---

Broadband (North of England)

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this morning, Mr Sanders. As a west country man, you may not fully agree, but I believe that the quality of life that we enjoy in the north of England is higher than that of the south. I recognise, however, that big differences remain between our economies; the north’s lags quite a way behind the south’s. There are many reasons for that, and one of the main ones is our relative lack of infrastructure. We have, historically, described infrastructure in terms of power generation or transport links, but that is an old definition. Broadband is one of the key infrastructures that we need to take advantage of the opportunities of the digital age.

The Government have been right to recognise that broadband matters; they have put significant investment behind it quickly and extended it widely, and brought in private sector capital. They recognised early that the opportunities are so wide that they have an impact on, and improve, many aspects of life. Some of those influences are critical for the future, such as helping with education, telehealth and keeping the economy competitive. There are opportunities to enhance the quality of our lives significantly by keeping in touch with family and friends, and there are things that are simply fun, such as streaming films or gaming. I will highlight a couple of important things relevant to my area: telehealth and business.

Telehealth or telemedicine is a means of using technology for access to expertise whenever it is needed, and for the provision of care. It helps in tackling the challenges of an ageing population and helps people to stay in their own homes. It brings health care into people’s homes or communities, however remote those are. Telehealth is a simple idea, on which we have leadership in the north of England. I have seen an impressive demonstration of telemedicine by doctors from Airedale general hospital, and have seen it in use in the stroke unit at Harrogate district hospital, where the clinicians can access the best stroke care remotely. A good, fast internet connection is needed for that, which means superfast broadband. Telemedicine is part of the future, and it is fantastic.

In the world of business, which was my background before I became a Member of Parliament, people must be accessible to their customers, and that now includes web access. Different parts of the north have strengths in different sectors, and I am sure that other hon. Members will focus on the ones relevant to their areas. Two with scale in North Yorkshire are the visitor economy and agriculture.

Last week was English tourism week, and as part of that I visited several tourism facilities in my constituency, including the Bijou Boutique bed and breakfast in

Harrogate. The proprietors, Stephen and Jill Watson, talked to me about the large proportion of their customers who find out about them online and book online. Managing their online presence is critical so that more customers will be able to learn what their business has to offer. That is particularly true for our area, where so much of the economy is driven by visitors.

A highlight this year will be when we host the grand départ of the Tour de France. It is only 90 or so days away, and Yorkshire will become a huge visitor and media attraction. Superfast North Yorkshire has responded by enabling communities along the route to get broadband. The roll-out may not be completed before the tour arrives, but at least it has listened, responded and made progress.

Superfast broadband is not just about reaching customers, and enabling them to reach businesses in turn. It drives business efficiency, helps with access to purchasing deals and takes cost and bureaucracy out of the business. We can see that in the agricultural sector, where some regulatory matters require an online presence. For example, the online cattle tracing system and dealing with the Rural Payments Agency require connectivity. Government is going online. Businesses with a turnover of more than £100,000 must fill in their VAT returns online; there is no choice. That catches many farmers and rural businesses, and it is not easy to do that through a slow dial-up facility.