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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the average cost to households in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England for broadband connectivity in each of the last three years.

We do not hold broadband data on pricing at a regional or local-level. The prices consumers pay depends on a number of factors, including availability and choice of different providers, and how they take-up their services, for instance, whether they take-up additional services in bundled telecoms packages. Broadly, UK data shows that the telecoms market is competitive, with a range of services and deals being delivered to consumers at good value for money. Ofcom’s Pricing Trends Report based on 2020 data, which is its latest research on pricing, shows that average monthly spend on fixed services (broadband and landline combined) was £40.87 in 2020, £38.37 in 2019, and £39.92 in 2018.

The Government has worked with providers to deliver low-cost, social tariffs for those in receipt of Universal Credit and other means-tested benefits. BT, Virgin Media O2, Sky, and a number of others, now offer broadband social tariff to the average cost of broadband. Between them, these products are available in 99% of the UK. Ofcom has a statutory duty to report on the affordability of telecommunication services, and we are working closely with them to monitor the market.