Britain's newest cabinet minister has been told in no uncertain terms to fund faster broadband to set Norwich's creative sector soaring.

Norwich North MP Chloe Smith has written to culture secretary Sajid Javid to 'hammer home' the demand that he puts the city at the front of the queue when future super-connected cities cash is handed out.

Mr Javid took up his position this month when Maria Miller resigned her post amid a row over her expenses.

And the Bromsgrove MP is being urged to make things happen for Norwich, where businesses, individuals and other organisations are eager to exploit the opportunities afforded by faster broadband.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) super-connected cities initiative, which began in 2011, has seen £150m given to 22 cities across the UK.

Super-connected cities selected in the programme will benefit from faster and better broadband for small businesses, with a voucher scheme launched to contribute towards the costs of connections.

In addition, almost all of the participating cities will deploy wireless coverage to city centres and inside public buildings with funding from Broadband Delivery UK.

While Norwich missed out in the first two rounds of bidding, Whitehall sources have signalled the possibility of the programme being extended.

Ms Smith said: 'I will be taking this campaign call to the new culture secretary because it remains a crucial issue for Norwich. We can thrive with better broadband but we risk being left behind if we don't have it.

'I will make sure as one of the city's MPs that this message is hammered home.'

Moves to secure higher internet speeds for small Norwich businesses have been welcomed by business leaders.

Chris Starkie, managing director of the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partner-ship, said the cash would complement countywide investment to up rural broadband speeds.

'Whether it's by the super-connected route or by whatever funding, what we're trying to do is highlight

the importance and the need for good speeds within the city.'

A spokesman for Norwich City Council said: 'We're very much in favour of further developments which will help to deliver ultra-fast broadband in Norwich as this is something we've been investigating for quite some time now.

'We therefore wholeheartedly welcome any news on the project and look forward to receiving details of what that entails for Norwich.'

Sources at DCMS said they were looking at ways to extend the benefits of the super-connected cities programme beyond the current 22 super-connected cities.

How slow broadband is restricting business growth

A Norwich businessman claims sluggish broadband speeds are costing him £1,000 per member of staff in lost time every year.

Josh Davies, co-founder of the specialist video editing company FX Home, said a better internet connection would allow him to create more jobs.

And he urged the Culture Secretary to view funding improvements as a shrewd long-term investment which would benefit the economy.

'The effects of slow broadband are massive and far-reaching,' said the 34-year-old, who grew up in Fakenham. 'It's a huge problem.

'We've 20 people in an office here sharing broadband that's the same as the slowest you get at home these days.

'We're a media company and when you're trying to upload a movie to YouTube it's taking four or five times as long as it should.

'At the worst of it, you can't respond to a customer for a day or so.'

The firm, in St Giles Street, was founded by the University of East Anglia graduate more than a decade ago - initially from his bedroom.

Its special effects software has won an army of independent film maker fans who use it to produce movies on Youtube, and has also been used in mainstream movies Hangover 2 and Salt.

While the firm has already rebuffed an attempt by Apple to buy it and has enormous potential, Mr Davies said he was frustrated at how slow broadband has restricted the company's growth.

He said internet delays had hampered their work, as it was not possible to store data remotely on cloud technology.

Instead the company has to pay for more computer servers on site, and if they are damaged data could be lost forever.

He estimated he could create five more jobs in a matter of months if speeds were upped, and that work to do this would not cost the earth.

'It's just one cable going out to the broadband cabinets, so it's not a massive amount of money,' he said. 'The expensive work has all been done - it's the next step.'