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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support the rollout of superfast fibre broadband in South West Hertfordshire constituency.

Over 98% of premises in South West Hertfordshire can access superfast speeds (>=30Mbps). This compares with a UK average of 97%, and includes coverage provided by the Connected Counties superfast broadband project as part of the government’s Superfast Broadband Programme, which provided superfast access to over 50,000 premises in Hertfordshire.

The Government is now investing £5 billion through Project Gigabit to support gigabit broadband coverage at the same time as commercial rollout so that rural communities are not left behind. The regional supplier procurement for Hertfordshire, along with Buckinghamshire and the East of Berkshire, is scheduled to commence between May and July 2022, with a contract commencement date of April - June 2023.

67 premises in Hertfordshire have also gained gigabit coverage through the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS), which helps communities and businesses in rural areas not in line for commercial rollout or other government-funded projects to get more immediate help with the costs of installing gigabit broadband. A further 147 premises are awaiting connection, giving a combined total value of £440,445.