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Peter Black and South Wales West Liberal DemocratsRepresenting Aberavon, Bridgend, Gower, Neath, Ogmore, Port Talbot, and Swansea |
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Broadband
January 18, 2012 8:56 PM
By Peter Black
By Peter Black
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I thank all those who have taken part in this debate; it has been a good and constructive discussion, which highlights the importance of broadband with regard to Wales's economic prosperity and also to how people's daily lives can be affected by having good access or not having any access at all. That is underlined by some surveys. One in particular found that 73% of its respondents in Wales stated that they had made savings through activities such as buying something online rather than in shops. In fact, 71% compared prices online and 58% booked their travel online. Users in Wales are as likely as those in the UK as a whole to have experience of saving money through any of the online activities that were asked about and are more likely to have saved by buying goods online or by booking travel online. Therefore, with regard to people's daily lives and the transactions that they undertake-for example those for their daily shop, their holidays and, as has been pointed out, those regarding fuel tariffs-purchasing things online is crucial in getting value for money and in ensuring that people's stretched budgets can meet the demands that are made upon them. |
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Eluned Parrott made the point that, for many people, the only way that they can change their fuel tariff is online. William Powell also referred to the Gary Speed memorial match, for which you must be online to be able to get tickets. There is a whole range of other examples that have been mentioned during this debate that underline that point. Not spots are an economic hindrance for businesses. If they cannot compete online, then they simply cannot compete. Broadband access for business is therefore the key to economic prosperity. As Nick Ramsay said, we are becoming more dependent on the internet, so it is important that we get the roll-out right. |
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Broadband take-up in Wales currently stands at 64% compared with a UK average of 71%. Broadband take-up in rural areas is higher, at 69%, than in urban areas, where it is 62%. That is despite the fact that people in rural Wales are less likely to have a choice of supplier, 3G signal or superfast connections. Those statistics underline the importance of this debate. |
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I want to respond to a couple of points that were made during the debate. Alun Ffred Jones, in responding to the motion, said that all that Wales is getting is the crumbs off the UK table. As with Labour's amendment 2, at least the UK Government is investing in broadband. It may be a Welsh Government scheme now, but without the UK Government, there would not be a scheme. If Plaid Cymru, the Welsh national party, had its way, there would not only be no crumbs, but no table at all. I am astonished that such an important debate has been reduced to such pettiness. However, it is worth noting that the £56.9 million that we have received from Westminster is nearly three times as much as Wales would have got if the Barnett formula had been applied. This is not, in fact, a Barnettised contribution; it is actually more than you would have got if it had been applied. Therefore, these are not crumbs by any stretch of the imagination. |
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Kirsty makes a strong case regarding market failure in providing broadband and mobile services in her constituency. A good example of this is, of course, in Hay-on-Wye, where, once a year, half of middle England and a huge chunk of Welsh society decamp for the Hay festival, only to find that they cannot connect to mobile services. Never mind 4G, you cannot get 1G there. That is a clear market failure, which undermines the festival and people's willingness to return, which is something that I would hope that the market picks up and deals with. |
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The Minister says that the Government has been successful in tackling broadband not spots and, because of that, she wants to delete the third point of this motion. That point is not a criticism of the work that the Government has done so far, but it is recognition that, as illustrated by this debate, not spots still exist and that there is a lot of work still to be done. That is why I find it sad that the Government wants to delete that point. The Minister is right that Wales is ahead of the game, but there is much more to do, and I am pleased that money is available from the UK Government to build on that work in partnership. We need to celebrate what we have achieved, but we must also plough on and work to plug the gaps where they exist. Wales's prosperity depends on it. |
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