AQW 22019/17-22

Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry

Tabled Date: 08/09/2021
Answered On Date: 30/09/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for the Economy whether the £25 million funding boost for Project Stratum will enable the homes outlined as being eligible for the project, but were not included in the plans, to now benefit from the scheme.

Answer:

The recent announcement by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, confirming extra funding for Project Stratum, is the result of a long and ongoing process of engagement. The additional funding will contribute towards addressing premises that are currently beyond the scope of Project Stratum, as well as premises that were omitted from the target intervention area due to issues with the Land & Property Services Pointer dataset, but have since been identified as being eligible.

My Department remains on track to complete the governance and approvals processes required in advance of making an announcement and sharing the breakdown and location of premises to be brought into scope as part of this exercise, along with Fibrus Networks’ confirmed deployment rollout schedule.

My Department remains hopeful that the process will be concluded in the next several weeks and the granular detail can then be provided. It remains the overarching aspiration of my Department to maximise broadband coverage to benefit as many eligible premises as possible under Project Stratum from this public intervention under the State aid rules that govern the project.