Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent progress her Department has made on the procurement process under Project Gigabit for work in Elmet and Rothwell constituency.

Over 98% of premises in Elmet and Rothwell already have access to a superfast broadband connection (over 30Mbps) and over 83% have access to gigabit-capable broadband (>1000 Mbps). This is above the national average of 97% for superfast coverage and 79% for gigabit coverage respectively.

In April 2023, as part of Project Gigabit, we launched a procurement inviting broadband suppliers to bid for a contract to bring gigabit-capable broadband to the remaining premises in West Yorkshire, including in Elmet and Rothwell, that are unlikely to be reached by broadband suppliers' commercial rollout plans. We aim to award a contract to the successful supplier in early 2024.