Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to increase the take up of social tariff broadband packages.

The Government continues to work closely with Ofcom on the issue of affordability of telecoms services, including social tariffs.

In December 2023, Ofcom’s Pricing Trends report showed that 380,000 UK households now take up a social tariff, an almost 160% increase from September 2022.

Social tariffs are low-cost, commercial products, but it is important to recognise that they may not represent the best value for money in every circumstance and should be considered alongside other commercial offers and bundled services.

The Government and Ofcom continue to press operators to do more to raise awareness of social tariffs so that eligible households make use of them. Ofcom’s report also showed that just 45% of eligible households were aware of low-cost broadband offers. In July 2023, Ofcom’s Chief Executive wrote to the sector to set out the regulator’s expectation that they should do more to promote awareness, such as by highlighting tariffs on bills and end-of-contract notifications.