Broadband (Hansard, 20 January 2004)

§ Mr. Hoyle
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the roll out of broadband in Lancashire. [148415]

§ Mr. Timms
Under the Department's £30 million broadband fund, the North West Development Agency (NWDA) is launching three pilot demonstrator projects in Lancashire, which will focus on encouraging access and take up of ICT over broadband. The NWDA is in the final stages of procurement for Project ACCESS, which will enable provision of affordable broadband access in Cumbria and that part of Lancashire north of the Lancaster district boundary. The NWDA has also supported the formation of the Lancashire Digital Development Agency (LDDA), a grouping of public, private and voluntary sector partners who take the responsibility for promoting the delivery of an advanced broadband infrastructure and to maximise its take up. (Source: www.nwda.co.uk).
Under the Department's Broadband Aggregation Project (BAP), the North West Regional Aggregation Body (NW-RAB), has been incorporated to aggregate and procure public sector demand for broadband connectivity. The NW-RAB is working with stakeholders in the region to develop a strategy that will offer best value for money and the widest availability of broadband to surrounding communities.

§ Mr. Cummings
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of the county of Durham has broadband coverage; and what action she intends to take to encourage greater coverage. [148854]
1168W

§ Mr. Timms
The data for the percentage of broadband coverage in the county of Durham are not available within Government.
The regional development agency, One NorthEast, in partnership with Durham county council and the local district councils, is driving forward a major £5.1 million project (DurhamNet) to provide a broadband network across the county, via high speed radio technology. Stage one of the project aims to provide broadband access to business, education and community facilities. This work is well under way, with broadband provision to the county's public libraries already in place. The county council is now leading a regional initiative to ensure that all telephone exchanges in the north-east are upgraded to deliver broadband to the region. (source: www.durham.gov.uk/).
The North East Regional Aggregation Body has been incorporated to aggregate and procure public sector demand for broadband connectivity. It is working with stakeholders in the region to develop a strategy that will offer best value for money and the widest availability of broadband to surrounding communities.