- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 4 October 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking through its Better Broadband Scheme to increase the take-up of standard broadband services; how much of the funding that it allocated to the scheme (a) has been spent and (b) remains unspent, and how many applications to it (i) have been approved, broken down by amount awarded to each applicant, (ii) have been rejected, broken down by the reason, and (iii) are pending a decision.
Answer
The Better Broadband Scheme is a UK Government initiative. Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) funds the scheme; sets the eligibility criteria for vouchers; and approves suppliers to be part of the voucher scheme. All financial transactions are undertaken by BDUK. The Scottish Government’s role is to process applications in Scotland, assess these against BDUK’s eligibility criteria, and issue voucher codes. The Scottish Government has not allocated any funding to the scheme and is not sighted on how much funding remains available. The UK Government has not allocated a specific amount of funding to Scotland.
To date, the Scottish Government has approved 169 voucher applications. These vouchers do not have a specific fixed value but are capped at £350. As financial transactions are undertaken by BDUK, we are unable to confirm the amounts ultimately awarded to each applicant.
The Scottish Government has deemed 40 applications ineligible as these did not meet the criteria set by BDUK. Detailed reasons are set out in the following table:
Already has Satellite
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5
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Already connected to fibre
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5
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Part of CBS project
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12
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Scheduled to receive Fibre within next 6-12 months
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9
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Can obtain speeds in excess of 2Mbps
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9
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35 applications are currently pending a decision.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 4 October 2016
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the pledge in the 2016 SNP manifesto, for what reason it has extended the target date for 100% roll-out of superfast broadband to 2021.
Answer
The Scottish Government set out a commitment to extend superfast broadband access to 100 per cent of premises by 2021 in the Programme for Government, published on 6 September 2016. There was no previous Scottish Government commitment around superfast broadband access so there is no question of a target date having been extended. Our 2020 commitment relates to the delivery of world class, future-proofed digital infrastructure, rather than superfast broadband access.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 4 October 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had in the last year to discuss extending the 100% roll-out target for superfast broadband to 2021, and who attended.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not extended the timeframe for achieving our 100 per cent superfast broadband commitment, which was set out in the Programme for Government on 6 September 2016. We had no prior commitment to achieving 100 per cent superfast access.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 4 October 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to assist the 132,000 premises that were referred to at page 10 of the August 2016 Audit Scotland Report, Superfast broadband for Scotland: A progress update, which will not have broadband access, and how much it would cost to roll out such access to these premises,
Answer
Audit Scotland’s report estimates that 132,000 premises will not have access to fibre broadband following completion of the Digital Scotland programme. In the vast majority of cases, these premises will be able to access basic broadband (minimum of 2Mbps) or access funding, via the Better Broadband Scheme, to improve their service.
The Scottish Government has made a commitment to deliver 100 per cent superfast broadband access by 2021. All premises that do not have superfast access delivered commercially or via the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme will be eligible for inclusion in our programme for new public investment aimed at extending coverage.
There are no definitive cost estimates available at this time. This will be dependent on the exact number of premises remaining unserved and the nature of the technology deployed.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 4 October 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how it will allocate the £0.5 million to support digital business exchanges that was referred to the 2016-17 Programme for Government.
Answer
The funding allocation announced in the Programme for Government is aimed at encouraging more Internet Service Providers, content providers and local businesses with an online dependency and customer base in Scotland to join IXScotland – the first Internet Exchange point in Scotland, which we helped launch in 2013.
We are currently working up detailed proposals for the scheme, in conjunction with key partners including the IXScotland Steering Group. We will announce more details in due course.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 4 October 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it (a) has had and (b) plans with the UK Government regarding the impact of Brexit on the rollout of superfast broadband in Scotland.
Answer
There have been no meetings with the UK Government specifically on the impact of Brexit on the rollout of superfast broadband in Scotland. However, Scottish Ministers are liaising with UK counterparts on the wider financial implications of Brexit. The impact of Brexit was also discussed at my meeting with Sharon White, Chief Executive of Ofcom, on 24 August 2016.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 4 October 2016
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how the £20 million advance paid by HIE to BT that is referred to at page 10 of the August 2016 Audit Scotland Report, Superfast broadband for Scotland: A progress update, was spent; for what reason this advance was paid; whether payment of such advances is normal practice, and what (a) its position is on whether this was in line with and (b) action it took to ensure that this did not breach EU state aid rules.
Answer
The £20 million advance payment was made to enable the delivery of the substantial subsea backhaul deployment as part of the Highlands and Islands Digital Scotland contract. Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) liaised with the Scottish and UK Governments at that time to confirm that the payment was in line with relevant procurement and State Aid rules. The payment was held in a separate account by BT and the funds were drawn down following evidence of eligible expenditure. The interest earned on the funds, which totalled £606,000, was returned to HIE when the £20 million had been drawn down in full. These funds will be used to extend coverage across the region.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 4 October 2016
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of how it will fund the additional £42 million likely to be necessary to extend broadband that is referred to at page 12 of the August 2016 Audit Scotland Report, Superfast broadband for Scotland: A progress update.
Answer
The £42 million referred to in the Audit Scotland report has already been confirmed. It comprises a £21 million allocation from the UK Government, which has been matched by the Scottish Government.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 4 October 2016
To ask the Scottish Government by what date 100% rollout of broadband will be achieved.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring superfast broadband access for 100 per cent of premises across Scotland by 2021.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 4 October 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what minimum level of national broadband coverage by 31 December 2021 it considers will be acceptable, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to extending superfast broadband access to 100 per cent of premises across Scotland by 2021.