Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help improve broadband connectivity in rural communities.

According to the independent website ThinkBroadband.com, over 86% of UK premises can access a gigabit-capable broadband connection.

More than £2 billion of contracts have now been signed to provide gigabit connectivity to over a million more premises. The vast majority of the premises to be covered by these contracts will be in rural areas.

This includes the first Project Gigabit contract in Scotland which was announced last month, and we aim to announce further contracts in the coming months.