Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill

House of Commons, 24 February 2021.

Clause 1 - Code rights in respect of land connected to leased premises

Matt Warman (Conservative, Boston and Skegness)

I beg to move, That this House disagrees with Lords amendment 1.

Rosie Winterton (Labour, Doncaster Central)

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

Government amendments (a) and (b) in lieu of Lords amendment 1.

Lords amendment 2.

Lords amendment 3, and Government motion to disagree.

Matt Warman (Conservative, Boston and Skegness)

At the time of the Bill’s Second Reading in the House in early January 2020, it would have been impossible for any of us to foresee the challenges that this country would endure over the following 12 months.

Throughout the pandemic and the lockdowns, this nation’s telecommunications network has provided information and enabled education; it has allowed businesses to operate, children to continue to learn and those in isolation to continue to speak with their families. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the UK’s digital infrastructure providers, our internet service providers and our mobile network operators. They have stepped up and worked with us to bridge gaps in provision, be that through whitelisting websites, providing data to struggling families or connecting the Nightingale hospitals. They have done Herculean work, and we should all be grateful.

Proceedings interrupted (Standing Order No. 9(3)).