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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much of the £5 billion funding for the gigabit broadband rollout announced in November 2020 will be spent in (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23, (c) 2023-24 and (d) 2024-25.

The government will continue to implement an ambitious programme of work to remove barriers to broadband deployment, and maximise coverage in the hardest to reach areas of the country through our £5 billion UK Gigabit programme.

DCMS has made significant progress to date with the support of the industry. Over 1 in 3 (34%) premises can now access gigabit-capable broadband, and we expect that gigabit broadband coverage will reach at least 50% during 2021.

The Spending Review 2020 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spending-review-2020-documents/spending-review-2020#departmental-settlements) provides further details on our planned year on year capital spend for 2021-22 to 2024-25, which totals £1.2 billion as part of the £5 billion UK Gigabit Programme. DCMS continues to work closely with industry to progress this programme and our year on year rollout plans for these areas.