Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rory Stewart and Lucy Frazer

Thursday 5th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Rory Stewart]

I would be very interested to meet the hon. Gentleman and to hear more about this matter. That does seem an unjust situation. I would be interested to know the identity of the provider and why they are charging in that way. It certainly seems an important issue for rural areas in general, so I would be delighted to meet the hon. Gentleman.

[Lucy Frazer (South East Cambridgeshire) (Con)]

16 . I am also delighted to hear that the Minister is conscious of this issue. Some of the houses in about a third of the villages in my constituency do not have access to superfast broadband. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that broadband generally is as fast and as effective in rural areas as it is in urban ones?

[Rory Stewart]

I pay tribute to my hon. and learned Friend for the meeting that she held in South East Cambridgeshire last week, with more than 20 parish councils, British Telecom and Broadband Delivery UK. It is a really good example of how local MPs—and this is true across the House—can lead this kind of progress. There are new technological solutions that we are putting in place. We are very proud that, by the end of this year, the universal service commitment of 2 megabits will be available, but that will not be enough for the future, which is why I would also like to draw her attention to the Fell End build and benefit model where the Government, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, BT and local communities are finding out how to deliver fibre to the most remote rural communities.