Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of levels of broadband access on the economic development of rural communities.

Digital infrastructure is a powerful driver of economic growth and development. The telecoms services industry contributed around 2.5% to UK real GVA in 2023, up from 0.3% in 2010.

Evidence from the Government’s Superfast programme showed that for every £1 spent on connections to premises left behind by the market, up to £4.57 was generated in economic and social benefits. We expect Project Gigabit to continue to drive local economic growth and development in areas which stand to benefit from the programme.

Building Digital UK also publishes independent evaluations of its programmes at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/building-digital-uk-research-portal