Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to prioritise connectivity to rural premises without access to gigabit-capable broadband in (a) England and (b) the South West.

According to the independent website Thinkbroadband.com, over 86% of premises in England have access to gigabit-capable broadband. To improve broadband connectivity further, we have put in place over 30 Project Gigabit contracts that are set to deliver fast, reliable broadband to over 1 million rural and hard-to-reach premises that would otherwise not be reached by the commercial market alone.

There are multiple contracts being delivered across the South West, including in Cornwall, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. We recently announced new Project Gigabit contracts with Openreach that will also bring gigabit-capable broadband to premises in Devon and Somerset.