4. Will the First Minister make a statement on communicating with people who are waiting for superfast broadband services? OAQ51582

Information on the introduction of Superfast Cymru is available on the Welsh Government website, and providing effective information will be on a key requirement of any future project.

A constituent from Talwrn contacted me recently, not that he was angry because he didn't have any superfast broadband, but that he's now found out that it has been available for some months and he wasn't aware of it. As it happens, I'm in the same situation, where a neighbour told me that we could access superfast broadband and have been able to do so for a few months.

This is very frustrating for people who have been waiting a long time, and I think it's part of the terrible lack of communication that's existed between Openreach and the public in terms of the roll-out of superfast broadband. So, will the First Minister give a commitment to put pressure again on Openreach to inform people when connections are available? Waiting for the connection can take long enough, and when you find that it has been available but you weren't aware, that's very frustrating indeed.

It has not been adequate. There was a campaign over the past three years, going on until next year, in order to promote the use of superfast broadband, and we are reconsidering how we can improve the communication on this, so that the people who have this service can receive it and understand that it's there. It's one thing that the infrastructure is available, but it's another to ensure that people know that they can use it. So, this is something that has been said to us too, and we want to consider the way in which we communicate in order to ensure that they are informed.

First Minister, can I say I think the Superfast Cymru programme has been a public communications disaster? Certainly my constituents have been repeatedly promised fibre broadband only to be told that the upgrade has been delayed, on several occasions. And now they find that they've been left in the lurch because Openreach has run out of time. In a letter to me on 11 January, the leader of the house said, and I quote in the letter: 'The provision of superfast broadband connection, under the Superfast Cymru project, was never promised to any area or community, only scheduled.'

That, to me, is a complete cop-out. Households have been promised repeatedly that they would receive an upgrade by the end of 2017. So, can I ask what is your message to these households? What lessons have you learned, and can you give any assurance that premises that were previously in scope will now be included in any successor scheme?

First of all, we're in the hands of BT in terms of the physical works that are taken forward. What I can say is, I do understand that there are people who now feel, because the contract has come to an end, therefore nothing else will happen. Can I say to the Member that we are considering what further steps we can now take? I understand. I've heard stories around Wales that, literally, structure has been left half finished as a result of the contract finishing. I'm well aware of that. It would seem a great shame if that were to happen. So, I can say to him and his constituents that we are actively considering how best to ensure that more people are connected, and we're looking again at how we can help to connect many more communities and households beyond the end of the contract at the end of last year.

First Minister, because of Welsh Government investment, there's no doubt that thousands of households across the Llanelli constituency now have access to superfast broadband. But in the community of Bynea, just outside of Llanelli, they've been treated appallingly by BT Openreach. They were told they'd have access by the end of the year, they've appalling speeds, and just before Christmas were told that because they've reached their target, they'd have to wait until any future successor scheme. This clearly isn't good enough. 

My colleague Nia Griffith held a meeting with residents and with BT on Saturday morning, and they were told that they'd now have to cobble together a community bid. They are very frustrated by this, so can the Welsh Government make sure that, as it communicates the next phase, these left-behind groups are now reached and reached quickly? 

Well, I can well imagine the concern, if not anger, that people in Bynea feel. I think, from the Member's tone, this was part of the Superfast Cymru contract rather than a commercial contract, over which, of course, we have no control, but it is something that we'll continue to address with BT with a view to looking again at communities that were promised, or appear to have been promised, to have services but have not had those services delivered, with a view to delivering those services in the future. So, we are very much aware that there will be communities and premises around Wales who feel that they should have had access to superfast broadband who've not yet received it, and we are now looking at ways to try to ensure that they do receive it in future.