Andrew George MP: written questions 2026
94 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Mobile Broadband: InfrastructureDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 26 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108168More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to undertake further work on improving the resilience of mobile communications infrastructure.
Answer: Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular im...
Answered 5 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordMobile Phones: AerialsDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 26 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108167More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to publish the analysis underpinning the Government’s estimate of the cost of improving power resilience at mobile phone masts.
Answer: Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular im...
Answered 5 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordMobile Phones: AerialsDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 26 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108166More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what advice her Department has received from (a) mobile network operators, (b) Ofcom and (c) independent telecommunications resilience experts on the most cost-effective means of improv
Answer: Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular im...
Answered 5 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordMobile Broadband: Per Capita CostsDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 26 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108165More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate her Department has made of the cost per customer per year of different mobile network resilience options.
Answer: Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular im...
Answered 5 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordMobile Phones: AerialsDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 26 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108164More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has made an estimate of the period of time for which improved power resilience at mobile phone masts would increase consumer bills.
Answer: Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular im...
Answered 5 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordMobile Phones: AerialsDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 26 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108163More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of installing back-up power at mobile phone masts on (a) one-off capital costs, (b) ongoing operational and maintenance c
Answer: Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular im...
Answered 5 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordMobile Phones: AerialsDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 26 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108162More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate her Department has made of the potential impact of providing back-up power to mobile phone masts on consumer electricity costs; and whether this estimate is based on (a) D
Answer: Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular im...
Answered 5 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordMobile PhonesDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 26 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108161More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has consulted (a) industry bodies and (b) community representatives on proposals to improve mobile network resilience.
Answer: Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular im...
Answered 5 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordTelecommunications: Power FailuresCabinet OfficeTabled 26 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108160More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with (a) local authorities and (b) Local Resilience Forums on supporting telecommunications resilience during power outages.
Answer: From conversations with local MPs and organisations involved in the response to Storm Goretti, I understand their concerns around telecommunications resilience, particularly in rural areas. I have asked my officials in the Cabinet Office and my ministeria...
Answered 5 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordMobile Phones: Power FailuresDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 26 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108159More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of implementing alternative models for improving power resilience of mobile telecommunications networks, including the use of
Answer: Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular im...
Answered 5 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordMobile Phones: AerialsDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 26 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108158More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assumptions her Department used to estimate the cost of installing back-up power at mobile phone masts, including assumptions on (a) the number of sites covered, (b) the type of ba
Answer: Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular im...
Answered 5 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordUtilities: EmergenciesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104633More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with utility companies on directing customers to online information during service disruptions; and what steps she will take to ensure that essential infor
Answer: The Security and Emergency Measures Direction 2022 (SEMD) requires water companies to ensure continuation of their water distribution functions during an emergency. SEMD includes a legal requirement for companies to have “appropriate emergency communicati...
Answered 15 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordSouth West Water: CompensationDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104632More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that the automatic compensation South West Water has announced for customers affected by Storm Goretti is funded from the company’s profits and reduc
Answer: Customers affected by Storm Goretti will receive payments under the Guaranteed Standards Scheme (GSS). These payments come from a company's current operating expenditure and are not paid for through a future increase in customer bills. The standards, outl...
Answered 19 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordSouth West WaterDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104631More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with South West Water on the adequacy of its communication strategy during recent service disruptions, including whether she will ask the company to issue
Answer: The Security and Emergency Measures Direction 2022 (SEMD) requires water companies to ensure continuation of their water distribution functions during an emergency. SEMD includes a legal requirement for companies to have “appropriate emergency communicati...
Answered 15 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordMobile Phones: AerialsDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104630More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what consideration her Department has given of the potential merits of requiring mobile network operators to fund the installation of emergency back-up power for mobile phone masts from
Answer: Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular im...
Answered 21 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordMobile Phones: AerialsDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104629More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to introduce mandatory requirements under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 for mobile network operators to install emergency generator capacity at mobile phone masts.
Answer: Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular im...
Answered 21 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordMobile PhonesDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104628More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the resilience of mobile communications infrastructure during prolonged power outages; and for what reason mobile phone masts are not required to have em
Answer: Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular im...
Answered 21 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordVoice over Internet ProtocolDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104627More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the transition from analogue to digital landline services on public safety, including the availability of digital tele
Answer: The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) often relies on cables in the air that can fail during a storm. In 2024/25 there were over 2,600 major incidents on the PSTN, each affecting 500 or more customers. Further, in a power outage the PSTN would not ...
Answered 21 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordVoice over Internet ProtocolDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104626More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the withdrawal of analogue landline services on public safety, given that Voice over Internet Protocol systems cease t
Answer: The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) often relies on cables in the air that can fail during a storm. In 2024/25 there were over 2,600 major incidents on the PSTN, each affecting 500 or more customers. Further, in a power outage the PSTN would not ...
Answered 21 Jan 2026
Original Parliament record
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