With permission Mr Speaker I wish to make a statement on the publication of the Digital Britain Report.

Britain’s digital industries are among the most successful in the world. The global technological revolution means if we make the right decisions now – they will continue to grow and Britain will continue to prosper from them.

This report, part of the Government’s active industrial policy, spells out how we can make the most of the opportunities today and in the years to come.

It covers four broad themes.

Firstly, Mr Speaker, we will only make the most of the digital revolution with the right infrastructure.

Just as the bridges, roads and railways were the foundations of Britain’s 19th Century industrial strength, our digital communications infrastructure will help power our future success.

Businesses, other organisations and individuals want access to high capability, high speed networks both fixed and mobile. This is key to Britain’s competitiveness.

As a first step, we are reaffirming our commitment to ensure universal access to today’s broadband services, delivered through a public fund, including money that has not been used for digital television switchover.

But we also need to ensure Britain has the best next generation fixed broadband. Other countries are already investing heavily in this. Here, we have already seen an energetic market-led roll-out of next generation fixed broadband.

But the economics of building what are essentially new networks mean that, left to the market, true super-fast broadband will only reach two thirds of homes and businesses over the next decade. The other third would be left behind.

Telecommunications prices Mr Speaker for the consumer have fallen significantly in recent years and are expected to fall further as technology advances.

So we have concluded that the fairest and most efficient way of ensuring that people and businesses are not left out is to use some of that saving in the form of a small levy on all fixed lines to establish an independent national fund which will be used to ensure maximum next generation broadband coverage.

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To complement improvements to fixed broadband we also need to modernise our wireless network. This report sets out plans for the structured release of sufficient high-quality spectrum, Europe-wide, for the creation of the next generation of mobile networks.

This will ensure that the UK is among the earliest countries to deploy these networks and that UK consumers continue to enjoy the benefits of vigorous competition.

Today’s report also sets out our intention to upgrade all our national radio stations from analogue to digital by 2015, with DAB firmly placed as the primary platform.

But Mr Speaker having the right infrastructure will not be enough unless everyone can use and benefit from the opportunities that new technologies offer. So, participation is the second big theme in today’s report.

Technological progress reduces costs - so affordability is partly addressed by the market. However, we are complementing this with Government action. Our £300 million Home Access scheme gives children in low-income families access to computers and the internet.

But as well as being able to afford the technology, people need capability and skills. We address these in a number of ways in this report. And I am pleased to announce the appointment of the digital entrepreneur, Martha Lane Fox, as our new digital inclusion champion. We are also today publishing the report by my Noble Friend Baroness Morris of Yardley on digital life skills.

The third theme of this report is about content - sustaining and strengthening our creative industries and securing plural provision of key public service content in the digital age.

The ease Mr Speaker with which digitised content can be copied makes it increasingly hard to convert creativity and rights into financial reward. The Government believes that taking someone else’s property and passing it onto others without consent or payment is tantamount to theft.

Developing legal download markets will best serve both consumers and the creative industries.

But we will also legislate to curb unlawful peer-to-peer file-sharing. Ofcom will be given a new duty to reduce significantly this practice, including two specific obligations: the notification of unlawful activity and, for serial- infringers, identity release to enable targeted legal action by rights-holders.

We also propose technical measures by Internet Service Providers, such as bandwidth reduction for serial-infringers, if the other measures prove insufficient.

Mr Speaker we will also implement a new, more robust system of content classification for the video games industry, building on the Pan-European Game Information system (PEGI) with a strong UK based statutory layer of regulation; ensuring protection of children now and in the future.

Mr Speaker I turn now to the evolving role of the BBC, Channel 4 and the need to protect public service content particularly in the nations and regions of our country.

In the digital age, Mr Speaker, a strong, confident and independent BBC is more important than ever. The Government supports multi-annual licence fee settlements for the BBC so it can plan ahead and act independently of day-to-day political pressures. But we also believe it’s in the BBC’s own interests to evolve into more of a public service partner with other media organisations and to see itself as an enabler of Digital Britain.

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We have been encouraging discussions about a joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Channel 4 – which we believe would benefit both as well as securing the future of Channel 4. These talks are ongoing and we are ready to help in any way we can.

Members of this House have repeatedly said they believe that strong local and regional news – including a plurality of provision – is essential for the health and vibrancy of our democracy. I agree.

The regulator, Ofcom’s, recent Public Service Review also highlighted the importance of news in the regions and nations.

We welcomed their report and the BBC’s response supporting partnerships. Partnerships Mr Speaker are very welcome, but may well be insufficient to meet the scale of the challenge. And we believe this will require a secure and sustainable funding stream. The Licence Fee is the existing major intervention for content. There is nothing in either the BBC Charter, or legislation, to say the BBC must have exclusive rights to it. Independent of the level at which the Licence Fee is set after 2013, we will consult on the option of sharing a small element of it post 2013 to help ensure high quality, plural provision, particularly in the regions and nations.

And subject to that consultation Mr Speaker we will use some of the current digital switchover under-spend to fund pilots of this model in Scotland, Wales and one English region between now and 2013.

We have, however, made clear to the BBC and others that we are open to alternative proposals should they wish to make them during the consultation.

Mr Speaker alongside the Digital Britain Report we are publishing a range of related documents, including the outcome of the Review by the Office of Fair Trading of the media merger regime and local and regional media.

The fourth key theme in the Digital Britain Report is the continued modernisation of government itself.

The digital revolution has huge potential to improve the services of Government and public bodies and to reduce costs.

It raises questions of data security and how Government as a major buyer in areas like health and education can encourage UK-based research and development, open standards and interoperability.

This report sets out how public services will be delivered primarily on line and electronically – making them quicker and more responsive to the public while saving money for the tax payer.

Mr Speaker, this report will help accelerate Britain’s recovery from the biggest economic shock the world has seen since the Second World War. It is a central part of our industrial strategy. It will be key to our economic growth, social cohesion and well-being as a nation and I commend it to the House.