Friday 14th May 2004
The Met Office, Exeter [map]

		Towards a better Britain? Broadband, people say, will improve the way we work, rest and play. Robert Colvile reports on the first in a series of debates looking at what progress is being made Summary of the roundtable [view] Roundtable supplement [view PDF]
		Key speaker John Mills - Director of rural policy, DEFRA John Mills became Director of Rural Policy in 2003. His responsibilities at Defra include the Department’s PSA target on rural economic development, and its relations with key delivery partners including local government and RDAs.
		Moderator James Crabtree - Project Director, The Citizens Enquiry James Crabtree is an associate of the Institute for Public Policy Research, where he works closely with the Digital Society Team. Previously he was Research Director of the Work Foundation’s iSociety programme.
		Participants Richard Ball - Head of economy and tourism, Exeter City Council Robin Barker - Deputy chief executive, South-West Tourism Lizzie Beesley - Regional director for the south-west, BT Nick Buckland - Deputy chairman, South-West Regional Development Agency Andy Button - Divisional technology banking manager, HSBC (western & Wales) Nick Capaldi - Executive director, Arts Council of England, South-west David Cornish - Manager, Somerset Broadband Programme, Somerset County Council Jim French - Managing director, FlyBE Mark Haskell - Managing director, ITV Westcountry Chris Hines - Sustainability director, Eden Project Peter Hollands - Chief information officer, Eden Project Steve Molyneux - Member, Broadband Stakeholder Group Executive Edmund Probert - Partner, Foot Anstey Sargent Solicitors Humphrey Richards - Senior agricultural manager for the south-west, Lloyds TSB Steve Schlemmer - Director of business services, University of Plymouth Enterprise Brian Thornton - Chairman, Exeter Chamber of Commerce Charles Trotman - Rural economy adviser, Country Land and Business Association David Whiteley - Chairman, Broadband4Devon Mark Williams - Chief executive, East Devon District Council