UK councils prioritise connectivity but lack impact data

Digital connectivity has become a frontline political issue for UK councils but most still cannot prove what it is worth.

FarrPoint’s latest UK Local Government Connectivity Survey 2026 finds that four out of five councils now view digital connectivity as a top local priority, with a strong shift toward digital inclusion and practical issues affecting residents, including reliable 4G, digital skills, affordability and device access. However, the survey also finds there remains a limited understanding of the economic benefits of these measures.

The annual survey, conducted across councils in England, Scotland and Wales, reports that nine in 10 councils have not yet been able to measure the economic or social impact of improved connectivity. While 70 percent would like to undertake formal impact assessments, many lack the internal capacity and usable frameworks needed to do so.

In an interview with Cities Today, Andrew Muir (pictured), Chief Executive, FarrPoint, said councils risk falling behind in funding and policy debates if they cannot clearly evidence the value connectivity creates for their economies and communities.

“It is widely accepted that digital connectivity delivers a wide range of benefits, underpinning the global economy and much of our social lives,” he said. “Yet while it is treated as essential infrastructure, its economic value is often assumed rather than rigorously measured, and many councils lack the tools to quantify wider spillover effects.”

The findings come as the UK Government, through the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, is increasingly requiring robust benefits assessments to be undertaken as part of new projects, raising the bar for how impact is evidenced.

For the fourth year in a row, gigabit broadband tops local digital priorities, with every council surveyed reporting remaining gaps in coverage. Councils remain particularly focused on tackling inequalities in rural and scattered communities, where physical access continues to lag.

One in three councils say poor mobile reception is the single most common complaint, especially in rural areas, and three quarters flagged growing concerns around network resilience, particularly in the wake of weather-related outages.

Barriers to inclusion remain significant. Councils identified low digital skills and confidence at 31 percent, affordability at 26 percent and lack of access to devices at 19 percent as the biggest challenges to unlocking connectivity benefits. The findings underline that simply building infrastructure does not guarantee progress without parallel investment in capability and uptake.

Artificial intelligence is an area of evolving interest. The survey finds that 75 percent of councils believe AI could help improve connectivity delivery and uptake. However, none reported using AI tools to shape or optimise interventions. Data centre development also remains a relatively low priority for most councils, despite the sector’s designation as Critical National Infrastructure. More than a third of authorities said they are actively trying to attract data centre investment, while a further quarter are working directly with developers. Only 15 percent reported having conducted formal economic appraisals on the potential benefits of data centre siting.

“Our interviews found that local leaders want to define success pragmatically: extending coverage, improving inclusion and resilience, and enabling visible benefits such as new jobs created, GVA uplift [Gross Value Added] and wellbeing,” said Muir. “So far, they would have needed the help of either internal or external economics teams for that.”

To address that gap, FarrPoint has developed a new tool called Digital Intervention Impact Forecaster, which is due to launch next month. The tool is designed to help public sector organisations compare and contrast the likely impacts of different digital interventions at an early stage, enabling councils to quantify likely economic, social and environmental returns before committing funds.

Image: Stewart Attwood Photography 2020