Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with counterparts in the Scottish Government on improving digital connectivity in the Scottish Borders.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Ministers and officials from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport hold regular discussions with their counterparts from the Scottish Government on a range of issues, including the improvement of digital connectivity in Scotland. A recent ministerial meeting was held on the 6 November 2017.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many businesses have benefited from the Better Broadband Scheme in (a) Scotland and (b) each local authority area.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Better Broadband Scheme is available to all homes and businesses which are unable to access a broadband speed of at least 2Mbps. The Department does not distinguish applications between residential and business premises. Currently 1,658 installations have been approved under the scheme for premises in Scotland. We also do not hold information for specific local authorities within the Scottish total.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much her Department has contributed to the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme; and what other support her Department has given to the rollout of superfast broadband in Scotland.
Answered by Matt Hancock
I refer the hon member to my response to the question from the member from Orkney and Shetland during DCMS questions today in the chamber.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how she plans to improve access to broadband services in Berwickshire Roxburgh and Selkirk.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Department has contributed £50.8 million to the current Highlands & Islands broadband project and £50 million to the project for the Rest of Scotland. A further £20.99 million has been allocated to support further Rollout by Digital Scotland across both projects which could include Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk. For premises not covered by superfast broadband, we will ensure universal broadband coverage of at least 10Mbps, so that no home or business is left behind.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many properties in Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk are estimated not to have access to superfast broadband services.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Currently there is an estimated 12,300 premises in Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk which do not have access to superfast broadband from either a commercial or publicly funded programme. This means over 75% of the constituency can access superfast broadband, up from below 5% in 2010.