Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.318 of the Summer Budget 2015, HC 264, from which budget has the £10 million expenditure on broadband been found; how many more premises will be reached by broadband as a result of that expenditure; and whether national projects will be ineligible to bid for that expenditure.

To support connectivity in the South West, the government will allocate up to £10m to the broadband programme in the South West, commencing April 2016. The fund will be available for local projects to bid into, with priority given to those delivering ultrafast speeds of 100mbps and above. Broadband Delivery UK will start working with local projects immediately to determine the most effective way of delivering support.

This scheme begins in the financial year 2016-17, budgets for this year and beyond will be set at the forthcoming Spending Review. Government is working to determine the most effective way of delivering support, with further details published in due course.