As a parish council we having been waiting for the next round of broadband funding from KCC to replace our slow over-the-phone service (remember the Make Kent Quicker campaign?) that should have started last June. It's a big problem in rural areas, affecting not just businesses but house prices or even the ability to sell.
I've just received a document that will be going on the KCC website soon explaining a major reason for the delays -
"Working with BDUK on the Kent and Medway State Aid Notification - the
national BDUK rural programme constitutes State Aid under EU law. The
Government has now achieved approval from the European Commission for
a UK State Aid Notification which will agree the parameters for all local
authority schemes. We are currently working on the supporting information
that will be required to accompany our state aid application to the
Department of Culture, Media and Support following the completion of the
procurement process."
So our government is unable to spend our money on our broadband infrastructure without going through the expense and delays of applying for permission from Brussels - madness!
You can download the doument here.