Digital Britain PQ PS

Whilst certain folks might have mistakenly thought that the concerns surrounding INCA were subsiding, the opposite is of course the case.

The Noble Lord, Lord Laird continues to provide vital Parliamentary scrutiny service to the Nation with the net of enquiry now expanding to include the wider BDUK initiative and the relationships and agendas of Senior Civil Servants within BIS.

The more that the proposed deliverables from the BDUK Industry Day are digested then the more it seems that Taxpayers Money is being proposed to be wasted, to the tune of £200M perhaps, on totally unnecessary “Market Testing” projects which in the context of the present Age of Austerity seems quite extraordinary.

What the UK needs is to find better ways of 4th Utility delivery than the same old, tired-out, top-down thinking that BIS and their QUANGOs are so keen on perpetuating.

The reality is that there is no Taxpayer intervention required to provide the world-class 4th Utility that the UK needs.

What would be helpful from Government is ATFF

Where BDUK can be genuinely helpful is in rolling back regulation and barriers to market entry then stepping back and letting the private and community sectors get on with the job they are already doing.

Tabled on 19 July and due for answer by 2 August.

Lord Laird to ask Her Majesty’s Government in what circumstances members of the House of Lords may be prevented from attending meetings to which persons who are not parliamentary pass holders are invited, which are held in a civil service location and which Members of Parliament are allowed to attend. HL1556
Lord Laird

to ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a list of those attending the Broadband Delivery UK Industry Day on 15 July at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, denoting those who were invited to attend and those who were not.
HL1557

Lord Laird

to ask Her Majesty’s Government what procedure was used by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in awarding grants to Independent Networks Co-operative Association on 17 December 2009; how many other applications were made for the grants; how they were advertised; when; by whom; and who selected the successful applicant. HL1558

More to Follow as regards how Localism can offer the answer.

Also posted on www.fibrestream.co.uk