COUNTRYSIDE ALLIANCE

Responding to the news today that the Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has warned that local authorities could have their broadband funding removed if broadband contracts are not signed by the end of the year; Alice Barnard, Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance, said: “The announcement of the withdrawal of funds if broadband contracts are not signed gives further assurance, following the deadline for councils to submit their broadband plans, that the roll-out of rural broadband will be delivered.  
“As we saw from previous Countryside Alliance research, councils have been struggling to get their broadband projects moving. It is right that the Government gives further assurance that contracts are actually signed to deliver broadband provision, rather than councils just putting forward plans. Rural communities need fast and reliable internet connections to start to bridge Britain’s digital divide.”
In December the Countryside Alliance released Freedom of Information requests from the four pilot councils announced by George Osborne in his 2010 Pre-Budget Report – Highlands, Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Herefordshire – that showed very little work had been started, with some still preparing for the procurement stage over twelve months after the initial announcement (more details in BBC report here). 
The initial DCMS announcement on deadlines for councils to publish plans for broadband delivery – which came just a week after the Countryside Alliance released information about slow rural broadband delivery – was welcomed by the Countryside Alliance.