Richard Burgon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the provision of high-speed broadband infrastructure on productivity.

Mr Edward Vaizey

SQW Consulting’s UK Broadband impact study in 2013 estimates that the availability and take-up of faster broadband speeds will add about £17 billion to the UK’s annual Gross Value Added (GVA) by 2024.

This Government is helping increase productivity across the UK by investing in and widening access to key digital infrastructure. We are on track to deliver our commitment to provide superfast broadband coverage to 95% of the UK by the end of 2017.Our£40m Broadband Connection Voucher Scheme was taken up by over 55,000 small and medium sized businesses – who employ a million people right across the UK and are already reporting, on average, a £1,300 per year increase in profits and a new job being created for every four new connections. ThePrime Minister recentlyannounced plans to ensure that every home and business can have access to fast broadband by the end of this Parliament.