Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Broadband and Digital Connectivity: Rural Areas

Thursday 20 May 2021 · 5 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 5 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Sally-Ann Hart raised concerns about rural areas like Three Oaks being missed out in the broadband roll-out.
  • Imran Ahmad Khan welcomed the shared rural network initiative, noting that funding is already being used to improve mobile coverage in rural areas.
  • Lee Anderson inquired about the timeline for Teversal and other areas to gain access to much-needed broadband services.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Sally-Ann Hart
Science & Technology
Context

A number of rural areas have been reclassified as urban, affecting their eligibility for community vouchers.

Question

Does my hon. Friend agree that the lack of certainty risks villages such as Three Oaks in my constituency being missed out? What steps can he take to ensure this cannot happen?

Answer from Matt Warman

It is of course welcome news that a commercial roll-out will reach more of the country than ever, but my hon. Friend raises an important point. This Government will make sure that no part of the country is left behind on that roll-out, which is why there is flexibility in the voucher scheme and why Project Gigabit is there to scoop up all the remaining premises.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific steps or guarantees not provided

How: It Is Welcome News

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Q2 Imran Ahmad Khan
Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

The Government have pledged to improve mobile coverage through a £1 billion deal.

Question

Will the Minister confirm that his Department has already begun using this funding to improve mobile coverage in rural areas?

Answer from Matt Warman

It is good to see that working from home can provide a grander backdrop than this place. My hon. Friend is right to welcome the shared rural network. The roll-out has already started to benefit a large number of constituencies. It began in Wales and we will be talking in the coming weeks about where it is going to benefit in coming years.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific confirmation or timeline not given

How: It Is Good To See

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Q3 Lee Anderson Reform Ashfield
Science & Technology Energy Environment
Context

Residents in Ashfield suffer from a lack of access to superfast broadband, finding community fibre partnerships too expensive.

Question

When will areas such as Teversal in my constituency get access to this much-needed service?

Answer from Matt Warman

My hon. Friend is right to say that community fibre partnerships, although they work well in some places, do not work well everywhere. That is why Project Gigabit is so important; £5 billion of Government money will be coming down the tracks very quickly. We published plans in April and there will be more detail in June.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific timeline not provided, emphasis on project gigabit

How: That Is Why Project Gigabit

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Q4 Daniel Poulter Con
Transport Science & Technology
Context

Fibre-to-cabinet is inadequate for many of Suffolk's rural parishes and villages.

Question

How will he help those homes? What will he do for very rural areas that need better than fibre-to-cabinet?

Answer from Matt Warman

The universal service obligation is a help in the situations my hon. Friend describes, but of course we need to go further. That is why the Government are consulting on what we do in the very hardest-to-reach premises and I look forward to talking more about what satellites and other solutions can offer in the near future.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific plans or commitments not provided, emphasis on consultation

How: We Are Consulting

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Q5 Mark Fletcher
Science & Technology
Context

Residents in parts of the constituency such as Barlborough, Clowne, Heath and Shirebrook report poor broadband connections.

Question

Will the Minister meet me to discuss those areas and what more we can do to improve their broadband connections?

Answer from Matt Warman

I am of course happy to meet my hon. Friend, but he will also know that in the Project Gigabit plans Derbyshire is very much already on that road map. That is good news and I look forward to talking about it in more detail with him.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific meeting commitment not provided, emphasis on project gigabit

How: It Is Good News

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