I would like to thank the Minister for her statement today, and to say that the Superfast Cymru project has undoubtedly improved the availability of fibre broadband across Wales, and this is very much to be welcomed.

However, it is undeniable that the Welsh Government have failed to deliver on their 2011 commitment to—and I quote—ensure that

‘all residential premises and businesses in Wales have access to next generation broadband by 2015.’

Paragraph 5.3.2 of the original Superfast Cymru contract states that a minimum of 90 per cent of all premises in the contract intervention area are capable of having access to broadband services at a minimum of 30 Mbps. By my reckoning, the 98,000 premises that you have identified as not being able to access superfast broadband in your statement today represents over 12 per cent of premises—a clear failure to meet the 90 per cent target. So, can I ask the Minister for clarity and to confirm what percentage of premises can actually receive superfast speeds?

The original open market review conducted by Mott MacDonald identified 45,000 premises in Wales that would not benefit from the project. Your statement today appears to be saying that this has now grown to 98,000—over double the original number. So, I would be grateful if you could explain why the figure has doubled and provide a full list of premises that are outside the scope of the project so that households and businesses that will definitely miss out can make contingency plans and alternative arrangements. If BT ultimately fails to meet its contractual obligations, are you expecting to receive clawback funding for these missed targets? If so, how much?

I also have to say that I am sceptical at the approach that sees the Government and BT count premises passed as a way of assessing who can receive fibre broadband. I’ve received reports of insufficient capacity in superfast broadband enabled areas for residents to connect to the network, meaning that, even though the network technically passed the premises, residents are unable to procure a service. So, I would be grateful if you could outline what you are doing to rectify these capacity issues that are preventing people from accessing fibre broadband that has been provided at a cost to the public purse.

The project is also still plagued, I’d say, with communication issues, which see residents being told one month that they’ll have access to fibre broadband by a certain date, only to be told a few weeks later that they won’t receive it at all. This is unacceptable and I would like assurances from you, Minister, today, that the successor scheme has a contractual obligation built into it that will see an improvement in public communications. You mentioned in your statement that communities can drive forward their own solutions. Well, they can’t; not if they’re being told insufficient information.

Turning to the target for superfast take-up, in previous statements, you’ve said that the Welsh Government is now placing a greater emphasis on demand stimulation, but there’s no mention of this today in your statement. So, will you therefore confirm: what is the current take-up of fibre broadband in the intervention area? Given the fact that it’s in the Welsh Government’s interest, I’d say, to aggressively promote take-up as a result of benefitting from gain share, are you intending on revising upwards the woefully low take-up target of 50 per cent by 2024?

Finally, you referred to the broadband voucher scheme and said that these schemes will be adjusted to provide additional flexibility. This, I have to say, is to be welcomed, as the ultrafast connectivity voucher scheme has come, I would say, under some criticism for it being disproportionately focused on high-end products and having insufficient flexibility—an issue I raised with you, I know, some 18 months ago. So, I would be grateful if you could provide additional detail on how the voucher scheme will be adapted for the successor scheme and confirm that the successor scheme will also have a focus on upload speeds as well as download speeds.