Commons Sense

House of Commons · Westminster Hall

Project Gigabit

21 September 2021 · 5 other contributors · 4,925 words

Opened by Tim Farron Lib Dem Westmorland and Lonsdale

Responding minister: Julia Lopez

Science & TechnologyAgriculture & Rural Affairs

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Tim Farron raised concerns about project gigabit in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.

Key points

  • The MP is concerned about the cancellation of the broadband voucher scheme, which threatens to leave thousands of rural homes unconnected.
  • The MP highlighted the success of Broadband for the Rural North (B4RN), which has connected over 9,000 properties in three counties with hyperfast fibre-optic broadband at no additional cost.
  • The MP requests that pre-registered packages associated with B4RN's build programme remain open through the rest of the procurement process to support continued rural connectivity.

Key requests to Government

The MP asks the Minister to ensure all properties in areas where B4RN is engaged are given deferred scope procurement status, allowing them to continue connecting rural communities. He also requests that pre-registered packages associated with these areas remain open through the rest of the procurement process to support B4RN's build programme.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Tim Farron Lib Dem Westmorland and Lonsdale

The MP is concerned about the imminent cancellation of the broadband voucher scheme, which threatens to leave thousands of rural homes unconnected. He highlighted the success of community-led internet service providers like Broadband for the Rural North (B4RN), which has connected over 9,000 properties in Cumbria, Lancashire and Northumberland, offering hyperfast fibre-optic broadband at no additional cost. The MP cited specific communities that will be impacted by the Government's decision to end the voucher scheme, such as Kirkwhelpington and Great Salkeld.

Other contributors (5)
  • Ben Gill Not Specified Party Rural Economy Adviser

    He supported the MP's concerns and highlighted that B4RN has been instrumental in connecting remote communities. He stressed the importance of rural broadband access for maintaining local economies and preventing villages from becoming ghost towns.

  • Jamie Stone Lib Dem Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross

    Thanked his hon. Friend for making a good speech and agreed with him that the Scottish Liberal Democrats' proposed scheme of broadband catch-up zones is commendable. Asked if there was an international aspect to the debate regarding the UK's ability to compete on a world trade stage by mobilising skills from remote parts of the country. Jamie Stone intervened to point out the patchy broadband situation in Scotland and suggested that demonstrating efficient roll-out in areas like Lakeland could bolster support for the United Kingdom's unity.

  • Jim Shannon DUP Strangford

    Commended the hon. Gentleman for bringing forward the debate and asked if he felt that funding was an issue for hardest-to-reach parts of the UK, particularly in terms of installing broadband as a group project.

  • Michael Lee B4RN Chief Executive Officer

    He thanked the MP for highlighting the issues surrounding Project Gigabit and praised the work of community-led internet service providers like B4RN. He emphasised that B4RN's model, which pools vouchers from households to connect every home in a community, could be replicated elsewhere.

  • Neil Hudson Con Penrith and The Border

    Rural connectivity is a significant issue, especially in Cumbria where 11.6% of households have speeds below 10 Mbps. The speaker welcomed the Government's £5 billion funding for gigabit roll-out and shared rural network extension to increase 4G coverage from 73% to 88%. He highlighted his work with providers like B4RN, parish councils, and Connecting Cumbria to ensure broadband delivery in hard-to-reach communities. The MP urged the new Minister to maintain continuity during procurement and voucher scheme processes to avoid community anxiety.

Government Response

Julia Lopez

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dame Angela. I thank the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) for securing this very important debate and for making what I thought was a compelling speech. We want to do the right thing for his constituents and for all residents and business owners in rural and hard-to-reach areas by ensuring they are not left high and dry in the nationwide gigabit upgrade. Access to high-speed broadband is crucial for schooling, businesses, and building communities in more rural areas, especially after the difficult past 18 months. Working with Ofcom, we have given the commercial market a long-term framework that supports investment in gigabit broadband, reduced barriers to roll-out, and introduced active incentives for financial investment. Since January 2019, the UK's gigabit-capable coverage has increased from 5.8% to nearly 50%, expected to rise to 60% by the end of December. Over £1 billion has been invested in rural 4G coverage. There is now more diversity in the broadband sector with multiple operators, including smaller providers such as Gigaclear and Airband, awarded contracts through local full fibre networks and rural gigabit connectivity programmes. Our gigabit broadband voucher scheme has subsidised the cost to connect over 88,000 homes and businesses so far. The market will not go everywhere, which is why we are backing Project Gigabit with £5 billion to ensure hard-to-reach communities are not left out. We aim to provide support for around 5 million premises that the market will not reach. Cumbria is scheduled to be the first area to go into the procurement process within the next few weeks, provided suppliers confirm viability. My officials have met B4RN several times and examined each project it has put forward in detail. The chief executive of B4RN is here today and my officials will meet him later. My predecessor visited Cumbria last month and met communities involved with broadband build, as well as B4RN to listen to their concerns. Residents involved in every one of B4RN's projects tirelessly work to drum up support and interest and to persuade landowners to grant permissions. The vouchers have been used to provide coverage to 3,500 premises in Cumbria, but our task is to help around 60,000 premises, so the procurement approach has to do the heavy lifting. The Department admires B4RN's unique community-minded approach and does not want to dampen enthusiasm or business model. We are looking at how to get more social value into the money the Government spend and diversifying supply chains, including encouraging SMEs to get involved. The procurement process is ready to pick up areas where planned voucher projects do not get off the ground, ensuring no one is left behind while supporting early coverage in areas with firm plans using vouchers.

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