Lib Dem London Assembly member Stephen Knight tabled this Question to the Mayor:

Following your answer to question 2013/4047, can you confirm which minister in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and which European Commissioner have been discussing the issue of market failure to deliver broadband in Rotherhithe and what is the latest outcome of those discussions?

Boris Johnson replied:

The Minister who has been discussing State Aid issues when it comes to intervention in the broadband market in cities is the Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Ed Vaizey.

His department, and Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) have been in discussions with the Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner responsible for competition, Joaquín Almunia and will have the latest information.

Later this month I am rolling out, across London, the SME broadband voucher scheme. This will allow SME businesses, charities and non-profits to claim up to £3,000 for high speed broadband connections, usually of 30Mbit/s or more

Taking advantage of this voucher scheme will give businesses improved reliability of service, better communication with customers and staff, reduced costs through more efficient working, improved data storage and accessibility and higher speed upload and download for large files.

Businesses wishing to claim these vouchers should visit http://www.london.gov.uk/broadband for more information.

Visit the website of the Rotherhithe Broadband Campaign for more information on efforts to tackle the poor speed of some internet connections in SE16.