Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether there is a delay in issuing vouchers in Northern Ireland under the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme for rural broadband connectivity.

As part of Project Gigabit, we are planning to launch procurements in Northern Ireland, to bring gigabit-capable broadband to premises that will not be reached by suppliers’ commercial plans.

Work is under way to identify the premises requiring support, and a temporary pause to the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme for projects in Northern Ireland was initiated to enable the intervention area to be defined.

Building Digital UK (BDUK) is working closely with all active suppliers registered on the voucher scheme to identify areas where a voucher-funded project has a good likelihood of delivering gigabit coverage faster than the procurement route and represents good value for money. These areas are designated as voucher priority areas, meaning that suppliers are able to continue to build voucher-funded projects in these areas throughout procurement.