We have been working on this for some time with the clerks and pleased that it can finally be announced. We are delighted to help this important committee with their work by showing them out local situation and explaining the lengths we are going to to get a solution. Anyone can attend to sit in the audience and we hope meet with committee members afterwards. The session will be in the traditional formal style – the committee will interrogate the witnesses (below, including me) as a group sitting at a table facing them. Audience places will be on a first come first served basis.
They are making some local visits earlier that day.
A key function of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport is to manage the delivery of the superfast broadband programme and improve digital connectivity. It is widely acknowledged that proper digital connectivity plays an essential role in people’s family, social and business lives, and in their access to public services.
The Government aims to ensure that superfast broadband is available to 95% of UK premises by the end of 2017.
The challenge now is extending broadband coverage, including to the hardest-to-reach rural areas and pockets of poor connectivity in inner cities. The remaining 5% (approximately 1.5 million of premises) is dispersed across 70% of the UK’s landmass. Approximately 1% (i.e. 20% of the final 5%) is in urban areas. Problems of connectivity and lack of access are frequently made worse by poor mobile services in the affected areas.
The Committee will visit rural communities in the South Chilterns to see the work of Connect8 a campaign group set up to bring modern broadband to eight parishes in South Oxfordshire. The areas to be visited are around Stonor Valley, Pishill, Cookley Green, Britwell Hill, Christmas Common and Turville Heath.
The evidence session will be held in Russell’s Water Village Hall, which is located in the village of Russell’s Water. The session will be open to members of the public and is expected to be filmed for later coverage from the Committee’s website. Anyone wishing to find out further information should contact the Committee secretariat on 020 7219 6924.
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