I am repeating the following written ministerial statement made today in the other place by my noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital Economy, Baroness Lloyd of EFFRA.
I am today laying before Parliament the Government’s draft statement of strategic priorities for telecommunications, the management of radio spectrum, and postal services.
Digital connectivity is at the foundation of our economy and society and underpins almost every part of daily life. The strength, security, and resilience of our digital infrastructure matters deeply to people, business and the economy in the UK.
This statement builds a vision for the UK’s digital future that is enabled by high- quality, secure, reliable and affordable connectivity. It outlines the Government’s strategic priorities and desired outcomes across a number of areas, including: fixed and mobile telecoms, digital inclusion through empowered and confident consumers, telecoms modernisation, the management of radio spectrum, telecoms security and resilience and the postal services.
The statement follows a statutory consultation that ran between 21 July 2025 and 18 September 2025. Around 70 stakeholders with interest and expertise across the policy areas covered by the statement responded to the consultation, including telecoms companies, trade bodies, local authorities and consumer groups. I would like to thank all respondents for taking the time and effort to respond.
These strategic priorities have been designed to support this Government’s ambitions for growth and for agile, responsive regulation that encourages innovation to support these growth goals. They have also been designed to deliver our vision for an inclusive digital society, where consumers are empowered and confident when engaging with the market.
As the independent regulator, Ofcom must have regard to the priorities set out within the statement when exercising its functions. We are committed to working with Ofcom and industry to drive forward progress against these priorities to build a UK that will have the connectivity it needs, whatever the future holds.
I intend to designate the statement for the purposes of section 2A of the Communications Act 2003 after the end of the statutory “40-day period”—as defined in section 2C of the Act—unless either House of Parliament resolves not to approve it within that period.
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