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1330826

registered interest
date	08/06/2021
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Broadband: Voucher Schemes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans his Department has to review the effectiveness of the Broadband Upgrade Fund.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	12250
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2021 answer text <p>The Broadband Upgrade Fund Pilot provided an opportunity to test an innovative approach to demand stimulation in the broadband market. The final stage of the Broadband Upgrade Fund completed in January 2021, and many suppliers are still in the process of engaging with communities to put together project proposals to submit to BDUK for approval. A full assessment of the effectiveness of the Broadband Upgrade Fund Pilot will be undertaken once there has been sufficient opportunity for proposals to turn into gigabit-capable connections.</p><p> </p><p>This evaluation will look at the effectiveness of campaign elements, and the number of projects and gigabit-capable connections delivered that can be attributed to the Broadband Upgrade Fund.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 15/06/2021 10:22:50 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1330827

registered interest
date	08/06/2021
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Broadband: Ceredigion
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many premises in Ceredigion registered for the Broadband Upgrade Fund.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	12251
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2021 answer text <p>1,840 eligible premises in Ceredigion were registered through the Broadband Upgrade Fund website.</p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 15/06/2021 10:24:10 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1330828

registered interest
date	08/06/2021
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Broadband: Ceredigion
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many proposals were received from alternative network providers to improve broadband connectivity in Ceredigion through the Broadband Upgrade Fund.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	12252
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2021 answer text <p>A total of 50 approved areas of interest in Ceredigion were created by suppliers through the broadband Upgrade Fund website.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 15/06/2021 10:25:01 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1330830

registered interest
date	08/06/2021
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Project Gigabit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what length of time his Department constitutes in the near future for the purposes of determining premises eligible for support under the Gigabit Voucher Scheme.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	12253
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2021 answer text <p>Ofcom, the market regulator, has identified areas where network providers are likely to build gigabit-capable connectivity via the Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review (WFTMR) they conducted in 2020. The decisions were a result of an extensive consultation programme with the market, and we have taken their view as a starting point for the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme. By using Ofcom’s classifications for assessing the likelihood of commercial investment in an area, it ensures the voucher scheme is consistent across the UK.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The data that is used to assess the eligibility criteria for the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS) changes according to the dynamic nature of commercial activity so postcodes or premises can come in and out of scope for a variety of reasons. We will continue to build on that view as we gather more data from Open Market Reviews and Public Reviews that are taking place over the coming months. As our understanding of network providers’ build plans develops, voucher eligibility will be reviewed. We will complete regular performance reviews of the voucher scheme and make adjustments where necessary.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>As set out in the ‘Project Gigabit: Phase One Delivery Plan’, the GBVS is one part of the wider Project Gigabit, and it works alongside gigabit procurements as we work towards the target of gigabit-capable connectivity. Ineligibility for a voucher doesn’t mean that government support won’t be available in the future via other interventions; if it becomes clear that premises are unlikely to benefit from a commercially delivered gigabit programme within a reasonable timeframe, then DCMS will take action to address this market failure.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 15/06/2021 10:26:26 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1301933

registered interest
date	11/03/2021
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Broadband: Wales
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to (a) support consumer choice and (b) protect against overcharging during the rollout of gigabit capable broadband to rural properties in Wales.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	167290
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2021 answer text <p>In its Statement of Strategic Priorities, the department set out a clear strategy to deliver the rapid rollout of gigabit capable broadband by promoting network competition. We expect that - in time - consumers in up to 80% of the country will be able to choose between two or more gigabit capable networks. Competition will protect consumers against overcharging.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In addition, during the next market review period from April 2021 to March 2026, Ofcom is proposing to continue to regulate BT Openreach’s network across the whole of the UK to ensure that retail Internet Service Providers like Sky and TalkTalk can continue to access their network at a regulated price to provide retail choice to consumers using this network.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Around 20% of the country is harder to reach and only likely to be able to support one gigabit capable network, which is why the government is proposing to invest £5 billion to ensure that these areas get gigabit capable broadband. The department’s proposed contracts require the successful bidders to make their government subsidised network available to retail Internet Service Providers on a similar basis to that required by Ofcom in relation to BT Openreach.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 16/03/2021 17:47:57 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1301934

