Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate he has made of the number of households without home internet access in Wiltshire; and what recent estimate his Department has made of levels of digital exclusion in (a) Wiltshire and (b) Chippenham constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
According to Ofcom’s Connected Nations 2025 Spring Update, in the Wiltshire local authority area, 104 premises had no mobile, fixed or wireless internet service provider coverage and in the Chippenham constituency, 14 premises. And through Project Gigabit and the Shared Rural Network, we are continuing to deliver broadband and mobile connectivity to hard-to-reach areas with limited or no coverage.
Ofcom survey data shows that around 5% of households nationally do not have at home internet access, we do not have a more local breakdown of this figure.
The Government published its Digital Inclusion Action Plan in February 2025, which outlines the first five actions we are taking over the next year to boost digital inclusion across the UK.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of residents paying above 5% of household income on (a) broadband and (b) mobile services in Wiltshire; and what steps he is taking to monitor the affordability of connectivity in rural areas.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government has not estimated the number of residents spending over 5% of household income on broadband and mobile services in Wiltshire.
We regularly engage with Ofcom, the independent regulator of telecommunications, who publish research on affordability of telecoms services, including the number of households who struggle to pay for their bills, but they do not report on the number of households paying above 5% of their income.
To support low-income households, over 25 providers offer low-cost mobile and broadband packages for those on Universal Credit and other means-tested benefits.