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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what data her Department holds on the number of broadband customers in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) England, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales who were on social tariffs for the period in which the latest figures are available and how this compares with other regions in the UK.

My Department does not hold data relating to the number of broadband customers on social tariffs broken down across the nations of the UK. Ofcom has a statutory duty to monitor and report on customer affordability in the telecommunications sector across the UK. Social tariffs are available across 99% of the UK from a range of broadband, mobile and landline providers. Ofcom’s latest Affordability Report showed that 136,000 households across the UK were taking up a social tariff. We encourage anyone who is struggling to pay to contact their provider to see what support is available.