3. What progress she has made on delivering broadband to rural areas. (160605)

Twenty-six local broadband contracts have now been signed under our rural broadband programme, representing over 70% of funding. Derbyshire supplier bids are expected in July, with installation commencing in 2014, and the first cabinets are expected to be rolled out in advance of the Tour de France cycle race, which is scheduled to visit England in July 2014.

May I stress how vital faster broadband is for the vitality and viability of the rural economy? I often refer to it as the fourth utility. Faster internet access will be crucial to rural areas if we are to not only retain our businesses, but attract new ones. Will the Secretary of State reassure my local businesses that the Government remain committed to faster broadband rolled out to rural areas such as the High Peak?

I can say absolutely yes, which is why we have got a £1.2 billion infrastructure programme already under way, meaning that more than 10 million more homes and businesses will get access to superfast broadband by the end of the Parliament. Furthermore, the rural community broadband fund is already further supporting rural communities, having made its first award to Rothbury in Northumberland. My hon. Friend will be aware that many local authorities with large rural communities in areas such as Lancashire, Cheshire and Cambridgeshire are going further with investment. I know that he will be doing all he can to encourage his local authority to do likewise.

The Financial Times reported last week that the National Audit Office was to deliver a very critical report on this exercise, arguing that it failed to deliver a proper bidding process, after only BT bid, saying it lacked competition and describing it as

“a train crash waiting to happen”.

Why did Ministers forget the importance of competition in this exercise?

The right hon. Gentleman will also know that the NAO has said that we have some of the best and most transparent processes for evaluating the work going on in this area, so I would encourage him to read the full report.

Good progress is being made in Gloucestershire on broadband, but does the Secretary of State agree that it is important to work with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in promoting local small businesses in places such as Stroud, Dursley and Nailsworth?

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We must ensure that when we have access to superfast broadband in local areas, businesses understand its value, and that is why we have always said that this is not only about investing in the roll-out of this infrastructure, but about ensuring that businesses understand how it can help them.

Last week, I attended the launch of Digital Teesdale. Will the Secretary of State join me in congratulating Labour Durham county council and the voluntary group Barnard Castle Vision, which are the partners that have delivered it, and will she say why she is signing contracts for delivery in 2016, when her target is for delivery in 2015?

I thank the hon. Lady for raising such an important project as the one in Durham. It is such projects that can make a real difference, filling in the gaps of the national programme. On the delivery of the programmes, we are pushing hard to get roll-out as quickly as possible, and she will of course know that a considerable number of local authorities have already opened their first boxes. That progress will continue apace. As I said earlier, 70% of the funding allocations have already been signed off.