The switch to digital landlines should be delayed to ensure adequate safeguards are in place to protect rural communities and the most vulnerable, Esther McVey has warned.

Internet-based connections are set to replace the copper-wire cables completely by January 2027, but some homes have already been switched over. The next two years will see the programme ramped up to ensure all households are ready before the old analogue network is switched off.

The Tatton MP said the quality of broadband in Tatton’s rural and semi rural areas was often very slow, very variable or non-existent and so would leave people without a reliable phone line and so at risk.

She said: “Accessing better broadband for my constituents is a priority, and I have written to successive ministers about this, as well as working with the industry to see what can be done and I will continue to do so. For this to work, households need decent broadband. 

“For those where internet connections are patchy, it will leave them with no means of communication, both in an emergency and for everyday use. We know for many their landline is their support network.

Ms McVey said many also rely on their landlines for their health needs, such as pendant alarm systems which can be triggered after a fall or in another emergency.

Speaking in a Westminster Hall debate she also raised concerns over how the changes would affect businesses. 

She added: “Whilst many rural businesses can take card payments over Wi-Fi, they will often use a card machine linked to a phone line as a backup. Forcing them to rely on an unreliable digital connection will put them at risk of nonpayment.

“This switch to digital is a major infrastructure change and poses many problems that have not been thought through. It affects everyone and must be done properly and not rushed.”

Ms McVey questioned claims by the industry that the copper network was so bad the switchover cannot be delayed and called on government to investigate further.