4. Statement by the Leader of the House: Superfast Cymru

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:23 pm on 30 January 2018.

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Photo of Lee Waters Lee Waters Labour 4:23, 30 January 2018

Minister, you were right to say that this is a key utility and we should acknowledge that without the direct market intervention of the Welsh Government thousands of my constituents would be now without broadband. But of course there remain the frustrations of those who are left behind. I had a lively public meeting on Friday night in the community of Bynea just outside Llanelli, where there is palpable frustration at the way they've been treated. You mentioned earlier that, when people are buying their homes, they should check first that they are going to be connected. People in Bynea did check, and they were told it would be connected. They have screenshots, they have e-mails from Openreach right up until the end of December with a date saying that this was going to be connected, only to be told that that is not now going to happen, with the maddening explanation for some of them that they've been connected to the Swansea exchange, not the Llanelli exchange, which was being enabled and which just defies all common sense.

I welcome the schemes that the Minister has set out. Can I ask her specifically if she could look at the case of my constituents in Bynea and work with me to see what can be done to help them, because I really do think they've been treated very shabbily indeed?