Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to ensure the delivery of superfast broadband to the remaining five per cent of properties which do not have access to it in (a) Northamptonshire and (b) England.

By2017, approximately 95 per cent of homes and businesses in Northamptonshire will have access to superfast broadband. To support further delivery, a further £1.9 million of funding has been made available through the contractual gainshare arrangements, and Northamptonshire County Council has further funding available beyond this for additional procurement.

In addition, the Government is supporting seven pilot projects to help deliver superfast broadband services to the hardest to reach parts of the UK. We will publish the findings from the pilots in duecourse.