§ Margaret MoranTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps her Department plans to take to ensure community access is maximised in respect of wired up communities projects. [11207]
§ John HealeyWe are piloting the wired up communities initiative in 14,000 households in seven areas across England, including inner city, rural and coalfield communities. An evaluation report on this pilot phase is due to be published in spring 2002. Findings will be carefully considered before any decisions are made on how best to maximise community access to ICT. However, our existing policies also mean that by the end of 2002 there will be 6,000 UK online centres—.including 3,000 public libraries—operating across England to provide widespread community access to ICT facilities.