Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the progress of the roll out of Project Gigabit in a) Bedfordshire and b) the East of England.

Through a combination of commercial market and government subsidised delivery, government is ensuring 99% of UK premises will have access to gigabit-capable broadband by 2032.

Project Gigabit delivery across the East England region is primarily being taken forward through several Project Gigabit contracts, including those covering Suffolk, Norfolk and Bedfordshire, Northampton and Milton Keynes, alongside wider cross-regional interventions to reach remaining premises.

As a result of these Project Gigabit contracts, over 43,740 premises across the East England region have already received a gigabit-capable connection, with an additional 72,420 still expected to be given coverage. Across the county of Bedfordshire, over 5430 premises already have access to a gigabit-capable connection, with a further 1140 expected to receive a gigabit-capable connection via Project Gigabit contracts.

For the remaining premises which are not within the scope of suppliers’ commercial plans or existing Project Gigabit contracts, Building Digital UK (BDUK) is working to put in place further coverage solutions as soon as possible. A market engagement consultation for suppliers was published on 1 June to confirm supplier interest in relation to the premises that still need coverage in Bedfordshire and other areas of central, eastern and south-eastern England.