Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2023 to Question 161241 on Broadband, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the 90.6% figure on the international competitiveness of technology businesses in Northern Ireland.

Gigabit-capable networks can deliver the broadband services that businesses will rely on for decades to come, paving the way for new developments in commerce, trade and society and bringing benefits including improved productivity, jobs and economic growth.

Our £5 billion Project Gigabit is about future-proofing the broadband needs for generations to come.

The most recent summary of evidence of the benefits of high-speed broadband supported through government programmes is at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/superfast-broadband-programme-synthesis-and-process-evaluation-reports-2021. Further evaluations of the impacts of gigabit broadband will be published during the period of deployment of Project Gigabit.