asked Her Majesty's Government:

What proportion of rural villages have a computer available for use by the general public and linked to the internet. [HL6028]

This information is not held. However, UK online centres provide people in urban and rural locations with free or low-cost access to computers and the internet. There are over 6,000 UK online centres across urban and rural areas that range from voluntary sector high street centres to further educational colleges and libraries. Research carried out by the Office of Communications (Ofcom) for its Communications Market 2008 report indicates that of the 71 per cent of UK adults who use the internet, 14 per cent sought access in a library or educational institution in the first quarter of 2008—www.ofcom.org. uk/research/cm/cmr08/cmr08_2.pdf.

In addition, there are a number of community-based projects which provide access to broadband facilities and computers in local venues. The Switch on Shropshire project is a good example of this at www.switchonshropshire.org.uk/.

Digital communications are vital to business success and competitiveness, and enrich the social, cultural and educational landscape. Our ambition is to see the UK as the leading major economy for innovation, investment and quality in the digital and communications industries. That is why we announced on 17 October that I would be developing a digital Britain action plan to secure four key conditions; namely, open markets, empowered and informed consumers and citizens, universal access to public service content, and a responsive regulatory framework. I aim to publish the digital Britain report in Spring next year.

The recently launched cross-government report Delivering Digital Inclusion: An Action Plan for Consultation announced a research project focused on “not spots” and the potential risks for communities or places around emerging high-speed internet services and applications to evaluate whether the UK, or parts of the UK, will be at a disadvantage.