1.1 million rural premises still do not have access
to decent broadband and 82 per cent cannot receive a 4G signal.
On Tuesday 20 November the House of Lords Select Committee on the
Rural Economy will ask representatives from Government and
commercial groups delivering digital infrastructure why they have
not prioritised digital connectivity in rural
areas.
The Committee will also ask what measures are being
taken to improve connectivity in rural areas and their views on
how successful the Superfast Broadband Programme has
been.
In the second session the Committee will
question MP, Chair, House of Commons
EFRA Committee on how well Government policy is in
supporting rural affairs and whether the Agriculture Bill will
deliver for people in rural areas.
The evidence session will begin at 9:45 in
Committee room 1 of the House of Lords, giving evidence will
be:
-
James Heath, Director for
Digital Infrastructure, UK Government
-
Henry Shennan, Deputy
Director, Broadband and Telecoms Market, BDUK
-
Kim Mears, Managing Director
for Strategic Infrastructure Development,
OpenReach
-
Professor Claire
Wallace, Chair in Sociology, University of
Aberdeen
Other questions the Committee are likely to
ask include:
-
What kind of take-up has there been for
community-led broadband schemes?
-
How will the USO work in practice and how will it
be delivered?
-
What should be done to encourage more take-up of
digital technologies among businesses operating in rural
areas?
-
How much are small-scale housing developers
(developments of less than 30 units) charged to deliver
fibre-to-the-premises?
The second session
with MP will begin at 10:45 and will
cover topics including:
-
How prepared do you think Defra is to deliver
Brexit for rural areas?
-
The EFRA Committee began an inquiry into rural
tourism which was curtailed by last year’s General Election.
What more should the Government be doing to support rural
tourism?
-
How do you rate the Government’s efforts to ensure
rural areas are not left behind with regard to mobile and
digital infrastructure?
-
Defra has been criticised in the past for failing
to prioritise its rural affairs brief. Is this a fair
criticism?
