Written question asked by Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Baroness Rawlings (Conservative) on Tuesday, 1 May 2012.

Internet: Broadband

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the announcement in the Budget Report, how they (1) define, and (2) decide the super-connected cities that are to receive funding for ultrafast and high-speed wireless broadband coverage; and when, and on what basis, they will announce funding for the second wave of 10 smaller super-connected cities.

Answer: The Government’s Super-Connected Cities Initiative is seeking to transform how people and organisations interact with each other, handle information, access services and do business. We believe that our major cities, where there is a high density of people and businesses, offer the greatest potential to achieve this effect. We have defined these cities as the four national capitals: London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast (although they are not required to compete for approval for funding, each capital must still submit proposals meeting the competition criteria in order to determine the amount of UBF funding to be allocated); the eight English Core Cities and any other city with more than 150,000 dwellings. More information about the criteria for qualifying proposals and the assessment process can be found on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s website by downloading the document Guidance for Local Authorities submitting proposals to the Urban Broadband Fund. The link to the webpage is: http://www.culture. gov.uk/publications/8729.aspx.

Secondary information