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<p>The Government has been in discussion with representatives from the Church of England,
in particular, regarding the issue of broadband access where places of worship do
not have postcodes, or are otherwise missing from telecom provider databases. In some
cases this leads to issues in identifying and providing service to such locations.</p><p><strong>
</strong></p><p>Over 31,000 premises are listed in relevant databases accessible to
the Government as being used as places of worship. Of these, approximately 86% of
premises used for religious purposes in Great Britain can access Superfast broadband
speeds or better on fixed networks, compared to the UK average of 95%. Approximately
4% of premises used for religious purposes in Great Britain cannot access ‘decent
broadband’ speeds of 10 Megabit/s on Fixed networks, compared to the UK average of
2%, largely due to their rurality. However, 4G data services are also widely available,
and this reduces the number of such listed places of worship with no potential service
to less than 0.2% of the total.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>We are working with
relevant stakeholders, including telecom operators (such as Openreach) and Ofcom,
to ascertain the extent of this problem, and how many religious premises are still
facing these barriers. This includes whether data used by operators is consistent
with that available to the Government and to identify appropriate solutions, including
ensuring that databases are up to date, but also that all broadband technology solutions
that are available to places of worship are considered. Therefore, there are no current
plans to debate the matter in the House.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>We understand
the importance for broadband access in places of worship to help improve connectivity
for local communities, as well as practical benefits for such premises, including
streaming services, security, and accepting contactless donations or administration.</p><p>
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