Written questions

Emergency Calls: Rural Areas

Commons · Question 120460 · Tabled 12 Mar 2026 · Department for Science, Innovation and Technology · Official record

Answered 20 Mar 2026

Question

Asked by Rachel Gilmour

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the ability of rural communities to contact emergency services in the event of a prolonged power cut following BT’s move from copper landlines to digital

Answer

Answered by Kanishka Narayan, 20 Mar 2026

The Government is committed to ensuring that any risks from the industry-led migration of the copper based Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are mitigated for everyone across the UK, including rural communitie...