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Category: Press Releases

  • PRESS RELEASE : Paedophile Paul Cartwright duped by police sentenced to immediate imprisonment after referral to the Court of Appeal [December 2022]

    PRESS RELEASE : Paedophile Paul Cartwright duped by police sentenced to immediate imprisonment after referral to the Court of Appeal [December 2022]

    The press release issued by the Attorney General on 1 December 2022.

    A man who planned to sexually abuse a child has been sentenced to an immediate prison term after the case was referred to the Court of Appeal for being unduly lenient.

    Paul Cartwright, 56, believed he had been messaging the child’s aunt ‘Liv’ over a four-week period in which he persistently and graphically discussed sexual abuse of 11-year-old ‘Demi’.  He arranged to meet ‘Liv’ with a view to carrying out the abuse but was instead met by an undercover police officer.

    On 15 September 2022, he was sentenced to a 24-month jail sentence suspended for 2 years, ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work, attend 35 rehabilitation days and abstain from alcohol for 3 months. Cartwright was also ordered to register as a sex offender and be subject to the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.

    Following the sentencing at St Alban’s Crown Court, it was referred to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme for being too low.

    On 1 December 2022, the Court found Cartwright’s original sentence to be unduly lenient, and he was sentenced to an immediate prison term of 2 years and 6 months.

    Speaking after the hearing, Solicitor General Michael Tomlinson MP said:

    Thanks to police intervention no harm was caused to a child, but this tougher sentence is a better reflection of Cartwright’s clear intent to sexually abuse a child which will not be tolerated.

  • PRESS RELEASE : OSCE Ministerial Council Plenary 2022 – UK statement by the Foreign Secretary [December 2022]

    PRESS RELEASE : OSCE Ministerial Council Plenary 2022 – UK statement by the Foreign Secretary [December 2022]

    The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 1 December 2022.

    UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverley says the disaster in Ukraine will only end when Russia halts its barbaric war and withdraws fully and unconditionally.

    Thank you, Foreign Minister Rau.

    The tragic events of this year have shown the enduring value of the OSCE as a forum for dialogue, transparency, and confidence-building. Everything the OSCE does is based on the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and the non-use of force. These are the foundation stones of peace in our continent.

    Last year in Stockholm, the UK and many other countries warned Russia that any attack on Ukraine would be a ‘strategic mistake’. And yet, on 24 February, Russia – with the support of Belarus – invaded Ukraine.

    Our Ukrainian friends fought back with courage and tenacity, defeating Russian forces at the gates of Kyiv, repelling them from Kharkiv, and now expelling the aggressor from Kherson. Is there anyone anywhere – even in the abodes of the guilty – who would still doubt that Russia’s aggression was a strategic mistake as well as a crime?

    The reports of the Moscow Mechanism have detailed the atrocities of Russia’s armed forces in Ukraine, including torture, executing civilians, unlawful detention and enforced disappearances, and countless other breaches of international humanitarian law.

    No wonder that Russia tried to conceal these outrages, including by blocking the mandate renewal of the OSCE’s Border Observer Mission and the Special Monitoring Mission, by frustrating the work of OSCE human rights institutions, and stopping civil society meetings with all 57 states. The UK supports the continued OSCE presence in Ukraine and welcomes the efforts to ensure this continues. We commend the work of OSCE staff throughout the whole OSCE region who have been working in challenging circumstances this past year.

    This disaster will only end when Russia halts its barbaric war and withdraws its forces fully and unconditionally from the territory of Ukraine. Until that day comes, the UK will stand with Ukraine and provide humanitarian, economic, diplomatic and military support until our friends prevail – as they inevitably will – and their brave country is free once more.

  • TWITTER TIMELINE ARCHIVE : Lee Rowley

    TWITTER TIMELINE ARCHIVE : Lee Rowley

  • PRESS RELEASE : Increased prison sentence for Jamie Hardman who committed sexual assault [November 2022]

    PRESS RELEASE : Increased prison sentence for Jamie Hardman who committed sexual assault [November 2022]

    The press release issued by the Attorney General on 1 December 2022.

    A man who sexually assaulted a woman in her flat has been ordered to spend longer in prison after his sentence was referred to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

    After entering the flat of the victim, Jamie Hardman, 33, went into her bedroom and got into her bed. The victim was unwell and had her back to Hardman and thought it was her partner who just got into the bed with her.

    Hardman then carried out the assault which caused the victim to run and lock herself in the bathroom. Hardman then left the flat.

