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Tag: Daniel Kawczynski

  • 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.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2023 Parliamentary Question on the Holocaust Memorial Day in Schools

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2023 Parliamentary Question on the Holocaust Memorial Day in Schools

    The parliamentary question asked by Daniel Kawczynski, the Conservative MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, in the House of Commons on 16 January 2023.

    Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury and Atcham) (Con)

    What steps her Department is taking to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day in schools.

    The Minister of State, Department for Education (Robert Halfon)

    Many schools and colleges already mark Holocaust Memorial Day—I have attended such a remembrance service at Harlow College—and they work closely with the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and the Holocaust Educational Trust, two institutions that the Government support. That is all the more important given the 128 incidents of antisemitism in one year in our higher education institutions, and the fact that, sadly, such incidents are now at an all-time high.

    Daniel Kawczynski

    As well as educating children about the horrors of the holocaust and the second world war, can we take the opportunity to educate children about the tremendous courage, bravery and sacrifices of the Righteous Among the Nations? Many people on the continent gave up their lives to protect their Jewish friends and neighbours. One example was a member of my family, Jan Kawczynski, his wife Helena and their 13-year-old daughter Magdalena, who were all shot by the Germans for protecting and hiding their Jewish friends and neighbours on their estate in western Poland. As well as educating children about the misery of the holocaust, we must give them inspiration from the fact that many of our brothers and sisters in occupied Europe made the ultimate sacrifice to protect friends and neighbours of the Jewish faith.

    Robert Halfon

    Hear, hear. It was very moving to hear of the experience of my hon. Friend’s family, and I entirely agree with him: we must teach and remind people that there were many righteous Gentiles who suffered while doing everything possible to save Jews. A famous Polish lady, Irena Sendler, saved 2,000 Jewish children from the Warsaw ghettos, and was remembered in a special exhibition in the House of Commons in 2018, which I was pleased to attend. My hon. Friend has made a powerful point, and I am sure that schools up and down the country will be listening to what he says.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the building of bungalows and other homes accessible to people with limited mobility.

    James Wharton

    National planning policy sets out clearly the need for local authorities to plan for the housing needs of all members of the community and that planning should encourage accessibility. In March this year the Department published further planning guidance to make clear how councils can plan ahead to meet the needs of an ageing population, and consider the types of homes they would need to build locally. This can include bungalows and homes designed with older people in mind offering for example, step-free access, downstairs bathrooms, or wider halls and doorways.

    New Building Regulations came into force in October which included a new standard for accessibility, higher than the current national minimum standard, which a local authority can apply where needs and viability tests are met.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average cost was to the public purse of police investigations into suspicious deaths over the last three years.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office does not directly monitor the costs of such investigations as these are met locally from individual police force budgets.

    However, If the police face unexpected or exceptional events, there is an established process by which Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) can apply for Special Grant funding to help with these costs. Special Grant funding is usually only available when the additional costs are more than one per cent of the PCC’s budget, or where the additional costs might threaten the financial stability of the force.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what notification was given to women affected by the Pensions Act 1995.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Following the Pensions Act 1995, State Pension estimates, issued to individuals on request, made the changes clear. The DWP’s State Pension estimates have been providing individuals with their most up-to-date date of reaching State Pension age since 1995. Over that period, we have encouraged anyone seeking to plan for their retirement to get a pension statement. Since April 2000, the Department has issued more than 11.5 million personalised State Pension statements to people who requested them. We continue to encourage people to request one, as part of our on-going communications.

    DWP also ran a pensions education campaign in 2004, which included informing people of the future equalisation of SPA. The campaign included:

    • Advertising features in the press and women’s magazines
    • A ‘Women’s Pensions Pack’ containing leaflets for women about changes in State Pension age, made available through the Pensions Service
    • Direct mailings targeted specifically at women highlighting that women’s SPA is changing
    • Sending State Pension forecast letters and accompanying leaflet showing the person’s SPa and explaining who is affected by the changes to women’s SPa (issued to those who requested them)
    • Developing an interactive State Pension date/age calculator facility on the Pensions Service website

    In addition to these efforts, all those affected by the 1995 Act changes were sent letters between April 2009 and March 2011 using the address details held by HMRC at that time.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his Department’s policy is on the use by HM Ambassadors of their official Twitter accounts to promote arguments for staying in the EU ahead of the referendum on 23 June.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Government has published official guidance for Government departments on activities during the period 27 May to 23 June 2016, which is publicly available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/526184/eu-referendum-guidance-for-uk-government-departments-on-activities-during-the-period-27-may-to-23-june.pdf

    The guidance states that: “Updates to government websites or social media feeds must not deal with any issues raised by the referendum question or put any arguments for or against any outcome, or be designed to encourage voting at the referendum. Civil servants may respond to specific online queries by providing links to published material. Material that has already been published before 27 May will be regarded as part of the public record and does not need to be removed from websites and social media sites, although links to these sites should be removed.”

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what timetable he has set for the sale of the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency testing station in Ennerdale Road, Shrewsbury.

    Andrew Jones

    The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA’s) heavy goods vehicle testing station in Ennerdale Road, Shrewsbury is a fully operational site. As part of its testing transformation programme, DVSA anticipate that the site will cease testing and close by 2019, at the latest. However, DVSA does not currently have a timetable for the closure and subsequent disposal of the site.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Attorney General, what his policy is on use of the charge of treason; and what is his Department’s guidance on sentencing those charged and convicted of that offence.

    Robert Buckland

    In all cases referred for a charging decision, the Crown Prosecution Service uses whichever offence is appropriate to the facts of the case. Modern criminal offences, including terrorism offences, usually offer a better chance of a successful conviction than a prosecution for treason would. Prosecutions for treason are therefore extremely rare and there is no applicable guidance from the Sentencing Council. The maximum sentence for treason is life imprisonment and it would be for the Courts to determine the appropriate sentence in an individual case, having regard to any analogous case law.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will commission a cost-benefit analysis on the potential benefit of extending the M54 to Shrewsbury on Shrewsbury and the surrounding area.

    Andrew Jones

    Highways England’s forthcoming work on the next iteration of their Route Strategies is the means of assessing pressures and needs and generating proposals across the entire strategic road network, including the M54 and A5. The Route Strategies will inform the preparation of the next Road Investment Strategy. Any specific proposals that require investment will of course need to be underpinned by a strong and clear business case.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that those non-UK citizens who are not eligible to vote are not able to vote in the EU referendum.

    John Penrose

    The EU referendum will be overseen by the Chief Counting Officer, chair of the Electoral Commission, who is responsible for making sure the referendum is held in accordance with the legislation governing the conduct of the poll. The Electoral Commission has issued a statement setting out the actions that have been taken to address an issue with elections software used by a number of local authorities in England and Wales that meant that some non-eligible EU citizens had mistakenly received poll cards and, in some instances, postal votes. The Commission explains that the software provider has resolved the issue and none of the affected electors will be shown as eligible on the electoral registers to be used at polling stations on the 23 June. Any incorrectly issued postal votes will be cancelled.