Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many households in the UK do not have access to broadband.

According to Ofcom, as of January 2025, 48,000 UK premises were unable to access decent broadband (defined as 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload speed) from a fixed line or fixed wireless connection. Ofcom estimates that after rollout of publicly funded schemes, by May 2026 this number would be 41,000, falling to 19,000 by January 2028. In addition, even where broadband is available, many households choose not to sign up for a variety of financial, personal and social reasons.

Through Project Gigabit, we are delivering future-proof, gigabit-capable connections to premises that are not included in suppliers' commercial plans. According to independent website Thinkbroadband, over 88% of UK premises can now access a gigabit-capable connection.