Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the decision to reduce the number of planned masts under the Shared Rural Network programme on (a) rural mobile coverage and (b) (i) remote and (ii) total not-spot areas.

The first part of the Shared Rural Network (SRN), which targeted areas of the UK that have 4G coverage from at least one, but not all, mobile network operators was completed last year and covered a greater area of UK landmass than originally expected, putting it ahead of schedule. 4G coverage across the UK continues to increase and is currently at 95.6%.

This has allowed the Government and the mobile network operators to reassess the delivery strategy for the Government funded elements of the SRN and specifically agree on a more targeted approach to delivery of the total not-spot project focussing publicly funded infrastructure on where it is most needed, in areas primarily where people live, work, or travel, including walking and hiking routes.