Alun Cairns
Main Page: Alun Cairns (Conservative - Vale of Glamorgan)Department Debates - View all Alun Cairns's debates with the Ministry of Justice
(11 years, 8 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Vaizey
We have responded to the “In Battalions” report. I note that, of the 20 or so theatres that took part in the survey, about half had actually received an increase in their funding. We continue to support new writing, and theatre cuts amount to less than about 3% overall, so theatre has been well protected. The report concentrated on a few theatres whose funding had been impacted and did not concentrate on those that had had their funding increased or had received new funding. It ill behoves the hon. Gentleman, who supported Newcastle’s arts cuts, to complain about arts cuts.
Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)
2. What progress her Department has made in improving broadband availability throughout the UK.
Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)
8. What progress she has made on broadband delivery.
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Maria Miller)
Two thirds of premises in the UK now have superfast broadband available. Some 100,000 more homes and businesses are getting coverage every week and average speeds have increased from 5.2 megabits in May 2010 to 12 megabits by November 2012.
Alun Cairns
The Government have made excellent progress in rolling out broadband across the UK, and the Secretary of State should be congratulated on that. However, there are some rural communities where the last mile remains a problem. What consideration has she given to reviewing the regulations to empower rural communities to take more control in assisting in the rolling out of broadband to their areas?
Maria Miller
As my hon. Friend will know, the Government have committed to 2 megabits on a universal basis throughout the country. We also have a £20 million rural community broadband fund to do the sorts of things he mentions, including working with the Welsh Assembly to make sure broadband reaches rural areas. Importantly, we are also always looking at ways to remove barriers that are stopping that last mile, and I will continue to work with my hon. Friend and other colleagues on that.