The Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee held an oral evidence session on digital inclusion and telecoms this week with the Minister for Digital Economy, Baroness Lloyd, and two other civil service officials from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) Baroness Lloyd has overall responsibility for telecoms as part of her ministerial remit.
The first half of the session focused on telecoms in general, with much of the discussion centered on competition and digital infrastructure, and a small portion on pricing. Questions were raised regarding the draft Statement of Strategic Priorities, to which the Minister responded that the updated statement is unlikely to be published this year, and can be expected early next year.
Much of the telecoms section related to sector competition, specifically, whether Ofcom is doing enough to encourage competition. The Minister responded that the government has seen the benefits of competition and is now looking to the next phase. The Minister remarked that Ofcom, as the regulator and with the sector expertise that it has, is best placed to judge the levels of competition in the market.
Mid-contract price rises were raised very briefly in the context of competition. The Minister stated , in reference to recent correspondence between the Chancellor, DSIT Secretary of State and Ofcom, that the government is very keen for consumers to have transparent information on contracts and price rises as well as clear routes of exits in the event of contract changes. Furthermore, Ofcom has been directed to conduct a review in the recent pounds-and-pence regulations. However, the committee responded that if even if a "great" contract with a provider is in place, and the provider then breaches that contract, if there is no choice in alternative providers (due to lack of competition) then the issue is not truly addressed.
In closing, the Committee asked about cyber security and resilience, including the treatment of Managed Service Providers. Baroness Lloyd outlined the purpose of the forthcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill and how it relates to Managed Service Providers. However, the committee ran out of time to explore further, and it was suggested they may wish to explore this in more detail at later date.