Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I’m very pleased to take part in this discussion today, and I’m also very pleased to recognise that the Conservatives have accepted our two amendments. So, superfast broadband—we naturally accept and celebrate the fact that over 89 per cent of homes in Wales can have access to superfast broadband. It’s important to recognise that, but, of course, experiences in some local authorities in Wales are very different. Some are doing very well—in Merthyr, 98.32 per cent of households can receive superfast broadband, and in Blaenau Gwent, 97.9 per cent of households can have the same broadband. But, some local authorities—mainly those in rural areas—are missing out.

As I’ve said in this Chamber before, in Ceredigion, only 60.4 per cent of households can have superfast broadband. In Powys, only 65.67 per cent of houses can have the same superfast broadband service. BT figures this week confirm that less than 1 per cent of Welsh houses have a speed lower than 2 Mbps and less than 7 per cent of Welsh homes are under 10 Mbps. We understand, of course, that ensuring access to this service is going to be more difficult in some rural areas and in some urban areas where there are local problems, such as planning restrictions or physical restrictions that prevent laying cables. While it’s obvious that we need more expenditure to target these areas, we also need to recognise that we need to see more local co-ordination between individuals and community groups in order to deliver a superfast service.

The Welsh Government’s access to broadband scheme, of course, is one that allows individuals to make an application for financial support, but the purpose of our amendment today is to give local authorities a prominent role, so that there is an expectation that local authorities co-operate with local groups in a strategic way, rather than the reactive system that is characteristic of the current system that we have.

Once the infrastructure is in place, it’s obvious that we need to make the most of the economic opportunities and social opportunities that arise from that access. It’s worth noting, of course, that fewer than one in every three people who can have a superfast service do take advantage of that service. The Government has already introduced a marketing and communication campaign in order to promote the use of broadband once it’s available in areas, but we need to look at the effectiveness of this campaign to ensure that more individuals and businesses make use of the new technology that is available.

This technology is vital for Wales as we try to close the huge gulf with the rest of the UK and Europe. I welcome the fact that BT Wales is introducing the G.fast service in Swansea, and I’m looking forward to seeing the review of this pilot scheme. But, as we welcome the fact that some parts of Swansea can have a speed of about 500 Mbps as their superfast broadband as part of this pilot, we must not forget those areas that still don’t receive a basic service. On that basis, I encourage Members to support the amendments that we’ve tabled. Thank you very much.