Chamber and committees

Others will ask about access to local services, particularly through local authorities, and some of the difficulties that people face. You have talked about Denmark, Singapore and other countries. Is anyone at any point a little bit embarrassed by the lack of progress in Scotland? Do you not feel that, as a nation, we should be leading the way and not chasing?

I am glad that you raised education. The Scottish Government famously made a commitment to distribute free digital devices such as laptops, tablets and so on to schoolchildren. Was that successful and 100 per cent delivered?

The Scottish Government was keen to ensure that the rights of children were incorporated and enshrined in law in Scotland. Are any of the articles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child currently being breached as a result of digital exclusion? For example, I point to articles 13, 17 and 26, which are specifically related to access to information, social security and so on. There is also article 45, which says that Governments must consult the United Nations Children Fund—UNICEF—on their policies with regard to the rights of children. Has consultation taken place, or has the Scottish Government worked with UNICEF on the roll-out of policies to tackle digital exclusion among children?

That demonstrates my point. You want to tackle digital exclusion and improve access, and you made a commitment to distribute devices, which is a key component, but you failed to do so. Is that not why reports such as the one that we are considering are so critical of progress? Perhaps that is for you, Ms Fraser, as you are in charge of this.

Good morning. I have to say that I found the report rather depressing in its content, as it is undoubtedly critical of the progress, or lack thereof, on addressing digital exclusion. I say that I am depressed because, when I joined the Parliament eight years ago, the very first portfolio that I was appointed to was shadow digital minister, which I found quite amusing, because there was no digital minister to shadow. I do not know whether my former leader was just keeping me busy and out of trouble.

The point is that, at that point, I felt that there should be a digital minister—the Government should have had someone who was dedicated to tackling digital exclusion, and addressing issues such as connectivity and enhancing the skills of the general populace.

We are now some eight years on, and I do not think that the content of the report reflects sufficient progress, notwithstanding some of the issues that we went through during the Covid period.

I draw your attention to paragraph 42. I have given what is perhaps a subjective view from an individual member of this Parliament, but the Auditor General for Scotland is clear himself when he says:

“It is unclear whether digital exclusion remains a priority for government ... particularly in the absence of a clear strategy and supporting activity. The Scottish Government has not yet set out any revised ambitions for tackling digital exclusion.”

It is there in the report, in black and white. That was just a few months ago. Was the Auditor General right or wrong?

Over 10 years?

Is that not reflective of the problem itself? I see some good work being done. You have talked about some of the technical connectivity that is going on. These are long-term projects—I remember talking about the R100 project nearly a decade ago, but that work has yet to be completed. The heavy lifting and much of the investment have been done by the private sector. There is limited intervention from Government in that respect.

Exhibit 2 in the report that we are discussing today talks about digital exclusion and people’s human rights. In fact, the overall report took a human rights-based approach; Audit Scotland made that clear early on in the report. That is a good angle to take, because people’s human rights are important.

The report identifies a number of specific human rights that could be affected by a lack of access to digital services. They include the rights to receive and impart information, the right to protection from discrimination, and the rights to access education, social security and so on. What analysis has been undertaken of the potential risk of the Scottish Government breaching human rights with respect to digital exclusion? Are there any live cases in the system that reflect such a breach?

That is very helpful. Thank you.

I will maybe come back in later, convener.