MP slams ‘ignorance’ over Black Country
AN MP has condemned civil servants for lumping the Black Country in with Birmingham.
Shaun Bailey MP, West Bromwich West, was questioning officials from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in a meeting over a pledge to bring fast internet access to more homes.
In the public accounts committee evidence session – which Mr Bailey is a member – Paul Norris, executive chair of Building Digital UK, spoke about the supply of broadband and digital vouchers across major UK cities, including Birmingham.
Mr Bailey asked: “Can I just ask about the Black Country? The Black Country is not Birmingham. I represent the Black Country. I don’t represent Birmingham.
“The Black Country is the four Black Country boroughs, so that’s Walsall, Sandwell, Dudley and Wolverhampton, so what’s going on within those four boroughs? Birmingham is great but I don’t represent Birmingham.”
Mr Norris replied: “We would regionally class that as ‘predominantly urban’ in our classification.”
Mr Bailey then went on to ask: “Can I just ask – have you been to the Black Country?”
Mr Norris, stuttering, replied: “No, I haven’t had the pleasure.”
Mr Bailey continued: “I’m just trying to understand why Birmingham and the Black Country have been lumped together.
‘‘Has it literally just been a case of we’ve seen them close together on a map or are there other factors?”
In the meeting, Susan Storey, director general for digital and media policy in the department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said: “We absolutely appreciate why everybody wants their constituents to have fast broadband speeds as soon as possible.”
Later, Mr Bailey said: “For too long Birmingham and the Black Country have been lumped together as one – what we saw at the evidence session clearly showed how that mindset is still present in Whitehall.”