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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with local authorities to raise awareness of the benefits of gigabit broadband.

Local authorities play a critical role in the deployment of gigabit broadband and my Department regularly engages with local stakeholders on the benefits that this infrastructure brings.

In addition to an online portal that we have already created to assist local authorities in rolling out gigabit broadband, DCMS is developing a 'Gigabit toolkit' to support local bodies in raising awareness and understanding of the benefits of gigabit connectivity among local residents and businesses. We will work closely with local bodies and other key sector stakeholders to help inform and shape the content.

My Department is also running several specialist programmes with local authorities on key issues, such as land access, planning and the Electronic Communications Code, and we continue to work closely with councils on issues relating to street works, 5G roll out and consumer take-up.

This engagement includes not only individual and combined authorities themselves, but also wider bodies such as the Local Government Association, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Joint Authorities Group.