5. Debate on the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee report: 'Digital Infrastructure in Wales'

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:12 pm on 22 November 2017.

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Photo of Russell George Russell George Conservative 3:12, 22 November 2017

Well, certainly, we've had confirmation from BT that they believe that the contract will be delivered, according to the contract, and I will come on to address some of the communication issues that you've raised, actually, towards the end of my contribution.

I think what Simon Thomas has also said concerns many other Members as well, because the prospect of premises, of course, being left behind, or left in the lurch, increases substantially after the so-called drop-dead date at the end of 31 December, unless the Welsh Government, of course, intends to pick up the baton again as part of its successor scheme. I would be grateful, of course, for clarity from the Cabinet Secretary, and the Cabinet Secretary heard Simon Thomas's comments with regard to this as well.

I am pleased to see that the Government has accepted all 12 of the recommendations—three in principle. However, on some, agreement isn’t the same as action, of course. The Government’s mobile action plan was plucked from the ether just prior to the Minister’s appearance to give evidence to this inquiry, and that has to be widely welcomed, I should say. But progress since then, I have to say, has been slow, and Wales has already been playing catch-up with Scotland. The action plan needs a bit more action, I would say. It needs to move at a faster upload speed.

The Superfast Cymru scheme is rapidly drawing to a close next month. In many ways, it's fair to say, I think that the scheme has been successful, bringing high–speed internet to many areas that might not have otherwise had it sooner. This is where I come to Simon Thomas's point. We are not the first inquiry to highlight the communication problems that have dogged the programme. Future schemes will need to address this, and we think that should be built into future contracts. I'm pleased to see that the Minister looks like she's nodding to that.

One final thing: the committee has received some evidence from people concerned about electrohypersensitivity, where people suffer from a reaction to wi-fi or mobile phone signals. While this was outside our terms of reference, I have received some further correspondence on this, and since we're debating this today, I would ask the Minister if any consideration has been given to this issue. So, I do look forward to the debate this afternoon, and I look forward to hearing comments from other Members.