- Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—(Scott Mann.)
- 7:02 pm
- I am grateful to Mr Speaker for allowing this debate this evening on telecommunications infrastructure. I know it has been a busy day with the Budget, but my constituents in Hull and residents across the country are incredibly frustrated about this important issue. Today I want to address the crux of the problem, which is that there is no legal requirement for consultation and scant procedures for the putting up of telecommunication poles and digging up of pavements to install fibre optic cables in our communities.Members across the House would undoubtedly be frustrated and concerned if they looked outside their window one morning to discover a telegraph pole erected at the end of their garden, outside their front gate or very close to their home without knowing anything about it. They would also be incredibly annoyed to discover there was absolutely nothing they could do about it, because the current legislation makes this situation completely permissible.
- Is the right hon. Lady aware that this issue affects not only the city of Hull, but the wider East Riding of Yorkshire? New infrastructure is to be welcomed, but does she agree that sensible and sensitive installation is essential?
- I absolutely agree with the right hon. Gentleman. The reason that there is not that consultation at the moment is that the law was amended by the coalition Government in 2013, so that telegraph poles being erected by communications network operators for the expansion of fibre-to-the-premises broadband do not need planning permission under the Electronic Communications Code (Conditions and Restrictions) Regulations 2003 and the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015. Under the 2003 regulations, broadband street cabinets, new telegraph poles and overhead lines can be installed in any location without the need for prior approval from local planning authorities or consultation with residents.
- Sara Britcliffe (Hyndburn) (Con)I thank the right hon. Lady for bringing this matter to the House as it is a huge problem across Hyndburn and Haslingden. Does she agree that it is very frustrating when constituents see Openreach, for example, digging up the roads when these telegraph poles are being installed. The question is why the wires cannot go underground, rather than wires on telegraph poles spanning across their properties.
- Absolutely, and I am grateful to the hon. Lady for that intervention. It raises an important question: why can we not get this co-ordinated?
- I congratulate the right hon. Lady on bringing this debate forward; she brings many important issues to the House, and this is another one. In Northern Ireland we have a clear planning process that involves the councils—in my case, Ards and North Down Borough Council—and the planning department will look at these things. There is also a role for the telecommunications firms. If they put telegraph poles outside anybody’s house, that person has a right to object, if they block their view or car access; it may even block their sightlines. We have community and council involvement, therefore. Does she agree that, to address these issues to the satisfaction of our constituents, about whom she is very concerned, we need either a change in legislation or clarification from the Minister?
- I absolutely agree.The changes brought in in 2013 were introduced for only five years, but they have now been extended indefinitely, allowing the situation we are all talking about today. I want to concentrate on what this means for my constituents.Currently, residents in Hull are finding telegraph poles being erected around their properties, and sometimes on their properties, without any consultation process that allows them to raise their concerns. These poles are cheap, cumbersome and impact on the value and aesthetic worth of people’s properties. Poles are often built in close proximity to people’s driveways, in their gardens and outside their windows, often with wires dangling down from house to house in each direction.One of my constituents has muscular dystrophy and in a few years they may, sadly, need to use a wheelchair. Returning from work one day, she discovered a telegraph pole had been erected outside her front gate, so close that if she ever does need to use a wheelchair to leave her house she will find it very difficult. Another constituent with a disability has had a pole erected in the middle of his driveway, making access to his property more difficult when getting his medication dropped off. An elderly constituent who has lived in their house for 51 years has contacted me, distressed, explaining that they do not want a neighbourhood overrun with telegraph poles. These people do not want to stand in the way of progress or stop people finding broadband that works for them; they just want a say in the place they call home.It is not just residents who are affected, of course. A business in my community has had a telegraph pole placed on the corner of its commercial property, stopping articulated lorries gaining access to its warehouse, restricting its operations. Understandably, it complained and tried to have the pole moved. However, it was told by the company concerned, Connexin, that it was meeting all its legal requirements and nothing could be done. This is a 20,000 square foot business with a very large loading bay; it is not beyond the wit of man to facilitate an open discussion that would find an adequate position for these telegraph poles, but the company has no legislative obligation to consult so it is not doing so. Instead, it has fallen to my constituent to now have deliveries from around the world brought in on smaller vehicles at an extra cost. The business has been there for 11 years, and Connexin can force the business to change its operations without any consideration completely legally. That is unacceptable.
- Ronnie Cowan (Inverclyde) (SNP)I fully understand what the right hon. Lady is saying, and I think we all have experience of this. In Scotland, the situation is slightly different in that there is a regulation 5, which we would think would give local councils the opportunity to say, “No, you cannot do this.” Regulation 5 can apply to conservation areas, grade 1 or category A listed buildings and ancient monuments, but at the end of the day the council makes recommendations to Openreach which it does not need to comply with. Everybody wants ultra-fast, superfast broadband, but they are not consulted and no information is given to them, and they come home at night to find somebody has put a telegraph pole outside their house.
- Absolutely. Obviously, this is happening not just in my constituency, but up and down the land.There is no requirement for companies to consider alternatives to poles, such as under-street cabling, which the hon. Member for Hyndburn (Sara Britcliffe) referred to, so there is no reason for them to engage with the additional cost or effort. They can simply do as they wish.
- Sara BritcliffeI thank the right hon. Lady for giving way again. A key point is that not all the altnet networks are bad—there are a few that are making it very difficult for residents. Our problem is that, when those few span our constituencies, there is no regulation for us to fall back on when we contact Ministers and this can just happen. The planning authorities want to do something when they see that the positions are inadequate, but there is no regulation for us to do anything about it.
