Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy and Transport – in the Senedd at 1:42 pm on 13 February 2019.

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Photo of Russell George Russell George Conservative 1:42, 13 February 2019

I thank you for the answer, Deputy Minister. Of course, Superfast Cymru is a Welsh Government scheme, and there are some elements of other schemes that you announced last year and in previous years, which I do welcome, but they're not going to cover and be relevant to all premises across Wales. Now, if we look at phase 1, there were areas across Wales that, after the end of phase 1, were the worst broadband coverage areas, and they included the Presiding Officer's constituency in Ceredigion, mine in Powys, in Pembrokeshire and in Carmarthenshire. They were the worst areas for broadband coverage across the entirety of Wales.

So, you would have thought phase 2 would be entirely focused or prioritising, at the very least, those areas—priority for those areas. In fact, the complete opposite has happened and attention has been spent on the areas that are already serviced well. This is the frustration for many people across rural parts of Wales. Now, if I take the example of Pembrokeshire, of all the premises that were left at the end of phase 1 without a connection to Superfast Cymru, only 4 per cent of that number is now going to be covered in phase 2. That is what is so disappointing, and that's the frustration for many people across rural Wales. So, can you accept that this approach to delivering fibre broadband is flawed, and what are you going to do about the 67,000 premises that are still going to be left in the lurch in two years' time from now?