§ Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the benefits that could accrue from the process of local loop unbundling. [157244]
§ Mr. TimmsLocal loop unbundling is increasingly widely used in the UK.
The Government believe the key benefit to accrue from the process of local loop unbundling is the promotion of competition.
1420Wworkings of the Electoral Fraud (Northern Ireland) Act 2002. This act introduced a new system for registering electors in Northern Ireland. The Electoral Commission's review report' on the Act's first year of operation stated that the number of registered electors in Northern Ireland fell by 10 per cent. in the first register published under this new system.
1 "The Electoral Fraud (Northern Ireland) Act 2002, an Assessment of its First Year in Operation, Research Report December 2003"
Ofcom has proposed a local loop unbundling market review in its Annual Plan for 2004–05.