- I absolutely agree with the hon. Lady. I will come on to what I think should happen in terms of regulation.I will talk about telecommunications in Hull, because we are unique and different from the rest of the UK. The Minister may be aware that, historically, we have had only one provider of telephone services and broadband. Since 2007, that company has been known as KCOM, previously Kingston Communications, with the white telephone boxes that we are famous for. For many years, my constituents contacted me because they were concerned that having a monopoly in the city made broadband more expensive compared with having a range of providers. We know how important choice and competition are, even when they are balanced against loyalty to a local company with a long history and lots of local jobs.Understandably, people in Hull want to welcome new broadband companies. The Government know that, which is why Openreach and BT infrastructure in the rest of the UK has been extended to other service providers in recent years. According to new broadband providers in Hull, however, KCOM has put up barriers that prevent the sharing of the existing network infrastructure with other companies. I recently met Ofcom, which told me that it could not examine the situation with KCOM or even assess whether it was correct unless a formal complaint was received. If access to KCOM’s infrastructure is still a problem for new companies, and Ofcom has next-to-no power to proactively investigate that, we need to look at the regulator’s powers.At the moment, it appears that there may be problems in getting access to KCOM’s communication network, so individual companies are choosing to put up their own telegraph poles. That means that these outdated infrastructure eyesores seem to be popping up on every street corner, which is upsetting residents who have no power to object or even advise and compromise on their placement. That is happening across Hull, from Kingswood to Endike Lane and Inglemire Lane, which leads to the constituency of the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (Mr Davis). He represents Cottingham and has said that he also supports local people being consulted.
- Will the right hon. Lady give way?
- I am very conscious of the time, and I have got a few more things to say.I should raise at this point that it is, again, quite opaque whether network operators are actually engaging properly with local authorities about their plans, as the code of practice meekly suggests. If Hull City Council has concerns or believes that the code of practice is not being followed, it can, I understand, complain directly to Ofcom, and then and only then will Ofcom investigate. There is not much teeth to the Government’s guidelines or the code of practice anyway, so it is unlikely that anything would change.My ask of the Government is simple: repeal the 2013 amendment and make it a statutory requirement for communications network operators to apply for permission to the local planning authority on any proposed installation of telegraph poles, with a requirement for consultation with affected residents before any permissions are issued.Last week I presented my planning permission for telecommunications telegraph pole installation petition to this House, which had a specific request for the Government to make it a statutory requirement, as I have just set out. I would also like to draw the Minister’s attention to my private Member’s Bill, which would also reform the law.All the residents who contact me recognise that a modern telecoms infrastructure is needed for mobiles and fast broadband, especially if they want a choice of service providers. They are not being unreasonable or obstructive; all they are asking for is due consideration and common-sense solutions to the placing of new infrastructure.I just want to put on record my thanks to the local Labour councillors who have been working with me, as they, too, have been inundated with complaints: Councillor Gary Wareing, Councillor Rosie Nicola, Councillor Steve Wilson, Councillor Abby Singh and Councillor Marjorie Brabazon. Although they are local councillors in Hull North, the issue, as the Minister will have heard tonight, goes right across the country. It has been raised from Hull to Bolton to Lincoln to Ipswich and beyond, and to Northern Ireland and to Scotland. My own petition has had hundreds of signatures, and I know that many other Members have similar petitions active at the moment too.
- 7:19 pm
- I thank the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Dame Diana Johnson) for securing this important debate, and for raising her residents’ concerns so articulately and with such passion. I understand her concerns about the installation of digital infrastructure in her constituency.As the right hon. Lady will be aware, the Government have big digital ambitions for the people we represent, because we think great connectivity is absolutely fundamental to people’s life chances and we do not want to oversee a digital divide. However, we are also extremely mindful that communities have concerns about new infrastructure. We want to ensure that those concerns are heard and considered, and that we get the balance right. I entirely appreciate the sentiment behind the proposals in her private Member’s Bill and in her petition, but I am not entirely convinced that they are the right way forward. We are trying to reduce some of the bureaucracy and difficulties that have hampered roll-out and given us difficulties in the quality of our digital infrastructure up until now.As I mentioned, reliable fast digital connectivity is vital for the prosperity of this country, local businesses and families. We want to ensure that consumers and businesses throughout the UK can get the services they need. I accept that the right hon. Lady acknowledged that pressing need and said that her constituents do as well. We believe that great digital infrastructure will enable our constituents to access healthcare, stay in touch with friends and relatives, and educate their children. It will help our businesses to innovate and stay globally competitive.I will set out the progress made due to the reforms cited by the right hon. Lady. In 2018, only 6% of UK premises had access to gigabit-capable broadband. I am very proud to say that that figure has now increased to 74%, demonstrating how our actions have significantly improved broadband coverage. Poor broadband coverage during the pandemic would have meant considerably more disruption and difficulty for our economy, and for how our society had to run during that extremely difficult period. I am therefore very proud of that achievement and thank everybody who contributed to it. However, as the House knows, our ambition is for that figure to be above 85% by 2025, with gigabit broadband available nationwide by 2030. I should also say that I am inundated with requests from Members across the UK for the roll-out to go faster and further, filling in not spots and so on.
- Ronnie CowanIn my constituency, when operators put up a new pole they put a wee plaque on it that says, “If you have an objection, phone this number.” They clearly know they are upsetting local communities in the first place. Would it not be better for them to engage with the local community before erecting the poles?