Written questions by Amos.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of upgrading Ofcom’s Violence Against Women and Girls guidance to be a mandatory code.

The Online Safety Act has delivered a robust set of legal duties, taking some of the boldest steps in the world. Enforcement for non-compliance is severe.Ofcom’s guidance on violence against women and girls goes beyond this, setting a new and ambitious standard for women and girls’ online safety with simple and practical measures that tech firms can adopt.

Innovation and Technology, what plans her Department has for cross-government working to encourage safety by design of smart and connected technology to help protect victims and survivors of technology-facilitated abuse.

Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in all its forms, including online, is a priority for this Government. That is why, in December, we published the cross-government VAWG Strategy.Within the Strategy, we commit to working across departments to explore what more we can do to encourage safety‑by‑design in smart and connected technologies. This work aims to better protect victims and survivors, and to prevent perpetrators from misusing these technologies to facilitate abuse.

Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that all premises previously covered by the cancelled Airband Community Internet Ltd contract, are included in an extended Openreach contract under Project Gigabit; and whether Building Digital UK will publish a connection schedule for those premises before the end of 2025.

Last year, Airband took the decision to descope approximately 28,000 premises from its Superfast contracts with Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS), some of which are now expected to be connected via the commercial markets.The remaining descoped premises were made available for other suppliers to submit voucher project proposals under the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme. A number of projects have been approved and are already in build, with more projects currently under review.The remaining premises are being considered for inclusion in the Project Gigabit contract with Openreach. We currently expect to finalise the amended scope of the Openreach contract in early 2026. Building Digital UK (BDUK) will continue to publish data highlighting premises included in its plans and will work closely with the supplier to ensure updates are shared with local communities as the Project Gigabit contract progresses.

Innovation and Technology, if he will hold discussions with Connecting Devon and Somerset and Airband on its planned timetable for publishing its connection schedule.

Building Digital UK (BDUK) is in regular contact with Airband and Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) in relation to the finalisation of the remaining contracts under the earlier Superfast Broadband Programme. Airband and CDS will publish the latest timeframes for build across the Taunton and Wellington constituency, with the overall contracts expected to be completed in full by Autumn 2027.CDS is responsible for delivering these contracts and any queries about specific delivery areas and timescales should be directed to CDS.

Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to take steps (a) with Building Digital UK to support the timely delivery of full fibre broadband to rural communities under the Phase 2 Superfast Broadband Programme in (i) west Somerset and (ii) Devon and (b) to encourage improved communication between Airband and affected (A) residents and (B) local stakeholders in the parishes of (1) West Hatch, (2) Hatch Beauchamp, (3) Bickenhall, (4) Curland, (5) Staple Fitzpaine, (6) Corfe, (7) Orchard Portman, (8) Stoke St Mary and (9) Pitminster.

Building Digital UK (BDUK) is working with Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) and Airband to identify premises which will no longer be connected via its Superfast contracts. Premises that have been descoped from the Airband contracts and are not in any suppliers’ commercial plans will be eligible for support through Project Gigabit.Officials will continue to work closely with suppliers, residents and local stakeholders across west Somerset and Devon to improve broadband connectivity across the region.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of broadband coverage in rural areas.

The latest data from the independent website Thinkbroadband.com shows that over 85% of UK premises can now access a gigabit-capable connection. We are committed to delivering nationwide gigabit coverage by 2030.Earlier this week we announced the signing of four additional Project Gigabit contracts with Openreach to extend gigabit connectivity to over 130,000 premises, including in the Hon. Gentleman’s constituency.As a result, there is now more than £2 billion available in our live contracts to connect over a million premises with gigabit-capable broadband. These are premises that fall predominantly in rural areas.