Harriett Baldwin today called on the county council to aim for a superfast pace for plans to deliver faster rural broadband to county villages. The county council this week agreed to contribute to a fund which will support projects speeding up broadband connection speeds across Worcestershire. The fund – now totaling more than £10 million – has been secured to help rural homes and businesses to get online. The Government has offered to invest £3.3 million and today the county council voted to add £8.5 million to this budget. But the fund, which was first announced in June, will not be offered out to fund community projects until the Spring, next year. Harriett commented: “I am thrilled that the county council has taken this forward-thinking step to prioritise broadband speeds in the homes and businesses of our rural area. “It is essential that we get fast broadband speeds to every home in Worcestershire. “Most small businesses start up from back bedrooms and kitchen tables so we must make sure every home in the county has the right broadband to allow this to be possible. Farmers need to file online and kids need the internet for homework. “I hope the County can minimise planning bureaucracy so that communities are helped as soon as possible. The potential for unleashing the fibre optic cable that goes to most rural schools is also great and I sincerely hope the County work with schools to tap into this important resource. “The Department for Culture, Media and Sport offered the funding months ago and it is vital that Worcestershire’s rural potential is unleashed as soon as possible.”