Rural Broadband: Installation Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Science, Innovation & Technology
Angus MacDonald
Main Page: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)Department Debates - View all Angus MacDonald's debates with the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology
Rural Broadband: Installation
Angus MacDonald Excerpts(1 day, 9 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (Kanishka Narayan)
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Dr Murrison. First and foremost, I thank the hon. Member for Bridgwater (Sir Ashley Fox) for securing today’s debate on the impact of the time taken to install gigabit-capable broadband in rural communities, and for once again drawing to the attention of the House the importance of delivering fast and reliable digital connectivity to them.
I also thank all other hon. Members across the House who have persistently championed the cause of improving rural broadband, and not least for their gift of anticipation when it comes to the speech of the hon. Member for Bridgwater.
Mr Angus MacDonald (Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire) (LD)
May I intervene, seeing that we have been so generous on interventions?
Mr MacDonald
We have heard about the 78% and the 99%. In north-east Skye we have 3% gigabit availability, and in south Skye we have 4.5%. We are dealing with enormous levels of depopulation among our young, with the number of children under the age of 15 at school halving in the last 15 years. A large part of that is because the place is an internet desert. Can the Minister reflect on that?
Kanishka Narayan
I thank the hon. Member for making that point, and I am very happy to engage with him both individually and with my colleague, the Minister for Digital Economy, on the particular experience of his constituents.
The contributions we have heard today from across the House again highlight just how essential connectivity has become to daily life. We have heard about its centrality to work, education and, as my hon. Friend the Member for Monmouthshire (Catherine Fookes) said, to healthcare, online banking, farming, running a business or simply staying connected with friends and family.
The Government recognise that delays in broadband delivery can be particularly frustrating for rural residents, who often have fewer alternatives than urban residents, and for whom a slow or unreliable internet connection can have a deep impact on their quality of life and economic opportunities. Our mission is to ensure that 99% of premises can access a gigabit-capable connection by 2032. According to the latest figures from the independent website thinkbroadband.com, over 89% of UK premises already have access to a gigabit-capable connection.
Through Project Gigabit, we are targeting precisely the communities that have been highlighted in today’s debate. Commercial roll-out would not otherwise take place for these communities, and public investment is therefore essential. As at the end of September 2025, over 1.3 million premises in rural and hard-to-reach communities across the UK had been upgraded to gigabit-capable broadband through Government-funded programmes. In addition, over 1 million premises are now included in signed Project Gigabit contracts worth £2.4 billion in total.