Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help improve access to full-fibre broadband for households.

The Government is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible. Today, 74% of premises can access gigabit-capable networks, up from just 6% in February 2019. By 2025, the Government is targeting a minimum of 85% gigabit-capable coverage, and we are investing £5 billion as part of Project Gigabit to ensure the hardest-to-reach areas in the UK receive coverage.

Through Project Gigabit, we have issued procurements with a value of over £700 million to deliver gigabit connections to hard-to-reach homes and businesses across the UK, including a £6.6 million contract covering over 4,000 premises in Teesdale in Durham.

Alongside this, the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme allows eligible individuals and businesses to apply for vouchers to help incentivise broadband providers to build in certain areas. The scheme and its previous iterations have already issued more than 111,000 vouchers, and are enhancing the scheme further by boosting the value of vouchers so individual applicants can access as much as £4,500 worth of support.

We have also made it as easy and attractive as possible for firms to build their networks, having instructed Ofcom to increase competition and investment in the market. These measures include reducing barriers to entry by requiring Openreach to offer competitors access to their existing duct and pole network via Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) where possible, rather than deploying new infrastructure.

We also introduced measures in the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 to specifically assist telecoms operators providing broadband services, such as an increased ability to upgrade and share the existing duct and pole network and a procedure to deal with non-responsive landowners. This is in addition to the Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Act 2021, which makes it easier for broadband operators to install in multiple dwelling units where the landlord is repeatedly unresponsive to requests for access.

Additionally, it is a priority to ensure that new homes are built with fast, reliable and resilient broadband. On 26 December 2022, new regulations came into force making it mandatory for new homes in England to be future-proofed with gigabit-ready physical infrastructure and - where they can be provided within a cost cap - gigabit-capable connections. This will help ensure that many more new households each year get the connectivity they want and need without costly and disruptive installation work after the home is built.