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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with which interlocutors in the European Commission on subsidising urban broadband; whether he has sought legal advice; and what estimate he has made of the cost of subsidising urban broadband.

My Right Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no recent discussions with the European Commission on subsidising urban broadband. However, my Right Hon. Friend the Secretary of State and DCMS officials, including lawyers, engaged with DG Competition at Commissioner and official level, on both urban and rural broadband, in the run up to the publication of the European Commission Broadband Guidelines in 2013. The guidelines govern the terms under which member states can intervene in the provision of broadband in urban areas.

Analysis suggests around 1 per cent of the final 5 per cent of premises not covered by the Government's current Superfast roll-out programme is located in inner-city areas. The Government is encouraging the commercial sector to address as much of that 1 per cent as quickly as possible. For example BT have committed an extra £50m of private funding for this purpose. Virgin Media has also recently announced further deployments in city areas.