Broadband: Finance
Business, Innovation and Skills
Written answers and statements, 3 November 2009
Richard Younger-Ross (Teignbridge, Liberal Democrat)
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of delivery of the universal service commitment of two megabits per second by 2012; and from which of his Department's budgets the funding for the commitment will be drawn.
Stephen Timms (Financial Secretary, HM Treasury; East Ham, Labour)
The Government set out in the Digital Britain report that it would make available £200 million of public funds to support delivery of the universal service commitment of two megabits per second by 2012. This will be drawn from a combination of the underspend on the Digital Switchover Fund (from the TV licence fee) and the £750 million BIS Strategic Investment Fund announced in the budget to support advanced industrial projects of strategic importance.