Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

No help for rural areas with broadband.

The government has ditched plans to impose a levy on fixed telephone lines to fund rural broadband provision.

Chancellor George Osborne described the levy as "archaic" as he confirmed the move in his Budget statement last week.

The 50p a month levy had been planned by the previous government. It hoped to use the money raised to fund the rollout of faster broadband connections in the countryside.

Britain needed investment in its digital infrastructure, he told the House of Commons but the previous government's landline duty would hit 30m households just because they happened to have a fixed telephone line.