Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2017 to Question 3184, how much funding his Department has allocated to the assessment of the broadband connectivity requirements of business.

Understanding business connectivity needs is a priority for Ministers, this Department and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and in an effort to achieve this, the Department and DCMS jointly issued a Call For Evidence in May 2016 to explore business broadband needs and the barriers that prevent a more vibrant infrastructure environment. One of the recommendations arising from the Business Broadband Review, and announced in the Government’s published Digital Strategy, was the establishment of a Business Connectivity Forum to develop specific solutions to address the digital connectivity issues affecting businesses. Details about the forum will be announced in due course.