EXTENSION OF THE BETTER BROADBAND SUBSIDY SCHEME FOR RURAL AREAS

That this House recognises that many rural areas still suffer from extremely low broadband download speeds; commends the work of community activists and partnerships in providing solutions to small communities via the Better Broadband Subsidy Scheme; regrets that the existing scheme is due to close to new applicants on 31 December 2017 with existing vouchers only valid until 31 March 2018, leaving thousands of communities who have informed and organised households in their area unable to benefit from the scheme; and urges the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to extend the scheme beyond March 2018 with funding to enable all proposed contracts under the scheme to be fulfilled, and to better publicise the scheme to allow new communities to benefit from the better connectivity that they need at an affordable price.