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942039

registered interest
date	16/07/2018
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the Better Broadband Subsidy voucher scheme beyond 31 December for the provision of broadband in the hardest to reach rural areas.
tabling member printed	Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
uin	HL9553
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2018 answer text <p>The Department is currently considering how it can most effectively use vouchers to extend broadband coverage and an announcement will be made in due course.</p> answering member printed Lord Ashton of Hyde question first answered 25/07/2018 15:43:08 answering member 4247 label Biography information for Lord Ashton of Hyde
tabling member	384 label Biography information for Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

869324

registered interest
date	22/03/2018
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, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2017 to Question 120034 on Broadband: Universal Service Obligation, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people living in rural areas who request a broadband connection from a designated provider under the Universal Service Obligation is only charged up to a reasonable cost threshold.
tabling member constituency	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
tabling member printed	Martyn Day
uin	133838
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/03/2018 answer text <p>Under the proposed broadband Universal Service Obligation, it will be for industry rather than the consumer to cover the cost of connection up a reasonable cost threshold of £3,400. We also proposed that for premises where the cost of the connection exceeds this threshold, consumers would have the option of paying the excess costs in order to get connected.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>We set out the full details of our proposals in our consultation on the design of the Universal Service Obligation (USO) https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/broadband-universal-service-obligation-consultation-on-design.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>We will shortly be publishing our full response to the consultation and setting the overall design for the USO in secondary legislation.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 29/03/2018 14:57:47 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
tabling member	4488 label Biography information for Martyn Day

868411

registered interest
date	21/03/2018
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 steps is his Department taking to improve the technological infrastructure of broadband lines in rural areas.
tabling member constituency	East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
tabling member printed	Dr Lisa Cameron
uin	133631
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2018 answer text <p>We are undertaking a range of actions to improve telecoms infrastructure across the UK, including in rural areas.</p><p> </p><p>To date, we have invested £1.7 billion of public money and we have delivered 95% superfast broadband coverage of the UK, we will continue to support delivery with at least a further 2% coverage likely to be achieved. For those not covered by the superfast programme, our new broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) will give everyone the right to request a connection with at least 10Mbps download speed.</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. A £65m nationwide Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme to support connections to full fibre broadband has also been recently announced.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, £400 million of public funding has been made available for fibre connectivity through the Digital Infrastructure Investment Fund, which 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> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 26/03/2018 14:53:35 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
tabling member	4412 label Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron

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

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

837676

registered interest
date	06/02/2018
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	What steps his Department is taking to improve broadband and mobile phone coverage in rural areas.
tabling member constituency	Shrewsbury and Atcham
tabling member printed	Daniel Kawczynski
uin	903829
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2018 answer text <p>I refer the hon member to my answers to the hon members from Copeland and Banbury during Departmental Oral Questions today.</p> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 08/02/2018 17:57:45 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
tabling member	1566 label Biography information for Daniel Kawczynski

830442

registered interest
date	25/01/2018
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, if he will take steps to prioritise access to broadband in rural areas to enable the advancement of telecare .
tabling member constituency	Stroud
tabling member printed	Dr David Drew
uin	125008
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2018 answer text <p>We have long supported improved rural broadband connectivity through a range of actions, ensuring innovations such as telecare can be deployed to those that need it.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is currently investing £1.7 billion of public money in superfast broadband coverage across the UK, offering speeds of over 24Mbps. The BDUK Superfast Programme reached its target of 95% coverage of the UK by the end of 2017, and is continuing to support delivery with at least a further 2% coverage likely to be achieved.</p><p> </p><p>These actions have made a substantial contribution to connectivity improvements in rural areas. My department is working with Defra to continue to look for new ways to ensure people in rural areas get the connectivity they need. This includes looking at how DEFRA's Rural Development Programme funding can bolster BDUK's superfast rollout programme. We have also launched a £190 million Challenge Fund to support Local Full Fibre Networks across the UK.</p><p>Thinking further ahead, we are assessing what market models can best support broadband infrastructure investment in different areas of the UK, including hard-to-reach rural areas. The Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review will report back in the summer on the options available to government to ensure digital connectivity is seamless, reliable, and widely available.</p><p> </p><p>However, to ensure no one is left behind, we are also introducing a broadband Universal Service Obligation so that by 2020 everyone across the UK will have a clear, enforceable right to request high speed broadband. Connectivity at these speeds allows for future demands of improved telemedicine services, including accessing GPs through video-conferencing.</p> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 30/01/2018 16:24:09 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
tabling member	252 label Biography information for Dr David Drew

819928

registered interest
date	10/01/2018
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 proportion of rural premises in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) England have access to superfast broadband.
tabling member constituency	Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
tabling member printed	John Lamont
uin	122000
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/01/2018 answer text <p>Ofcom's 2017 Connected Nations report includes the following percentages in figure 5, measuring superfast availability at 30Mbit/s in May 2017, showing percentage point changes from a year earlier (pp).</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Urban coverage, % premises</p></td><td><p>Rural coverage, % premises</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>UK</p></td><td><p>95% (↑2pp)</p></td><td><p>66% (↑7pp)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>England</p></td><td><p>95% (↑1pp)</p></td><td><p>69% (↑6pp)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Northern Ireland</p></td><td><p>97% (↑1pp)</p></td><td><p>57% (↑5pp)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Scotland</p></td><td><p>94% (↑4pp)</p></td><td><p>56% (↑10pp)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wales</p></td><td><p>96% (↑3pp)</p></td><td><p>66% (↑10pp)</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Source: Ofcom analysis of operator data</p> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 18/01/2018 14:04:06 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
tabling member	4608 label Biography information for John Lamont

810172

registered interest
date	20/12/2017
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 he has taken to facilitate access to superfast broadband for people who live in remote rural areas and cannot afford that service; and how those people can apply for support to access superfast broadband.
tabling member constituency	Stroud
tabling member printed	Dr David Drew
uin	120638
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/01/2018 answer text <p>The Government's Superfast Broadband Programme has provided access to superfast broadband (speeds of more than 24Mbps) to over 4.65 million premises that would otherwise not have got it. Coverage will continue to be extended further both through the Government's programme and further roll-out by the private sector.</p><p> </p><p>For the remaining premises that do not have access to superfast broadband, the Government will ensure universal broadband of at least 10Mbps by introducing a regulatory broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) to give everyone access to high speed broadband by 2020.</p> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 12/01/2018 15:22:41 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
tabling member	252 label Biography information for Dr David Drew

795102

registered interest
date	24/11/2017
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 estimate she has made of the change in access to superfast broadband in rural areas in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) the UK between 2015 and 2016.
tabling member constituency	Argyll and Bute
tabling member printed	Brendan O'Hara
uin	115644
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2017 answer text <p>The Department does not hold data which distinguishes broadband coverage between rural and urban areas.</p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matt Hancock question first answered 04/12/2017 10:22:58 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	4371 label Biography information for Brendan O'Hara