registered interest
date	11/03/2021
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Broadband: Wales
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what (a) key dates by which key milestones will be met and (b) other metrics his Department has developed to measure progress of the UK Rural Gigabit Connectivity Programme in Wales.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	167291
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2021 answer text <p>In relation to gigabit coverage, at UK level key milestones and metrics include:</p><p><strong> </strong></p><ul><li><p>One in three UK premises can now access gigabit-capable broadband (38%), up from 12% in 2019.</p></li><li><p>By the end of 2021 more than half of the country will be connected to gigabit-capable networks.</p></li><li><p>We are on track to build up to an annual build rate of 4.5 million premises or more, higher than build rates in comparable countries.</p></li></ul><p><strong> </strong></p><p>As part of the Rural Gigabit Connectivity programme, the government has funded the following projects which are delivering gigabit connections to public sector sites in Wales:</p><p> </p><ol><li><p>Projects with the Welsh Government (i) in the Cardiff Capital Region covering approximately 180 public sector sites and (ii) across ten local authorities covering approximately 100 rural public sector sites;</p></li><li><p>A project with Denbighshire across the six local authorities in North Wales covering approximately 350 public sector sites;</p></li><li><p>A project with Pembrokeshire to cover approximately 70 public sector sites.</p></li></ol><p> </p><p>This totals approximately 700 public sector sites to be delivered between 2019-2021.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, residents and businesses in rural areas of Wales have been able to apply for vouchers under the Rural Gigabit Connectivity programme to support the cost of installing new gigabit-capable connections. As at February 2021, in Wales there are 351 connected premises worth £646,000 and a further 932 premises in the pipeline worth £1.79m. This scheme is closing on 31 March 2021 and it is proposed that a replacement scheme will continue from April 2021 as part of the UK Gigabit Programme</p><p> </p><p>The government is now taking forward further work with industry to target a minimum of 85% gigabit-capable coverage by 2025, as part of our £5 billion Gigabit programme and our 100% target. Within this, the UK government is working with the Welsh Government to develop gigabit-capable interventions in Wales. This includes exploring opportunities to utilise the current Superfast Cymru (Wales) project to extend gigabit capable coverage to premises which do not currently have superfast broadband capability, in addition to the 39,000 premises in Wales which will get gigabit capable coverage under this programme by the end of 2022.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 16/03/2021 17:46:11 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1286289

registered interest
date	11/02/2021
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Broadband: Wales
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding he plans to allocate to Wales under the UK Rural Gigabit Connectivity Programme.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	153339
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/03/2021 answer text <p>The UK Rural Gigabit Connectivity (RGC) programme launched in May 2019, with voucher and public sector site elements.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Through RGC, the UK government has continued the roll-out of gigabit capable full-fibre in Wales, with nearly £3.7m committed:</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>a) 351 connected (£646k) and 932 pipeline (£1.79m) rural vouchers</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>b) £1.25m to for 103 public sites in 11 Local Authority areas - Welsh Government will oversee the project that covers public sites in Anglesey, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire, Powys, and Swansea.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In addition to rural vouchers, in Wales there was the previous gigabit voucher scheme with 562 connected (£1.24m) and 66 pipeline (£147k).</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In addition to the RGC public site project, in Wales there are a number of other Local Full Fibre Network Challenge Fund projects that are connecting public sites with nearly £24.5m committed:</p><p><strong> </strong></p><ul><li><p>across North Wales with the six local authorities for 350 public sites</p></li><li><p>in Pembrokeshire for 70 public sites</p></li><li><p>along the South Wales Strategic Road Network</p></li><li><p>across the Cardiff Capital Region with the ten local authorities for 174 public sites</p></li></ul><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 01/03/2021 16:04:06 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1285253

