The government’s broadband delivery body is to become an
Executive Agency as part of efforts to ramp up the rollout of
gigabit broadband and level up communities across the UK.
Executive agencies are specialist bodies within government
departments. They are set up to deliver a service fundamental to
the policy of their sponsor department.
Building Digital UK (BDUK) currently sits within the Department
for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and is delivering
the government’s £5 billion Project Gigabit to bring faster and
more reliable internet speeds to hard-to-reach areas.
Currently 62.9 per cent of UK homes and businesses have access to
ultrafast gigabit broadband thanks to the government’s focus on
improving connectivity, up from just 6 per cent at the start of
2019.
While DCMS ministers will retain overall control and
responsibility for BDUK and broadband rollout, the new agency
will have a new corporate governance structure, including a new
board.
The move will make sure it is set up in the most effective way to
expand its operations for the fast delivery of broadband rollout.
It will also bring the agency closer to the communities it is
benefitting, with BDUK setting up a head office in central
Manchester which will boost the city’s credentials as a
fast-growing digital tech hub.
The government has made a commitment for at least 85 per cent of
the UK to have access to a gigabit-capable broadband connection
by 2025.
Digital Infrastructure Minister said:
We are on a mission to make sure everyone can get faster
broadband speeds and reap the benefits of internet-fuelled
innovations in the coming decades.
We are moving fast and national gigabit-speed broadband coverage
has jumped from six per cent to sixty per cent in just two years.
As part of the biggest broadband build in British history we are
now giving BDUK greater freedom and flexibility to ramp up
rollout and expand its operations to create new jobs, boost
economic growth and level up communities in need.
The government has already identified up to 2.5 million
hard-to-reach homes and businesses in scope of Project Gigabit
across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and is in
the process of identifying more. With the work to deliver these
connections set to kick off next year, the intention is for BDUK
to become an Executive Agency in April 2022.
Becoming an Executive Agency will give BDUK more operational
autonomy to focus on Project Gigabit as well as the Shared Rural
Network, the £1 billion deal agreed with mobile network operators
to end patchy rural mobile coverage and ensure 95% of UK
geography has a 4G signal by the end of 2025.
While BDUK will remain legally within DCMS and retain a close
relationship with DCMS policy officials, a key benefit of making
BDUK an Executive Agency will be a robust new governance
structure. Its new management board will incorporate a
non-executive chair, executive members and non-executive members,
thereby providing an extra layer of expert scrutiny and technical
oversight.
Notes to editors
Administration costs for the new Executive Agency have been
minimised by identifying where shared services can be delivered
within DCMS, in accordance with the government’s Shared Services
Strategy, delivering more streamlined services that maximise
value for money.
