Community Centres and Village Halls: Broadband

(asked on 25th November 2021) - View Source

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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefit of village halls and community centres in rural areas having broadband access.


Answered by
Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay Portrait
Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This question was answered on 9th December 2021

Building Digital UK (BDUK) has a growing evidence base of the importance of connectivity in rural communities delivered through BDUK programmes, including community Hubs such as village halls and community centres. For instance, our recent research on the impact of gigabit connectivity in rural schools finds there to be time saved and improved pupil experience with high-speed broadband access. BDUK anticipates the benefits to village halls and community centres to follow similar themes in a different context - for example, for local businesses and administration.

Approximately 10% of public sector buildings receiving subsidised connections through our Local Full Fibre Networks Programme (LFFN) are community centres and/or village halls. BDUK has an ongoing programme of evaluating the benefits of its different broadband interventions, and initial outcomes for the LFFN programme should be available in 2023.

Academics at the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE) are also currently researching the benefits of digitally connected village halls and the barriers associated. Their research so far suggests that, following the pandemic, more communities would like their village halls to have an internet connection and that it can broaden the scope of activities provided by the halls. The research will be published on the NICRE website once complete.

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