    On 31 August 2022 at Inner London Crown Court, Hardman was sentenced to 3 years and 4 months’ imprisonment for assault by penetration.

    His sentence was then referred to the Court of Appeal for being too low.

    On 01 December 2022, the Court ruled that Hardman’s original sentence was unduly lenient and handed down a new sentence of 4 years and nine months’ imprisonment.

    Speaking after the hearing, the Solicitor General Michael Tomlinson MP said:

    “Jamie Hardman demonstrated shocking predatory behaviour and put the victim of this crime through a terrifying ordeal. I welcome the decision to increase his sentence and hope that this ruling sends the message that crimes of sexual violence will never be tolerated.”

  • PRESS RELEASE : Training for thousands to take advantage of green job opportunities [December 2022]

    PRESS RELEASE : Training for thousands to take advantage of green job opportunities [December 2022]

    The press release issued by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 1 December 2022.

    Organisations have been awarded funding to deliver accredited training programmes to boost numbers of skilled retrofit, energy efficiency and heat pump installers.

    • Almost 9,000 training courses will be run across England for heat pump and energy efficiency installers thanks to £9.2 million government funding
    • courses will be free or heavily subsidised and provide retraining opportunities for people already working in or looking to start roles in the green energy sector
    • funding will let thousands take advantage of growth and jobs potential created by clean heating and push to reduce bills by improving energy efficiency of buildings

    Thousands of training courses will be rolled out across England to grow a skilled workforce of heat pump and energy efficiency installers, as the government announces winners of the Home Decarbonisation Skills Training competition.

    Shining a light on the huge scope for economic growth and job creation in the green energy sector, the £9.2 million funding will offer free and heavily subsidised training opportunities for installers of clean heating and energy efficiency measures.

    The funding will see training providers deliver 8,900 courses at accredited centres across England for prospective heat pump and energy efficiency installers.

    This will add to the rapidly growing number already saving households hundreds of pounds on their energy bills each year by delivering energy efficiency solutions, while helping the UK meet its ambitious carbon emissions commitments.

    Business and Energy Minister Lord Callanan said:

    The green energy sector is driving growth and creating jobs right across the country, and this funding will make sure we have enough tradespeople trained up and able to take advantage of these opportunities.

    We are making homes greener and cheaper to keep warm and training thousands more skilled installers will ensure we keep accelerating the pace of creating cleaner and more energy efficient buildings.

    The government is accelerating the pace of upgrading the energy efficiency of housing with £6 billion funding committed to 2028, in addition to £6.6 billion in this parliament. A further £4 billion has been committed through the ECO4 scheme, which is delivering home insulation measures to low income and more vulnerable households, and the £1 billion ECO+ scheme, which will install measures in households who have previously not been able to access support through the Energy Company Obligation scheme.

    Improving the energy efficiency of homes is the best long-term method of cutting household energy use and bringing down bills and this funding will be crucial in helping ensure there are enough trained installers to deliver upgrades across the country.

    The funding will provide training for people already working in the heating and plumbing sector who are looking to retrain or grow their existing skills, as well as for those looking to enter and work in the energy efficiency, building retrofit and low carbon heating sectors, building both the overall number and skill levels of trained installers across England.

    Training through the latest round of the Home Decarbonisation Skills Training competition will be delivered until 31 March 2023 and follows the success of the previous round of funding in 2021 when the government invested £6 million, resulting in almost 7,000 training opportunities.

    Organisations that have been successful in the latest funding round will provide appropriate installer training that leads to a recognised NVQ qualification or equivalent and Continuing Professional Development-style short courses.

    Training opportunities will be provided across England with courses being run at centres in towns and cities from Truro to Newcastle and the Isle of Wight to Cumbria.

  • PRESS RELEASE : New appointment made to the Animal Health and Welfare Board England [December 2022]

    PRESS RELEASE : New appointment made to the Animal Health and Welfare Board England [December 2022]

    The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 1 December 2022.

    Defra Minister Lord Benyon has confirmed the appointment of Julia Wrathall as Non-Executive Director of the Animal Health & Welfare Board for England (AHWBE).

    Julia Wrathall has been appointed for three years from 1 December 2022 and will replace Emma Slawinski as a Non-Executive Director.

    The appointment has been made in accordance with the Ministerial Governance Code on Public Appointments. There is a requirement for appointees’ political activity (if significant) to be declared. Julia has declared that she has not taken part in any significant political activity in the past five years.

