Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many properties in Cumbria County Council within the scope of Project Gigabit will not be connected by 2025.

Up to 59,000 premises are included in the £109 million Project Gigabit contract being delivered by Fibrus in Cumbria. Approximately 98% of these premises fall into the Cumbria County Council area.

There are approximately 5,200 premises within Project Gigabit in Cumbria which are currently planned to be delivered in 2026, the final year of the project.

There are also 22,000 premises which are in the ‘deferred scope’ of the contract. The deferred scope covers premises within active voucher projects, or where there is a reasonable likelihood of commercial coverage. To allow delivery through alternate means and the best use of public subsidy, these premises are held until the latter stages of the contract, and brought into plan if required. The likelihood is that the majority of premises within ‘deferred scope’ will be reached by other means, but otherwise they will be brought forward in the Project Gigabit plan.

BDUK will continue to monitor supplier plans in the area as the contract progresses, which will enable us to form an accurate picture of the premises that will be classified as ‘gigabit white’ at the end of 2025. These premises will be brought within the scope of Project Gigabit where possible.

Premises that are not reached as part of the Project Gigabit contract in Cumbria, or through suppliers’ commercial build plans, may become eligible for other interventions such as the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme or potential future interventions aimed at connecting very hard to reach premises.