On Wednesday last week the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, presented the Autumn Statement to parliament, and with it his first detailed analysis, setting out his priorities for public spending and investment in the economy. It’s clear that spending on infrastructure and new homes will be his main focus. Locally and nationally, we need new homes to meet the demand for better quality affordable housing to buy and rent. Investment in new roads and the railways is also important to keeping the economy moving, and creating opportunities for further business investment that will create new jobs.
Philip Hammond also announced that he is funding a £1billion boost for the delivery of superfast broadband and 5G – the latest technology to support even greater levels of service for mobile communications. 5G is the technology of the future, but requires a substantial expansion in our fibre cable network, something that will benefit broadband services as well. We should also be encouraging more companies to build and share digital infrastructure to accelerate the delivery of 5G.
Whilst some cities will benefit from this new technology, completing the roll out of superfast broadband to every home and business in the country, is an even greater priority. Superfast broadband has become a basic utility and it is right that there should be a universal service obligation (USO) in place to deliver it. The government has committed that by 2020 every home and business in the country will have a legal right to access superfast broadband to a quality of a least 10mbps.
We should also consider a USO for at least 3G mobile phone signals. Too many homes and businesses have little or no mobile reception, particularly in rural areas like the Elham Valley and North Downs. Next year all mobile operators have to deliver 90% coverage across the country. The government is further consulting on making this coverage obligation 100%. Ofcom, the telecoms regulator, is also going to require mobile companies to publish the actual level of coverage on a street by street basis for the communities they serve. Too often, the mobile operators will claim that their masts cover an area, when because of local geography the signal does not actually reach many of the properties. The requirement to publish this information will mean that, as part of their licensing agreement with Ofcom, the mobile phone companies will be have to improve the signal strength and coverage in communities that currently have little or no service. This will be a much needed and welcome improvement.
Last Friday I visited the Folkestone School for Girls to take part in a lunchtime debate with students on the subject of university fees, and to answer questions on other current issues with the sixth form politics students. We covered a wide range of topics, from the government’s negotiating strategy for leaving the European Union, the election of Donald Trump in the United States of America, and the conflict in Syria. I was impressed to see the wide ranging interests and knowledge of all the students.