registered interest
date	09/02/2021
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Broadband: Scotland and Wales
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has had discussions with his counterparts in the Scottish and Welsh Governments on the implementation of the Outside-In programme in Scotland and Wales.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	151800
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/02/2021 answer text <p>Matt Warman, Minister for Digital Infrastructure, met with Paul Wheelhouse Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands - Scottish Government on 16 December 2020, to discuss the UK Gigabit programme and the implementation of the Outside-In programme in Scotland.</p><p>He highlighted that UK government has started the roll-out of gigabit capable full fibre in Scotland with more than £22m invested already in a number of projects including:</p><p>a) The Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme with over £4.9m committed</p><p>b) Local Full Fibre Network project awarded £4.3m in the Highlands for 152 public sites</p><p>c) Local Full Fibre Network project awarded £1.9m in Unst and Yell (Shetland) for 21 public sites</p><p>d) Local Full Fibre Network project awarded £5.9m in Tay Cities for 228 public sites</p><p>e) Rural Gigabit Connectivity project awarded £1.4m in Dumfries and Galloway for 35 public sites</p><p>f) Rural Gigabit Connectivity project awarded £2.1m for NHS Scotland for 51 public sites</p><p>g) Rural Gigabit Connectivity project awarded £2m in the Highlands for 37 public sites (in addition to the Local Full Fibre Network sites above)</p><p>Similarly the UK government has also started the roll-out of gigabit capable full-fibre in Wales with more than £29m committed in a number of projects including:</p><p>a) Support to the Superfast Wales project, which is delivered by the Welsh Government, and has provided almost 733,000 properties across Wales with access to fast fibre broadband. The contract intervened where the Private Sector had no plans to do so (at the time of procurement). The current phase, which runs to June ‘22, will reach up to 39k more prems.</p><p>b) The Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme with over £3.8m committed</p><p>c) Local Full Fibre Network project awarded £8m in North Wales with 6 local authorities for 350 public sites</p><p>d) Local Full Fibre Network project awarded £1.2m in Pembrokeshire for 70 public sites</p><p>e) Local Full Fibre Network project awarded £12m to the Welsh Government for the South Wales Strategic Road Network project</p><p>f) Local Full Fibre Network project awarded £3.16m to the Welsh Government for the Cardiff Capital Region project for 174 public sites in the ten authorities in SE Wales</p><p>g) Rural Gigabit Connectivity project awarded £1.25m to the Welsh Government for 103 public sites in 11 Local Authority areas</p><p>The UK government, through BDUK, has commenced regular collaborative engagement with Scottish and Welsh Government Officials on the planning for the UK Gigabit programme. They have set up a number of workstreams to ensure the optimal mix of approaches to Outside-In in Scotland and Wales is achieved.</p><p>The Minister also met with Lee Waters MS, the Deputy Minister for Economy &amp; Transport on 1 May 2020, to discuss the Shared Rural Network. They discussed the benefits of the programme and acknowledged that the SRN was positive but Mr Waters had some concerns about the length of time for the full benefits of the programme. Both ministers agreed to meet again in the near future to discuss how they can collectively create an environment in which they can accelerate developments whilst maximising existing resources and infrastructure to reduce overall cost on the public purse. The Minister is committed to continue working collaboratively with his Scottish and Welsh counterparts on the implementation of the Outside-In programme in Scotland and Wales.</p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 18/02/2021 16:57:14 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1229204

registered interest
date	28/08/2020
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Shared Rural Network
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding the Government plans to allocate to the implementation of the Shared Rural Network in each of the UK's nations.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	82285
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2020 answer text <p>Shared Rural Network programme will ensure that the £1 billion jointly committed by government and industry will increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the UK to 95% geographic coverage by the end of 2025. Technical work is underway to determine how to most efficiently reach targets and the department is unable to provide any further details on funding allocations at this stage. Government funds will be directed to areas where there is no current coverage while industry funds will be directed towards filling gaps where there is only partial coverage.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 09/09/2020 15:52:01 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1220552

registered interest
date	03/07/2020
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Broadband: Wales
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether local authorities in Wales are eligible to become strategic partners with the Government for the purposes of identifying public sector buildings to be included in the Rural Gigabit Connectivity programme.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	68772
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2020 answer text <p>Building Digital UK (BDUK) continues to extend opportunities to Local Authorities across the UK, including Wales, to become strategic partners by sharing their public sector buildings for possible inclusion within the Rural Gigabit Connectivity (RGC) programme, which runs until March 2021.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>BDUK welcomes dialogue with Local Authorities on digital connectivity, and also encourages them to work closely with neighbouring Authorities to collectively identify hub sites that may be eligible for programme inclusion.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>BDUK is already in dialogue with Welsh Government on a proposal to upgrade ~110 public sector sites, which will act as hub sites. Welsh Government is overseeing the development of the proposal for a project that involves Anglesey, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire, Powys, and Swansea.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Should other Local Authorities in Wales be interested in participating in the programme, they can express their interest by completing a Hub Site Submission sheet which is available at this address: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rgc-programme-key-information" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rgc-programme-key-information</a>. Once complete, this should be sent to <a href="mailto:rgc@dcms.gov.uk" target="_blank">rgc@dcms.gov.uk</a>.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Although the completion of a Submission sheet is not a guaranteed commitment that BDUK will invest in that particular area, it is a mandatory part of the selection process. If a completed sheet looks to be in alignment with the aims and objectives of the RGC programme, BDUK will contact the Local Authority.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>BDUK also has Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) projects underway in Wales, which are upgrading public buildings in North Wales, Cardiff City Region and Pembrokeshire. We are also jointly funding, with Welsh Government, the deployment of a fibre optic backbone along the South Wales Motorway and Trunk Road network between Newport and Pembrokeshire.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 10/07/2020 09:33:29 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake