Written questions by Morris.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to provide reliable broadband service to rural areas that fall into the category of ‘Very Hard to Reach’, and outside of the scope of contracts already awarded as part of the roll out of Project Gigabit.

Through a combination of commercial market and government subsidised delivery, government is ensuring 99% of UK premises will have access to gigabit-capable broadband by 2032. However, our expectation is that some remote premises will remain too expensive to build a gigabit connection to.The market for ultrafast, alternative connections via technologies such as LEO satellite and 5G fixed wireless access is developing at pace. Government continues to monitor and support the development of this market, including encouraging spectrum releases and ground station deployments, with many remote premises are already adopting these servicesWe continue to consider what the government can do to further enable alternatives to fibre connections, for premises located in very hard to reach and rural areas.

Innovation and Technology, further to the Westminster Hall debate of 14 January 2026 titled ‘impact of Science and Discovery Centres on national science and technology priorities', whether science and discovery centres now fall within the remit of her department.

Science and Discovery Centres are primarily cultural institutions and visitor attractions which would normally fall under the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) remit.Where they carry out research, they are funded for those activities, for example through UK Research and Innovation or other funders.DSIT is engaging with DCMS to discuss how government’s relationship with these important institutions can best be supported.

Innovation and Technology, what progress her Department has made on the rollout of Project Gigabit in Northumberland.

GoFibre recently completed delivery of two Project Gigabit contracts, covering North Northumberland and Teesdale. These contracts have provided gigabit-capable coverage to 8,200 premises, including in Otterburn in the Hexham constituency.In addition, Openreach is currently delivering a Project Gigabit contract across the North East, covering approximately 14,000 premises in the region, over 2,200 of which are in the Hexham constituency, including Ponteland and Darras Hall.Approximately 2,900 premises in Hexham have also benefitted from the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, with more included in live projects.

Innovation and Technology, what progress her Department has made on the rollout of Project Gigabit in the North East.

GoFibre recently completed delivery of two Project Gigabit contracts, covering North Northumberland and Teesdale. These contracts have provided gigabit-capable coverage to 8,200 premises, including in Otterburn in the Hexham constituency.In addition, Openreach is currently delivering a Project Gigabit contract across the North East, covering approximately 14,000 premises in the region, over 2,200 of which are in the Hexham constituency, including Ponteland and Darras Hall.Approximately 2,900 premises in Hexham have also benefitted from the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, with more included in live projects.

Innovation and Technology, what progress her Department has made on the rollout of Project Gigabit in the Hexham constituency.

GoFibre recently completed delivery of two Project Gigabit contracts, covering North Northumberland and Teesdale. These contracts have provided gigabit-capable coverage to 8,200 premises, including in Otterburn in the Hexham constituency.In addition, Openreach is currently delivering a Project Gigabit contract across the North East, covering approximately 14,000 premises in the region, over 2,200 of which are in the Hexham constituency, including Ponteland and Darras Hall.Approximately 2,900 premises in Hexham have also benefitted from the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, with more included in live projects.

Innovation and Technology, what conversations the Department has had with relevant stakeholders regarding improving connectivity in hard-to-reach areas across the country as part of the Shared Rural Network.

The Department and its delivery partner Mova have engaged with relevant stakeholders across the country through frequent progress meetings targeted at key stakeholders from Wales, Scotland and England. Relevant stakeholders include the UK's mobile network operators, devolved governments, local authorities in rural areas, planning departments, statutory organisations, representative bodies, and key enabling stakeholders such as SSE. The Department regularly engages with MPs, MSPs and MSs on the progress of the programme through written updates and MP drop in events. Furthermore, the Department and Mova also regularly respond to enquiries from local stakeholders, including Councillors, and Parish and Community Councils.

Innovation and Technology, what conversations the Department has had with relevant stakeholders in the North East regarding the Shared Rural Network.

In the North East, the Shared Rural Network is currently planning to upgrade nine Home Office Emergency Services Network sites across the regions of Durham and Northumbria. The programme has primarily engaged with Northumberland County Council who the department has met with twice in the last six months. Previously the Department and its delivery partner Mova have engaged with the Borderlands Partnership and spoken to key audiences at Connected North. The Department and Mova have also responded to enquires from local stakeholders, including elected members.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment the her Department has made of the potential impact of the AI Growth Zone in the North East on economic growth in the Hexham constituency.

I refer my Hon. friend to the answer given on 2nd October 2025 to Question UIN HL10718.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to support tech innovation in (a) Hexham constituency and (b) the North East.

As set out in the Digital and Technologies Sector Plan, part of the UK’s modern Industrial Strategy, the department is committed to supporting the UK’s city regions and clusters.UKRI invested £355 million in the North East in 2023-24. UKRI’s funding is supporting projects such as the North East Digital Technologies Launchpad that has funded innovative technology businesses such as RareCan in Hexham, who are using AI to support recruitment for rare cancer clinical trials.Building on this we have earmarked at least £30 million for the North East through our new Local Innovation Partnerships Fund. This will empower local leaders to grow high-potential innovation clusters and unlock their potential to create the businesses and jobs of the future.

Innovation and Technology, what discussions her Department has had with stakeholders in the North East on the protection children and young people from harmful content online.

This Government is committed to keeping people safe online, so that they can seize all the opportunities that the internet brings.Is it essential that policy is shaped by people with lived experience and we engage regularly with a range of stakeholders to understand how best to protect children and young people from harmful online content. Ofcom, the independent regulator for online safety, also engaged with children across the country in developing its safety codes.Details of ministerial engagement are published quarterly on GOV.UK.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help tackle digital exclusion in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England.

We know that digital exclusion is a complex issue and the evidence base is significant but fragmented. Ofcom data from 2025 reports that 5% of households in the UK do not have access to the internet and that, in the North East of England, 10% of households do not have access to the internet. That is why we launched the Digital Inclusion Action Plan in February, which sets out our immediate actions to boost digital inclusion across the UK, including the North East of England.Alongside our actions to widen access to devices, drive digital upskilling, break down barriers to participation and get support to people in their own communities, we are also developing robust headline indicators to monitor progress and inform future digital inclusion interventions.

Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to support alternative network providers to deploy broadband in rural areas.

The government is committed to ensuring 99% of UK premises receive gigabit coverage by 2032.In July, we published a consultation on a draft updated Statement of Strategic Priorities to Ofcom that sets out the government’s view on the importance of competition to promote investment in broadband deployment across the UK, including in rural areas. A pro-competition regulatory environment will allow alternative networks to continue to play a key role in the fibre roll-out. We are currently reviewing responses to the consultation and will publish our response in due course.In non-commercially viable, often rural, areas, more than £2.4 billion of Project Gigabit contracts have already been signed, including with alternative networks, to connect over one million more premises with gigabit-capable broadband.

Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to support alternative network providers to deploy broadband in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England.

The government is committed to ensuring 99% of UK premises receive gigabit coverage by 2032.In July, we published a consultation on a draft updated Statement of Strategic Priorities to Ofcom that sets out the government’s view on the importance of competition to promote investment in broadband deployment across the UK, including in rural areas. A pro-competition regulatory environment will allow alternative networks to continue to play a key role in the fibre roll-out. We are currently reviewing responses to the consultation and will publish our response in due course.In non-commercially viable, often rural, areas, more than £2.4 billion of Project Gigabit contracts have already been signed, including with alternative networks, to connect over one million more premises with gigabit-capable broadband.

Innovation and Technology, what discussions her Department has had with Ofcom on the cost of the per-metre charging regime for rural network builders.

As the independent regulator for telecommunications, Ofcom is responsible for making regulatory decisions in the fixed telecoms sector, including on the Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) product.DSIT is engaging on this issue with Ofcom at an official level. In July, we published our draft Statement of Strategic Priorities for telecommunications, the management of radio spectrum, and postal services that sets out the Government’s view on infrastructure sharing in the fixed telecoms sector, including asking Ofcom to demonstrate greater transparency in how they calculate and set PIA prices.

Innovation and Technology, whether the Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of BTs move from copper wire landlines to mobile voice systems on weather resilience.

The transition from the old analogue landline network, also known as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), to new Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), which delivers voice calls over an internet connection, is industry led. Importantly, landlines are not being withdrawn, but their underlying technology is changing from PSTN to VoIP. VoIP is more resistant to severe weather as the cables used are waterproof, and less prone to damage during a storm or other severe weather events. The PSTN lines are often in the air and fail during storm weather. The Government has received a number of representations from MPs enquiring about the steps been taken to improve mobile connectivity in rural areas because of concerns over the impact of the PSTN switch-off. As well as maintaining our commitment to our target of 95% of the UK geography being covered by 4G, our ambition is for all populated areas, including rural communities, to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030. The Government is engaging regularly with the telecoms industry to ensure consumers and sectors, including rural businesses, are protected and prepared for the upgrade process throughout the UK. A definition of vulnerable customers who may require additional support in the context of the PSTN switch-off was published in November 2024. It includes those who are telecare users and those dependent on their landline, including in rural communities.

Innovation and Technology, what representations his Department has received on the impact of BTs move from copper wire landlines to mobile voice systems for rural communities.

The transition from the old analogue landline network, also known as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), to new Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), which delivers voice calls over an internet connection, is industry led. Importantly, landlines are not being withdrawn, but their underlying technology is changing from PSTN to VoIP. VoIP is more resistant to severe weather as the cables used are waterproof, and less prone to damage during a storm or other severe weather events. The PSTN lines are often in the air and fail during storm weather. The Government has received a number of representations from MPs enquiring about the steps been taken to improve mobile connectivity in rural areas because of concerns over the impact of the PSTN switch-off. As well as maintaining our commitment to our target of 95% of the UK geography being covered by 4G, our ambition is for all populated areas, including rural communities, to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030. The Government is engaging regularly with the telecoms industry to ensure consumers and sectors, including rural businesses, are protected and prepared for the upgrade process throughout the UK. A definition of vulnerable customers who may require additional support in the context of the PSTN switch-off was published in November 2024. It includes those who are telecare users and those dependent on their landline, including in rural communities.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of BTs move from copper wire landlines to mobile voice systems on rural businesses.

The transition from the old analogue landline network, also known as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), to new Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), which delivers voice calls over an internet connection, is industry led. Importantly, landlines are not being withdrawn, but their underlying technology is changing from PSTN to VoIP. VoIP is more resistant to severe weather as the cables used are waterproof, and less prone to damage during a storm or other severe weather events. The PSTN lines are often in the air and fail during storm weather. The Government has received a number of representations from MPs enquiring about the steps been taken to improve mobile connectivity in rural areas because of concerns over the impact of the PSTN switch-off. As well as maintaining our commitment to our target of 95% of the UK geography being covered by 4G, our ambition is for all populated areas, including rural communities, to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030. The Government is engaging regularly with the telecoms industry to ensure consumers and sectors, including rural businesses, are protected and prepared for the upgrade process throughout the UK. A definition of vulnerable customers who may require additional support in the context of the PSTN switch-off was published in November 2024. It includes those who are telecare users and those dependent on their landline, including in rural communities.