PM's 'broadband for all' scheme

Gordon Brown will unveil a £300m scheme to provide broadband for disadvantaged families today at the Labour Party conference in Manchester. The 'broadband for all' scheme, targeted at low-income families, will be set out during the Prime Minister's make-or-break conference speech. Brown will make full details of the scheme available today, but it is known that the three-year funding programme will award vouchers worth between £100 and £700 towards the cost of broadband, software and computers. While broadband reaches about 58 per cent of households, around 1.4 million children currently do not have access to a broadband connection at home, according to the government's figures. Brown will tell delegates: "To ensure we are prepared for the times to come, the government will fund one million more households to get online, enabling parents to link with teachers and their children’s schools to help young people with homework and coursework." Funding will be provided by the Department for Children. Web User will provide more details on the scheme when it is announced later today. You can read full transcripts and watch videos of the speeches from Labour's key party members on the party's website. www.labour.org.uk/conference