Coastal Scene Column - 11th November 2011

"Today is Armistice Day and at 11am the country will fall silent to commemorate the end of the Great War. It was said that it was the war to end all wars, but as I attend the service at Rock Barracks today, I will also be remembering those brave service men and women who fight for us across the world, especially in Afghanistan. British Forces fight for our freedom and liberty and it is important we pay tribute to them. Some have made the ultimate sacrifice and their memory should be respected. That is why I have tabled an Early Day Motion calling for the vigorous prosecution of those who have vandalised War Memorials up and down the country. The motion also encourages the Heritage Lottery Fund to allocate funds to restore memorials to their full glory in time for 2014.This week the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) has confirmed all the communities through which the Olympic Flame will be carried during the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay. The exciting news is out that the Olympic Relay will stop off at 10 communities in Suffolk Coastal including Kelsale, Saxmundham, Aldeburgh, Ufford, Melton and Woodbridge. Olympics fever will be reignited with this news and shows the power of sport bringing communities and humanity together. This is a power that was evidenced by the reaction of Ipswich fans last weekend when they applauded Billy Sharp after he scored at Portman Road. His goal may have put Ipswich two-nil down but the recognition of his pride and professionalism to carry on playing in memory of his late son is something that should make the community here in Suffolk very proud.

LOCOG has this week launched a new participative programmed called the 'Local Leaders' initiative. It is an invitation to people across the East of England to take the 2012 Games into their community and create their own celebrations next year. People are encouraged to sign up to the Local Leader programme at www.london2012.com/localleaders to receive further information on a range of themed celebration ideas.

As part of my Parliamentary duties I sit on the Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee. The key function of a select committee is to scrutinise departmental policy, spending and administration. We have recently reported on football governance, yesterday we again questioned James Murdoch on the phone hacking scandal and we are about to conduct an enquiry into gambling. Importantly we also published a report last week on the spectrum auction.

The spectrum auction is highly relevant for rural areas like ours in Suffolk Coastal as it will increase broadband provision. The regulator Ofcom proposes that one of the spectrum licences should have a condition of providing mobile internet coverage to least 95% of the population. On that basis, everyone in Suffolk, Cumbria and Northern Ireland could be excluded from accessing 4G coverage. However, at my request, my Select Committee pressed for greater coverage to 98% for more than one license to encourage both collaboration and competition. Ofcom has had a very difficult job adjudicating between competing and polarised interests and they are concerned that constant disagreement and special pleading from the four mobile network operators appears to have further delayed the spectrum auction. They believe that the basic rules for the auction are sensible and fair and that further delays will result in the UK falling behind in this vital area. I am not prepared to let some parts of our community get left behind in the digital age so am pushing for this to happen as soon as possible."

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