Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when his Department plans next to meet (a) Perth and Kinross and (b) Clackmannanshire Council to discuss the (i) roll-out of superfast broadband and (ii) mobile phone coverage in those council areas.

The delivery of BDUK’s Superfast Programme in the areas of Perth, Kinross and Clackmannanshire is managed by the local delivery partner, Digital Scotland. The Department has several meetings scheduled with this project to discuss further Superfast roll-out across Scotland. Currently, there are no meetings scheduled between the Department and those councils in regards to Superfast roll-out.

While there are no meetings scheduled with either council to discuss mobile coverage we remain committed to our ambition for the UK to have good quality connectivity where people live, work and travel. This is why we reformed the Electronic Communications Code in 2017, making it easier and cheaper to install digital infrastructure across the UK including Scotland. We also welcome Ofcom’s consultation, launched on 9 March, which outlines potential new licence obligations for rural coverage as part of the upcoming 700MHz spectrum auction. This will further help drive coverage improvements for consumers.