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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2020 to Question 11568, on Broadband, how much and what proportion of the funding for the Rural Gigabit Connectivity programme has been allocated to (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) England.

Currently, no funding is allocated for particular regions across the UK. The Rural Gigabit Connectivity Programme is demand-led for Vouchers or Public building connectivity upgrades.

• For Vouchers, small businesses and residents in any part of the UK can apply for these via a portal https://gigabitvoucher.culture.gov.uk/

• For Public Buildings, Government Departments (e.g. Department for Education for upgrade of Schools) or Local Authorities submit their public buildings to be assessed against the Programme's eligibility criteria. The value of these differs on a case by case basis, with all local authorities able to submit an interest to the Rural Gigabit Connectivity Programme by following the necessary instructions located on our gov.uk page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rgc-programme-key-information.

• The Rural Gigabit Connectivity team are currently actively exploring opportunities across Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland.