Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making superfast broadband a planning obligation on all new build properties

We have worked with BT Openreach and the Home Builders Federation on an agreement, announced earlier this year, which aims to deliver superfast broadband connectivity to new build properties in the UK. We have also recently introduced a requirement for all new buildings and major renovations to include in-building physical infrastructure to support connections to superfast broadband. In addition, the National Planning Policy Framework places the provision of superfast broadband alongside other strategic infrastructure and requires local planning authorities to consult providers as part of the Local Plan.