Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that new housing developments have a broadband connection.

Ensuring new homes are built with the future in mind, ready to accept the next generation of digital infrastructure, remains vitally important. My Department consulted last year on proposals to ensure that all new build homes have gigabit-capable connectivity.

In the Queen’s Speech the government committed to legislate to mandate the installation of gigabit capable connections in new build developments. This legislation would amend the Building Act 1984 so that Building Regulations require all new build developments to have the infrastructure to support gigabit-capable connections. It will also require developers to work with broadband companies, and to contribute financially, to install gigabit-capable connections in virtually all new build developments, up to a cost cap.