PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Agriculture: Broadband (15 March 2021)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to work with broadband providers to ensure that farmers have access to adequate broadband to support the planning, monitoring and delivery of their farming operations.

Asked by:
Esther McVey (Conservative)

The Government is working with industry to target a minimum of 85% gigabit-capable coverage by 2025 but will seek to accelerate rollout further to get as close to 100% as possible. We are committed to investing £5 billion in bringing gigabit coverage to the hardest to reach areas, including areas with farm businesses, and will continue to work with suppliers to accelerate this investment.

On 19 March we announced the launch of the new gigabit broadband voucher scheme which forms part of the £5 billion programme and will go live on 8 April 2021. We will work closely with agricultural organisations, including the National Farmers Union, to promote the scheme with their members. The voucher will help to improve access to broadband in rural areas for all types of businesses, including farm businesses.

On 19 March, we also published a call for evidence on improving connectivity for very hard to reach premises. The call for evidence will help the Government explore all possible options for improving broadband connectivity in remote and very hard to reach areas of the UK, including farm businesses in these areas.

Answered by:
Victoria Prentis (Conservative)
23 March 2021