    The Animal Health & Welfare Board for England (AHWBE) is principal adviser to Defra on all strategic health and welfare matters relating to all kept animals in England. The Board’s role is to set the strategic policy framework, with responsibilities including developing and implementing animal health and welfare policy and ensuring value for money, assessing of the risk of animal disease threats and establishing surveillance and research priorities, monitoring the regulatory framework, approving the operational plans of the Animal and Plant Health Agency and other bodies, and reviewing contingency plans for dealing with new disease outbreaks.

    Biographical details

    Julia Wrathall

    • Julia is an independent animal welfare consultant with a background in applied welfare science and policy development across many species and areas of human-animal interaction.
    • She worked for the RSPCA for many years, where her roles included Chief Scientific Officer leading the work of the Society’s Science & Policy team, the development of the RSPCA’s farm animal welfare standards, and the Assurewel on-farm welfare outcome assessment programme.
    • She has served on a number of committees in the animal welfare, farming and academic sectors, including the Farm Animal Welfare Forum, Pig Health and Welfare Council, RUMA and Beak Trimming Action Group.
  • PRESS RELEASE : £15.4 million contract for first cutting-edge Navy crewless submarine [December 2022]

    PRESS RELEASE : £15.4 million contract for first cutting-edge Navy crewless submarine [December 2022]

    The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 1 December 2022.

    Project Cetus will deliver the largest and most complex crewless submarine operated by a European Navy.

    A £15.4 million contract for a cutting-edge crewless submarine has been awarded to Plymouth firm MSubs by the Royal Navy. The vessel will be delivered to the Navy in two years’ time and will further advance the UK’s ability to protect our critical national infrastructure and monitor sub-sea activity.

    Project Cetus – named after a mythological sea monster – enhances the Royal Navy’s experimentation with autonomous underwater systems. It is the first step in developing an operational autonomous submarine that will work side-by-side with crewed submarines – including the Astute-class hunter-killers and their successors – or independently.

    Its maximum operational depth will exceed that of the current submarine fleet, meaning Cetus will equip the Royal Navy with even greater reach into the oceans in support of UK defence. It will be able to cover up to 1,000 miles in a single mission.

    Cetus will be 12 metres long – the length of a double decker bus – 2.2 metres in diameter and weigh 17 tonnes. It will be the largest and most complex crewless submersible operated by a European navy. The bespoke vessel is being designed and built for the Royal Navy by Plymouth-based tech firm MSubs. This contract will create 10 and support 70 specialist jobs in the city.

    Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:

    In order to meet the growing threats to our underwater infrastructure, the Royal Navy needs to be ahead of the competition with cutting edge capabilities. Project Cetus, alongside bringing forward the MROS ships, will help ensure we have the right equipment to protect the security of the UK and our Allies.

    Having the skills base and specialist knowledge to develop and build this vessel in the UK, is testament to the UKs leading reputation in building surface and sub-surface ships.

    The vessel’s size means that it will fit inside a shipping container and can therefore be transported around the world to wherever it is needed. It will be designed to operate with all of the ships from the Royal Navy fleet as well as those of our allies.

    Cetus will be a platform for the Royal Navy on which to experiment and build cutting edge technologies and capabilities around, encouraging innovation and developing best practice. The unarmed vessel is battery powered, meaning its effective range can be increased by installing additional batteries.

    It has also been designed to be modular, with an optional section that can be added to double the capacity of the vessel.

    The crewless submarine is the latest step taken by the Royal Navy into autonomous systems, and have been for over a decade. Crewless minehunting systems are already operating in Scotland, and driverless Pacific 24 sea boats are undergoing testing. Various aerial drones are used by ships for reconnaissance and intelligence gathering.

    The Navy has invested in a dedicated tech trials ship, XV Patrick Blackett, to assess and test new equipment and determine how it could be used or integrated into the fleet. Cetus is the equivalent for sub-sea experimentation.

    First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key said:

    This is a hugely exciting moment for Project Cetus as the Royal Navy surges ahead with the development of autonomous technology.

    This Extra Large Autonomous Underwater Vehicle is a capability step-change in our mission to dominate the underwater battlespace. And I am delighted that the project is able to support a small, innovative UK company which is at the cutting edge of this sector.

    The contract is funded by the Anti-Submarine Warfare Spearhead programme, run by the Royal Navy’s Develop Directorate, headquartered in Portsmouth. The vessel will be delivered through the Submarine Delivery Agency in Bristol and is the latest in a series of novel underwater technologies being brought to life to deal with the threats of the next decade.

