Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much funding has been allocated to the Project Gigabit scheme by (a) region and (b) per capita.

Full details of Building Digital UK’s (BDUK) spend on Project Gigabit will be published in the first Annual Report and Accounts in November this year. Project Gigabit funding is not allocated per capita in each region, instead it is targeted at premises across the UK that need it most, specifically those outside of suppliers' commercial plans. BDUK’s annual report and accounts will include a breakdown of gigabit-capable connections subsidised in each local authority area.

BDUK also regularly publishes updates on the progress of Project Gigabit, including the indicative value of local and regional procurements it has launched across the UK. Through our live procurements and the 12 signed Project Gigabit contracts to date, over £2 billion of funding has been made available to the market to extend gigabit-capable networks into hard-to-reach parts of the UK.

Of the 12 signed contracts, over £590 million in funding has been committed across six regions, with more procurements to follow.