Oral Answers to Questions

Ross Thomson Excerpts

Thursday 16th November 2017 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport was asked—

[Ross Thomson (Aberdeen South) (Con)]

1. What recent progress her Department has made on reaching the Government’s superfast broadband target for the end of 2017.

[Alex Burghart (Brentwood and Ongar) (Con)]

14. What recent progress her Department has made on reaching the Government’s superfast broadband target for the end of 2017.

[The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Karen Bradley)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker; the length of the name of the Department now makes it sound like a land grab.

Over 94% of UK homes and businesses can now access superfast broadband and we are on track to reach 95% by the end of the year. Superfast broadband coverage will extend beyond that to at least another 2% of premises. For those not covered by superfast broadband, we will ensure universal broadband coverage of at least 10 megabits.

[Ross Thomson]

I thank the Secretary of State for that answer, and I am delighted that Aberdeen is one of six pilot areas for superfast reliable full-fibre broadband, which can offer speeds as high as 1 gigabit. However, at a time when the Scottish Government’s slow roll-out of superfast broadband has left my constituency with one of the worst broadband speeds in the UK for an urban constituency—as well as the city being Europe’s energy capital—does the Secretary of State share my belief that this UK Government investment is vital to boosting connectivity in Aberdeen?