of late intervention.

    So we are raising money through a Mansion Tax, closing loopholes enjoyed by the hedge funds and imposing a new levy on tobacco firms – to pay for the equipment needed to deliver our guarantee of one-week cancer tests.

    What a contrast with the Tories who promised extra money before for cancer treatment but ended up cutting cancer budgets. They have run a government that has taken the NHS backwards and now we have the shabby sight of them sneaking out evidence of their own failure on cancer treatment under cover of darkness and dissolution, hoping no-one will notice.

    I’ve got news for David Cameron: the game’s up, you broke your promises on the NHS before and no one will believe you again in the future.