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

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress he made in rolling out gigabit broadband to every home and business by 2025; and when it is planned to be rolled out in Bolton.

Full fibre coverage has doubled in the past year to 3 million premises or 10% of the country, according to the latest Ofcom figures. The Government is taking numerous steps to make it easier and cheaper for the private sector to deploy more gigabit capable broadband, for example, through the recently introduced Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill. This legislation supports telecoms operators to gain access to blocks of flats where a landlord repeatedly fails to respond to access notices and a resident is seeking a new service.

The precise timescales for the deployment of gigabit broadband in Bolton are primarily a matter for the commercial sector, as we believe that promoting commercial investment and network competition is the best way to deliver gigabit broadband at pace. However, this Government is also committed to subsidising deployment in harder to reach areas of the country with £5 billion of public funding, and are working up this programme at the moment. This intervention will ensure that no part of the country, including Bolton, is left behind in terms of broadband connectivity.