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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the oral evidence to the Public Accounts Committee of 28 January 2015, HC 925, Questions 29 and 30, if he will publish the market research conducted in October 2014 on the rural broadband advertising campaign; whether he conducted an impact assessment for the rural broadband advertising campaign; and what the target audience was for that campaign.

BDUK has conducted consumer insight analysis on consumers’ understanding and awareness of superfast broadband and how this varies over time and with rollout. This has been used to inform the campaign development. In addition, the Department ran a series of focus groups with consumers to look at understanding of specific advertising messages. The Department is currently considering the best way of publishing the reports from this work.

In line with all Government advertising spend, this campaign was developed through a business case according to Cabinet Office Efficiency and Reform Group procedures (ERG) and the campaign will be fully evaluated on completion. The contracts between the local authorities and BT mean that as more people take up superfast broadband in rural areas that have had public subsidy, more revenue will be returned to Government to support further broadband rollout.

The primary target audiences for the campaign are those most likely to be in need of superfast broadband including families with heavy internet usage, home workers, microbusinesses and SMEs. The campaign is also directing people who currently have not taken up a superfast broadband service to a postcode checker to confirm availability in their area.