Agenda item

The Chairman welcomed to the meeting the representatives from BT (Steve Henderson, Regional Director and Rob Shakespeare, Senior Project Manager)   and from the County Council (Rachel Hill, Strategic Commissioner of Major Projects and Ste Ashton, Senior Project Manager).

The Chairman acknowledged the achievements of the Council's Superfast Worcestershire Programme. The discussion today would enable the Panel to look at progress with the programme and contract 2 (to increase the number of premises with access to superfast speeds by September 2017), communications to residents and also value for money.

The agenda included an update report and the Panel had also been provided with presentation slides (attached to the Minutes), which gave a summary of Contract 1, Contract 2 and demand stimulation. The Regional Director of BT referred to some key points, including:

·         Overall, the Superfast Broadband Project had been hugely successful with an enthusiastic response from residents and businesses

·         Completion of contract 2 had been brought forward from June 2018 to September 2017.  Subsequently an extension had been agreed to December 2018 which would enable the "re-investment" into the programme of up to £3.25m, earlier than anticipated

·         By the end of contract 1, 96% of premises had access to fibre and 90% had access to superfast speeds. By the end of contract 2, more than 94% would be able to access superfast speeds

·         There was an underspend of £4million during the first contract phase of work, enabling further properties to be added to the second contract with BT open reach

·         Under contract 2 there were less premises to be delivered, therefore any operational delays would have greater impact on timescales; areas were harder to reach and had increased operational complications which could be frustrating, for example tree cutting, traffic management and permission from landowners

·         The end of contract 2 would see 16,971 premises having fibre availability, of which 13,356 would be superfast (24Mbps and above)

·         Contract 1 take up of fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) was very high, and a few percent ahead of the national average, at 47%

·         Contract 2 take-up was also outperforming the national average, at 35%

·         Interest from social media was also good and increasing, with 45,936 website hits over a 12 month period.

During the Panel's discussion, the following main points were raised:

·         Clarity was sought on the timescale for contract 2 and it was explained that as a result of the programme's success there were efficiencies and  BT offered the Council the opportunity to reinvest at an earlier stage.  The Council agreed to progress and extend the superfast programme into new areas and as a result the contract 2 was extended to December 2018

·         The Council's Project Manager advised that as a result of the latest take-up assumptions (50% instead of 20%), the financial models  with BT were amended, resulting in a much increased contribution from BT and a reduced public-sector contribution (of £1.2million), which was positive for Worcestershire. This type of contract was known as a gap funding contract

·         In response to a query about how members and residents could check whether areas with identified problems would be addressed by December 2018, the Panel was directed to the Superfast Worcestershire website (www.superfastworcestershire.com) which included an online map. The Council encouraged residents to register with the website, who would then receive email updates. Social media was also used

·         A member requested a copy of the plan for businesses to be reached by December 2018, however it was explained that the superfast programme worked on a postcode, rather than a premises level

·         The Panel Chair urged members to familiarise themselves with the Superfast Worcestershire website, but said that more information for councillors would be useful, as it  was very time-consuming to check individual areas

·         The Panel Chair highlighted a problem, raised in previous discussions, concerning people in his division who did not know when they would have access to superfast broadband, for example, those trying to sell their homes. The Officers would look at the possibility of providing details to local members about where the rollout was planned to take place before December 2018

·         A member asked about those affected by Gigaclear's commercial plans to withdraw from Worcestershire and the associated online communication for residents.  it was explained that the website message was being clarified, however, 1600 to 1700 of 6000 premises were affected

·         For those not included in any fibre rollout plans, a member asked whether anything had changed technology-wise, which could assist? The Panel was advised that changes included the deployment of fibre over poles and shared poles with electricity companies. There were commercially funded options, and more detail was included in paragraphs 22-25 of Appendix 1. Community fibre funded options were possible, using the BDUK voucher scheme, and members were encouraged to highlight any communities where community options could be considered

·         It was clarified that the reason why one structure (Colwall 1) could not be completed, although it had been added to contract 2 as part of the additional funding, was because it became far too costly for the number of premises involved (over £500,000 for 5 Worcestershire properties). However, there may be opportunities for councils to work together on such cross-border issues

·         A member sought clarification about communications to residents in Pound Green, where a recent meeting had been left residents very confused about broadband provision in their area. It was explained that this meeting had been organised by Shropshire Council, which was considering removing aspects from contract 1. A decision from Shropshire was needed before Worcestershire County Council could communicate with residents and the relevant Cabinet Member was pursuing this issue. Reassurance was given that this situation was unusual

·         The figures of premises which would have fibre/superfast availability by the end of contract 2 (slide 5) were impressive. Nonetheless a member was concerned about one area and would like to know the numbers who were projected to have access by September 2017, but had not. The Panel therefore requested numbers against targets, ideally explaining where they were. The BT Director would also see if quarterly reviews of target figures could be shared with the Panel

·         Information about take-up at ward levels was available on the Members Portal and the Chair urged communication with local members so that they could report to the public and parishes. The Senior Project Officer would check the portal information was up to date

·         The BT Director stated that Worcestershire had got it right, and that its broadband contract was very much at the top end of the 16 contracts he oversaw. Successful take up of both contracts was the result of innovative and collaborative working. Costs of demand stimulation activities led to higher take up, with tangible benefits on broadband speeds and more money coming back to the Council to be re-invested

·         A member asked what more the Council could do to assist the challenge of extending provision to the remaining 5% who were those hardest and most expensive to reach, who may also be isolated and lonely? The Panel was advised that already effort and flexibility was evidenced. Knowing the people and not just the figures was helpful, as well as giving early notice about infrastructure changes and encouraging communities to help themselves. The Council and CMR delegated responsibility for areas not included in any fibre rollout plans to the local community fibre partnership, which could also help (https://communityfibre.openreach.co.uk) 

·         On 'future-proofing', the Senior Project Manager explained that 24Mbps could be boosted to 30Mbps though fibre on demand, which was being relaunched and typically targeted at businesses.

In summing up, the Panel agreed that Worcestershire's Superfast Broadband Programme was a good news story. Councillors were encouraged to let Ste Ashton know of any gaps in broadband provision and to promote self-help schemes.

The Senior Project Manager for Broadband would see whether it was possible to provide details to local members about where the rollout was planned to take place before December 2018. Quarterly target information would be forwarded to the Panel, as well as numbers against targets, ideally explaining where they were. Links to the Superfast Broadband website and the local community fibre partnership website would be forwarded, and the information on the councillor portal would be verified.