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1193741

registered interest
date	06/05/2020
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: Rural Areas
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 assessment his Department has made of the effect of working from home during the covid-19 lockdown on the quality of rural broadband.
tabling member constituency	York Outer
tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
uin	43895
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/05/2020 answer text <p>Overall, the UK's broadband network has stood up well to mass home working and leisure usage as a result of COVID-19, including in rural areas. This is a result of the contingency planning that the Government has done with industry and also the Government's £1.7 billion superfast broadband programme, which has ensured that 96% of UK premises have access to superfast broadband.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>However, the Government recognises that rural coverage lags behind the rest of the UK, which is why we legislated to create the first-ever broadband Universal Service Obligation, which went live in March 2020. The scheme allows everyone in the UK to request a decent broadband connection of at least 10 megabits per second from a designated universal service provider, up to a reasonable cost threshold of £3,400.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>At Budget, we also committed to invest £5 billion to roll out gigabit broadband in the hardest to reach areas of the UK. At present, our £200 million Rural Gigabit Connectivity programme remains open, offering voucher-based support for eligible consumers to request gigabit-capable connections from a variety of providers.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 11/05/2020 15:28:00 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1205265

registered interest
date	18/06/2020
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: Rural Areas
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 information his Department holds on the average broadband speed in rural areas in 2010.
tabling member constituency	York Outer
tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
uin	61483
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2020 answer text <p>Ofcom’s UK Broadband Speeds report, published in May 2010, estimated that the average download speed delivered to residential fixed-line broadband consumers in rural areas was 2.7Mbps. This was actual experienced speed, measured using a sample panel, and would have reflected the package chosen by the consumer, even if a higher speed service was available to them. Ofcom’s latest UK Broadband Speeds report, published in May 2020, found that the average peak time download speeds for rural areas was 38.5Mbps.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 26/06/2020 16:08:44 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1205274

registered interest
date	18/06/2020
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: Rural Areas
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 proportion of rural households were able to access a broadband service delivering (a) a download speed of at least 10 Mbps and (b) an upload speed of at least 1 Mbps, in 2010.
tabling member constituency	York Outer
tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
uin	61485
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2020 answer text <p>In 2010, neither the Department nor Ofcom published the data requested.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) provides every household with the legal right to request a broadband connection that provides download speeds of at least 10Mbps and an upload speed of at least 1Mbps up to a Reasonable Cost Threshold of £3,400 per premise. However, the legislation underpinning the USO was not passed until 2018.</p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 26/06/2020 16:10:12 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1305057

registered interest
date	23/03/2021
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: Rural Areas
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 recent discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) stakeholders on investment in fibre broadband in (a) West Lancashire constituency and (b) rural areas in the UK.
tabling member constituency	West Lancashire
tabling member printed	Rosie Cooper
uin	174048
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/04/2021 answer text <p>The government is committed to gigabit capable broadband to everyone in the UK by stimulating investment, busting barriers and driving competition. The UK is on track for one of the fastest rollouts in Europe and for half of all households to have access to gigabit speeds by the end of the year. It is a huge leap forward from 2019, when it was just one in ten.</p><p>The government is investing £5 billion in Project Gigabit to ensure that gigabit capable broadband reaches all communities across the UK. Further detail on our approach is set out in our Project Gigabit -<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/project-gigabit-phase-one-delivery-plan" target="_blank"> Phase One Delivery Plan</a> published on 19 March 2021, including using subsidised procurements to extend gigabit broadband coverage and providing up to £210m to fund a new voucher from the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme and up to £110m to connect rural GP surgeries, libraries and schools.</p><p>West Lancashire is in Phase 2 of the delivery plan. We will begin a national Open Market Review by July 2021 for telecoms providers to give us a picture of where the market plans to invest in gigabit networks over the next three years and to confirm where we need to intervene so places are not left out. Officials from Building Digital UK (BDUK) in DCMS are in regular contact with Lancashire County Council and other partners about the delivery plans for Lancashire.</p><p>Alongside the delivery plan, the government also launched a Call For Evidence for the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-broadband-for-very-hard-to-reach-premises" target="_blank">Very Hard To Reach</a> premises in the UK. The<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/barrier-busting-task-force-next-steps/barrier-busting-task-force-next-steps" target="_blank"> Barrier Busting Task Force</a> also published an update of their work in a range of measures to support gigabit rollout.</p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 13/04/2021 11:39:01 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	1538 label Biography information for Rosie Cooper

1200392

registered interest
date	04/06/2020
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: Rural Areas
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What steps he is taking to ensure that BT Openreach delivers improved broadband to rural areas.
tabling member constituency	West Dorset
tabling member printed	Chris Loder
uin	902925
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/06/2020 answer text <p>My department works with a number of network operators to deliver improved broadband to rural areas. This includes Openreach and their work in West Dorset.</p><p>We are also working closely with Openreach and other operators to prepare our £5 billion “Outside In” programme, as announced in the Spring Budget.</p><p>This programme will focus on delivering gigabit-capable broadband to the hardest to reach premises in the UK, which are mainly in rural areas.</p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 04/06/2020 14:51:55 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4751 label Biography information for Chris Loder

1387342

registered interest
date	13/12/2021
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: Rural Areas
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 assessment he has made of the potential effect of (a) broadband infrastructure and (b) 5G infrastructure on the rural landscape.
tabling member constituency	West Dorset
tabling member printed	Chris Loder
uin	92077
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2021 answer text <p>The Government is committed to providing necessary digital infrastructure across the UK to ensure that people and businesses have the connectivity they need, and in the years ahead.</p><p>Operators are required to minimise the visual impact of network infrastructure, particularly in more sensitive locations such as National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Planning law also allows for local planning authorities to assess the visual impact of certain infrastructure, such as new masts, and decide whether it is appropriate for the proposed location.</p><p>The Government also supports the view that operators should use existing structures and buildings for hosting infrastructure, and share sites where possible, to reduce the environmental impact of installation.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 17/12/2021 15:25:01 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4751 label Biography information for Chris Loder

