Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lee Rowley and Matt Hancock

Thursday 21st December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Lee Rowley (North East Derbyshire) (Con)]

13. What recent assessment she has made of progress towards the target of 95% superfast broadband coverage.

[The Minister for Digital (Matt Hancock)]

Superfast broadband is available to more than 94% of homes and businesses in the UK. We are confident that that will reach 95% by the end of the year. More than 4.6 million additional homes and businesses have superfast broadband available for the first time thanks to the Government’s superfast broadband programme.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lee Rowley]

I am not sure how to follow that, Mr Speaker. A number of villages in my constituency, including Spinkhill, Renishaw and those bordering the Peak District national park, are suffering from similar issues to those that have just been raised. Will the Minister outline all the work the Government are doing to try to improve that?

[Matt Hancock]

Of course, the USO for broadband will be UK-wide, so wherever someone lives in the UK they will have a legal right to high-speed broadband by 2020.