    Brett Phaneuf, Chief Executive Officer at MSubs said:

    The faith the Royal Navy has shown in our small business is humbling and we look forward to working closely together in the future, as we have in the recent past, to develop and deploy Cetus, in the national interest.

  • PRESS RELEASE : The Chancellor of the Exchequer has this day appointed Rosemary Elizabeth Cooper to be Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern [December 2022]

    PRESS RELEASE : The Chancellor of the Exchequer has this day appointed Rosemary Elizabeth Cooper to be Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern [December 2022]

    The press release issued by the Treasury on 1 December 2022.

    The Chancellor of the Exchequer has this day appointed Rosemary Elizabeth Cooper to be Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Broadband beamed from space to isolated areas under plans to boost countryside internet connections [November 2022]

    PRESS RELEASE : Broadband beamed from space to isolated areas under plans to boost countryside internet connections [November 2022]

    The press release issued by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 30 November 2022.

    Work also begins on biggest ever £100 million Project Gigabit contract to connect 60,000 rural homes and businesses in Cumbria, delivered by Fibrus.

    • Mountain rescue base and 12th Century abbey to benefit in government tests of satellites to connect remote locations
    • Broadband voucher scheme to help people get better connections to be tripled in value to £4,500 –  funding gigabit connections in more rural communities

    Some of the UK’s most remote homes and businesses will be connected to better broadband, beamed to earth by satellite, as part of new government plans to ensure everyone can access fast and reliable coverage wherever they live or work.

    A trial officially launched today will see the extent to which satellites can be used to deliver high-speed connections to more than a dozen ‘very hard to reach’ locations – the less than one per cent of sites which are too difficult to upgrade via expensive physical cables in more extreme locations such as mountainous areas or small islands.

    A 12th century abbey in the North Yorkshire Moors National Park, a scout camping site in Snowdonia, a Lake District mountain rescue base and other remote premises will have equipment installed that allows them to link up to a satellite orbiting the globe and benefit from broadband up to ten times faster than is currently available to them.

    Following the trials, the government will consider the viability of using satellite technology to connect very hard to reach homes and businesses across the UK.

    It comes as the government signs its biggest contract under its £5 billion programme to roll out gigabit-capable connections to hard-to-reach areas, Project Gigabit. The £108 million contract, awarded to Northern Ireland-based provider Fibrus, will connect up to 60,000 rural homes and businesses in Cumbria which might have otherwise missed out on upgrades to faster gigabit speeds.

    Digital Secretary Michelle Donelan said:

    High-speed broadband beamed to earth from space could be the answer to the connectivity issues suffered by people in premises stuck in the digital slow lane.

    Ensuring everyone can get a quality internet connection is crucial to our levelling up plans and these trials aim to find a solution to the prohibitively high cost of rolling out cables to far-flung locations.

    We are also today kicking off plans for our biggest broadband build to date as we announce another £100 million is being spent as part of our Project Gigabit programme.

    The Cumbria contract is the latest in a flurry of deals signed under Project Gigabit in recent weeks to level up the north of England, with projects now underway to connect thousands of hard-to-reach premises in Northumberland and Teesdale.

    In a further broadband boost for rural areas, the government will triple the value of vouchers available under the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme. From early next year, eligible homes and businesses will be able to apply for up to £4,500 to cover the costs of a gigabit-capable connection, up from £1,500 for homes and £3,500 for businesses previously, which will enable broadband providers to reach further into rural areas where the build costs are higher.

    ​​Gigabit-capable broadband networks are fast and fit for the future, allowing communities to work, stream and browse seamlessly with none of the disruptions associated with ageing copper networks.

    Entire families will be able stream movies, TV and video games in new high quality 4K and 8K definition onto multiple devices at the same time with no slowdowns in speed.

    It will pave the way for revolutionary new technologies such as Virtual and Augmented Reality and more internet-connected smart appliances in the home and the workplace to make our lives easier and more productive.

    And it will fuel our innovators and wealth creators, boosting growth, enabling anyone to start-up and run a business of any size from anywhere in the UK – from the Highlands, to the Norfolk Broads and the Welsh Valleys to the Lake District.

    More than 72 per cent of the UK can access gigabit connections, up from just 6 per cent in early 2019, thanks to the government’s plan to drive investment in rollout and bust the barriers holding back the industry from doing so at full pace.

    Satellite broadband trials

    The initial wave of trial sites announced today includes:

    • Rievaulx Abbey, founded in 1132, in North Yorkshire Moors National Park, is one of the most complete of England’s abbey ruins. The project will improve connectivity at the site and is expected to help visitors and researchers engage with educational content relating to the ancient monument.
    • Wasdale Head in the Lake District will be connected to explore how better broadband can improve operations in communication ‘blackspot’ zones for mountain rescue team radio and global positioning services.
    • Snowdonia National Park will see two sites connected: the base of the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation (Sefydliad Achub Mynydd Dyffryn Ogwen) to support their life-saving operations and Ty Cornel, an outdoor activity centre in Crafnant Valley managed by Scouts Cymru to help improve safety for wardens and the public traversing the isolated 25 acre site as well as enabling new educational resources for visiting school, university or scout groups.

    Other locations have been identified around the UK, and discussions for further trial sites are  ongoings, including small island locations in England, Scotland and Wales. As well as testing the technical capability of the satellites, the trial will assess what benefits faster connections will bring to these remote premises.

    Andrea Selley, Territory Director for the North at English Heritage said:

    We are so pleased to be part of this trial and want to thank the DCMS for their support. Rievaulx Abbey nestles within a beautiful but remote setting so this new satellite service will ensure better connectivity for our visitors and staff.

    The initial wave of sites are being supported by equipment supplied by Starlink, given the readiness and availability of its technology. DCMS continues to discuss the capability of other solutions and services with suppliers, including the use of other providers such as Oneweb at more complex sites..

    Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites are positioned around 550 – 1,000km above the earth’s surface and, in contrast to larger geostationary satellites, travel along their own orbit. The fact they are closer to earth than previous generations of satellites makes more applications possible, including video calls and real-time collaboration while also making activities like web browsing much smoother. The limited ground infrastructure required means they can provide additional resilience to critical networks in remote, often dangerous, environments.

    Recent tests have shown that in many locations these satellites can deliver speeds of up to 200 megabits per second, well above the speeds capable via copper cables commonly used in hard-to-reach areas today.

    Project Gigabit: Cumbria

    The £108 million contract awarded to Fibrus will cover rural towns, villages and hamlets across the region from Grasmere to Gilsland. Now the contract has been signed, Fibrus will begin construction of the network immediately with the first connections anticipated by the spring.

    The investment in Cumbria will also spark new apprenticeship and employment opportunities in the county. Following today’s announcement, Fibrus is set to create at least 90 apprenticeships over the next three years – covering a range of roles from underground and overhead cabling to surveying – and invest £50,000 to establish an apprentice training academy near Penrith.

    More areas including Cornwall, Hampshire, Shropshire & Telford, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk are all in line for contract awards by summer 2023.

    Dominic Kearns, CEO of Fibrus, said:

    Fibrus considers it a privilege to deliver a transformative project for Cumbria which will change the lives of people living in rural and regional areas. Fibrus is committed to supporting local communities, ensuring any work undertaken in our name supports apprenticeships and allows more people to reap the benefits of full fibre.

    This win helps us further our mission and commitment to bring fast, reliable and affordable broadband to all.

    Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme

    The Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme ensure rural communities and businesses, which commercial suppliers are not planning to reach, can get more immediate help with the costs of installing a gigabit-capable broadband connection.

    Businesses or residents that are eligible for gigabit vouchers can access the scheme through a  registered supplier. Suppliers can develop a project proposal to connect rural communities where there is demand for upgrades and then request vouchers on their behalf. Funding is only committed when a voucher requested has been approved by DCMS.

    Overall, more than 111,000 vouchers have been issued through the government’s vouchers schemes, and to date, more than 77,000 of these vouchers have been used to connect premises to gigabit-capable broadband.

    The announcement comes ahead of Small Business Saturday, which shines a light on the 5.5 million small businesses registered in the UK. The boost to the voucher scheme will directly support small businesses in rural areas across the country when it comes in early next year.

    Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, James Cartlidge, said:

    Breaking barriers and driving competition in the telecoms sector will help deliver fast and reliable gigabit broadband to all corners of the UK.

    Using innovative methods to beam broadband to isolated areas, alongside this latest Project Gigabit deal to level up the north of England, will connect thousands more hard-to-reach premises, helping people get and stay connected”.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Major broadband rollout for Cumbria begins as part of £100 million plan to connect thousands of rural premises [November 2022]

    PRESS RELEASE : Major broadband rollout for Cumbria begins as part of £100 million plan to connect thousands of rural premises [November 2022]

    The press release issued by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 30 November 2022.

    Work has started to connect tens of thousands of people living and working in rural Cumbria to lightning-fast broadband thanks to more than £100 million of government investment.

    • Around 60,000 rural premises to benefit from lightning-fast broadband following £108 million government contract award, delivered by Fibrus
    • Will benefit hard-to-reach homes and businesses across the county, from Grasmere to Gilsland and Buttermere to Beckermet
    • Satellite broadband trial launched in the Lake District under plans to connect highly remote areas

    Work has started to connect tens of thousands of people living and working in rural Cumbria to lightning-fast broadband thanks to more than £100 million of government investment.

    Around 60,000 premises in the county will be connected to the fastest broadband on the market after Belfast-based supplier Fibrus signed the biggest contract yet under the government’s Project Gigabit programme.

    Project Gigabit is the biggest broadband roll out in British history, backed with £5 billion to deliver faster connections to hard-to-reach areas that would otherwise have missed out.

    Installation work is already underway in the region, with the first gigabit connections expected by the spring.

    Gigabit-capable networks are fast and fit for the future, allowing users to work, stream and scroll online without the battle for bandwidth or disruption often experienced with ageing networks.

    In a huge boost for jobs and skills for Cumbria, Fibrus has committed to creating at least 90 apprenticeships following the government investment. These will cover a range of roles, from underground and overhead cabling to surveying, and Fibrus has also committed to establish an apprentice training academy at Newton Rigg near Penrith.

    It comes as the government brings broadband delivered via satellite for the first time to the Lake District, which will see a mountain rescue base in Wasdale Head connected to faster, more reliable connections than currently available due to its highly remote location. The project is part of a wider trial announced today to test the reliability of satellite technology to bring high-speed connections to the most hard-to-reach parts of the UK.

    Michelle Donelan, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), said:

    We’re steaming ahead with our plan to level up internet speeds across Cumbria, which will see the biggest investment to date from the government’s Project Gigabit – the biggest broadband roll out in British history.

    Tens of thousands of rural homes and businesses will be able to plug into faster connections in the new network, allowing Cumbrian communities to take full advantage of the endless benefits lightning-fast broadband has to offer.

    Dominic Kearns, CEO of Fibrus, said:

    Fibrus considers it a privilege to deliver a transformative project for Cumbria which will change the lives of people living in rural and regional areas. Fibrus is committed to supporting local communities, ensuring any work undertaken in our name supports apprenticeships and allows more people to reap the benefits of full fibre.

    This win helps us further our mission and commitment to bring fast, reliable and affordable broadband to all.

    In a further broadband boost for rural areas in Cumbria and the rest of the UK, the government will triple the value of vouchers available under the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme.

    From early next year, eligible homes and businesses will be able to apply for up to £4,500 to cover the costs of a gigabit-capable connection, up from £1,500 for homes and £3,500 for businesses previously, which will enable broadband providers to reach further into rural areas where the build costs are higher.

    While the vast majority of rural premises in Cumbria are now in line for a gigabit broadband upgrade, the boost to vouchers is designed to help suppliers reach more premises outside the scope of the Project Gigabit contract or suppliers’ commercial build plans.

    Today’s announcement follows millions of pounds worth of contracts signed in Northumberland and Teesdale recently, boosting broadband to level up the north of England.

    More than 72% of the UK can access gigabit connections – such as full fibre – thanks to the government’s plan to drive investment in rollout and bust the barriers holding back the industry from doing so at full pace.

    The investment will also directly support small businesses in rural areas across the county, just in time for Small Business Saturday, which shines a light on the 5.5 million small businesses registered in the UK.

    David Southward MBE, Cumbria County Council Cabinet Member for Economy and Digital Champion, said:

    Improved digital infrastructure remains a top priority given the significant economic and social benefits for Cumbria and I am delighted that Cumbria will be in the vanguard for investment under Project Gigabit.

    I am especially glad to see the Newton Rigg College site again being used for training professionals who will be part of delivering this investment in our region.

    Access to fast, reliable internet connectivity is no longer a luxury; it is a basic necessity for residents, local businesses and the delivery of public services. The importance of resilient connectivity has been further highlighted by last winter’s storms and the coronavirus pandemic. This £108m investment will help people and businesses access faster internet which will in turn allow them to flourish in a modern, global job market and unlock the economic potential of the region.