1579634

registered interest
date	23/01/2023
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: Rural Areas
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 assessment her Department has made of the need to accelerate the roll-out of high speed internet in rural communities.
tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
uin	130022
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/01/2023 answer text <p>Over 73% of premises in the UK can now access gigabit-capable broadband, which is a huge leap from January 2019, when coverage was just 6%. The competitive and pro-growth regulatory environment we have created is enabling suppliers to expand their networks to reach more homes and businesses, and we are making excellent progress with Project Gigabit, rolling out fast, reliable broadband to rural and hard-to-reach parts of the UK.</p><p>We are awarding a series of contracts to suppliers to deliver gigabit-capable connectivity to areas that the market will not go to without subsidy. We have already awarded six contracts and in total, we have made almost £1 billion of funding available through our live contracts and procurements, to cover up to 681,500 premises. We have also recently increased the maximum value of vouchers through the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, to support suppliers to connect premises in particularly hard-to-reach areas.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 31/01/2023 09:10:57 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

856144

registered interest
date	06/03/2018
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: Rural Areas
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 his Department's policy is on expanding broadband provision in rural areas.
tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
tabling member printed	David Simpson
uin	131310
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/03/2018 answer text <p>The Government’s policy is to ensure world-class broadband connectivity across the UK, including in rural areas.</p><p> </p><p>To date, we have invested £1.7 billion of public money to deliver 95% superfast broadband coverage of the UK by the end of 2017, and are continuing to support delivery with at least a further 2% coverage likely to be achieved. In Northern Ireland, this will have provided superfast coverage to 41,000 premises.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to this, the UK Government allocated a further £150 million for ultrafast broadband in Northern Ireland as part of the June 2017 funding agreement.</p><p> </p><p>The Local Full Fibre Networks programme includes a £190 million Challenge Fund designed to stimulate commercial investment in full fibre networks in both rural and urban locations across the UK, including Northern Ireland.</p><p> </p><p>Defra has also allocated £30 million of grant funding from the Rural Development Programme for England, targeted at helping to connect businesses with broadband in hard to reach rural areas.</p><p> </p><p>To ensure no-one is left behind, the Better Broadband Scheme ensures all UK premises have access to an affordable broadband service delivering at least 2Mbps. From 2020 we are also introducing a broadband Universal Service Obligation so everyone across the UK will have a clear, enforceable right to request high-speed broadband.</p><p> </p><p>Beyond these actions, the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review will assess the policy conditions that will best encourage the long-term investment needed to deliver the next generation of digital infrastructure in different areas of the UK, including hard-to-reach rural areas.</p> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 14/03/2018 13:04:59 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson

1286435

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: Rural Areas
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 projects funded by the Rural Gigabit Connectivity vouchers, but not submitted by 19 February 2021, will still be eligible for new Gigabit Broadband Vouchers from April 2021.
tabling member constituency	Tonbridge and Malling
tabling member printed	Tom Tugendhat
uin	153298
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2021 answer text <p>Since May 2019, eligible homes and businesses in rural areas that are part of a group project have been able to benefit from the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme funded by the Rural Gigabit Connectivity programme. Voucher funding is a grant to individual residents and small businesses and is therefore committed when a voucher is issued to a beneficiary, at which point their supplier has 12 months to provide a connection. The Rural Gigabit Connectivity programme is due to close on March 31 2021, by which point all voucher requests must be received.</p><p>Due to the success of the voucher scheme, and in line with the government’s ambition to provide access to gigabit-capable broadband to the hardest-to-reach communities in rural areas across the UK, a new gigabit broadband voucher is being developed as part of the UK Gigabit programme. This will target the hardest to reach areas which are least likely to benefit from commercial rollout. The government expects the new voucher to go live in April 2021 and, along with further details of the voucher, a new eligibility checker will be published in order to help consumers identify if they are eligible for a voucher. BDUK will also work with suppliers to help them transition existing projects, where they are eligible, to the UK Gigabit programme so that communities do not miss out on the opportunity for government funding to enable their access to gigabit capable connections.</p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Matt Warman question first answered 02/03/2021 16:55:03 answering member 4361 label Biography information for Matt Warman
tabling member	4462 label Biography information for Tom Tugendhat

851519

registered interest
date	28/02/2018
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: Rural Areas
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 the Government is taking to increase access to full fibre-to-the-property broadband in rural areas.
tabling member constituency	Thornbury and Yate
tabling member printed	Luke Hall
uin	130282
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/03/2018 answer text <p>We have taken a range of actions to support full fibre connectivity across the UK, including in rural areas.</p><p> </p><p>In the Spring 2017 Budget, £200m of funding was allocated to the Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) programme. This includes a £190m Challenge Fund designed to stimulate commercial investment in full fibre networks in both rural and urban locations across the UK and a market trial of the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme.</p><p> </p><p>£400 million of public funding has also been made available for fibre connectivity through the Digital Infrastructure Investment Fund, that will unlock approximately £1 billion of private investment.</p><p> </p><p>DEFRA has also allocated £30 million of grant funding from the Rural Development Programme for England, targeted at helping to connect businesses with broadband in hard to reach rural areas.</p><p> </p><p>Beyond this, the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review will assess what further changes could be made to create the competitive conditions to encourage the long term investment needed to deliver the next generation of digital infrastructure in different areas of the UK, including hard-to-reach rural areas.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 09/03/2018 11:19:20 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
tabling member	4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall