UK Enterprise Bill 2015 Includes Brief Mention of Broadband

The Government’s Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) has published its new Enterprise Bill, which among a mass of other changes also includes a brief mention of some tweaks that will “support the roll-out of telecommunications and broadband across” the United Kingdom.

Apparently this additional support will come from “changes” to the Industrial Development Act (1982), which among other things makes it easier for financial support to be supplied by the central Government. In other words they’re going to make it easier for grants and loans to be used to help cover the cost of improving related “electronic communications” services.

Directly alongside the mention of broadband and telecommunications services is a related pledge, which states that in the same Act the Government will increase the “general selective financial assistance project threshold from £10m to £30m before Ministers require Commons consent.” Unfortunately that’s all the detail we get, but it seems to be making the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) happy.

John Allan, National Chairman for the FSB, said:

“Following quickly on the heels of the first ever Small Business Act, the FSB welcomes the introduction of the Enterprise Bill and the continued focus on boosting enterprise. To make an impact, the Bill should focus on a number of ongoing challenges facing businesses and ensure economic growth is supported.

Those areas include reform of businesses rates, tackling the UK’s poor payments culture which sees too many of our members being paid beyond terms, lightening the burden of regulation and improving broadband connectivity.

The initial measures in the Bill look to tackle these areas and are therefore promising, and we look forward to working with the Government to see their successful implementation.”

The FSB has of course recently been campaigning for the Government to introduce a plan for “ultrafast broadband” (100Mbps+) and a new Universal Service Obligation (USO) that would deliver a minimum Internet speed of 10Mbps to all (here).

Otherwise it’s not entirely clear what sort of practical projects the Government might have in mind for its financial assistance tweaks, although it could just be more of an exercise in cutting red tape.