Rural Connectivity Questions Raised In Parliament

Rural connectivity featured prominently in Parliament last week, with concerns raised both during departmental Oral Answers to Questions and later at Prime Minister’s Questions. During Science, Innovation and Technology questions, MPs pressed the Minister for Digital Government and Data on slow broadband speeds, persistent mobile notspots and the reliability of networks in hard-to-reach communities.

The issue resurfaced again in Prime Minister’s Questions, where the focus shifted to the higher energy costs faced by rural, off-grid households. Together, the exchanges highlighted the continuing challenges rural areas face in accessing modern, reliable digital and energy infrastructure.

Concerns from Monmouthshire, Buckinghamshire and Suffolk painted a familiar picture: rural households attempting to join work meetings, contact GPs or simply make a mobile call, only to be met with frozen screens, dropped signal or no coverage at all. In response, Ministers pointed to progress through Project Gigabit and the Shared Rural Network, with new contracts focused on the most remote premises. Yet for villages that still cannot make a basic phone call indoors, MPs argued that national rollout figures offer little comfort.

Digital exclusion also surfaced as a persistent barrier, with residents in some areas unable to get online simply because they lack a suitable device. The Government said digital inclusion remains a priority and agreed to explore local initiatives, but several MPs warned that the gap between the digitally connected and the digitally left-behind continues to widen in rural areas.

Energy costs brought another stark reminder of the pressures facing rural households. MPs highlighted the long-standing imbalance that leaves off-grid homes (disproportionately found in rural and island communities) paying more to heat their homes because environmental levies fall more heavily on electricity than on mains gas. The Prime Minister acknowledged the unfairness and said work was underway to explore a “fairer system”, but rural representatives stressed that households enduring higher bills cannot wait indefinitely.

There were positive notes too. The Government accepted an invitation to visit Harper Adams University, recognising the crucial role of agritech, robotics and sustainable farming in rural economic growth. The session also showcased an appetite across parties to strengthen digital infrastructure and ensure that rural areas are not left behind as services, healthcare and education move increasingly online.

Read the Hansard transcript here

The themes running through the debate echo the priorities set out in the RSN’s Delivering for All roadmap, which argues that national policy must reflect the distinct needs and costs of rural places. Time and again, MPs pointed out that headline statistics mask the rural reality—whether on broadband speeds, mobile coverage or household energy costs—and called for policy that genuinely responds to local circumstances. Their contributions underline the central message of Delivering for All: that fairness cannot be achieved through one-size-fits-all approaches, and that the potential of rural communities will only be unlocked when funding, data and policy design work for every place, not just the easiest to reach.