Moore Pushes Minister on Borders Digital Services (North Tayside Liberal Democrats)

North Tayside Liberal Democrats <info@libdems.org.uk>

Moore Pushes Minister on Borders Digital Services

June 17, 2009 11:41 AM
Originally published by Scottish Liberal Democrats

Borders MP Michael Moore has attacked the Government's new 'Digital Britain' Strategy for failing to tackle existing problems in the Borders such as poor mobile phone coverage and the second class 'Freeview Lite' television service.

Speaking in the House of Commons after the Government's statement on the future of digital technology in the UK, Mr Moore pressed Ben Bradshaw MP, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport for his assurance that these existing problems will not be forgotten.Michael Moore MP: Borders

Mr Bradshaw promised to look into to Mr Moore's concerns, and to write to him with details of the actions the Government proposes to take to rectify these shortcomings.

Proposals unveiled in the 'Digital Britain' report published yesterday included plans for universal access to super-fast broadband for rural areas by 2017. It also contained radical proposals for regional news coverage, which Mr Moore believes need to be studied very carefully.

Speaking afterwards, Mr Moore said:

'Although I welcome the Government's new commitment to super-fast broadband in the Borders and other rural areas, they must ensure that this progress does not distract attention from the failures of their broadcasting policies in the past.

'It is intolerable that rural areas, which stand to gain the most from new communications technologies, have struggled for so long to secure adequate mobile phone coverage and other services that much of the rest of the country take for granted'.

Notes:

The full details of the exchange between Mr Moore and the Secretary of State are available here:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090616/debtext/90616-0006.htm