- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 May 2022
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 26 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what impact driver shortages will have on the availability of rail services for passengers in Mid-Scotland and Fife.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 26 May 2022
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 May 2022
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 12 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what role it considers community hospitals will have in the delivery of NHS services in the future.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 12 May 2022
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 April 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will extend the deadline for applications for the interim voucher portion of the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme for people who are experiencing delays under the R100 programme.
Answer
As of 31 March 2022, the interim voucher portion of the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme is now closed. The main voucher worth up to £5,000 remains open for those who are not planned to benefit from build through R100 contracts or commercial coverage.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 April 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the Starlink satellite service as a means of providing superfast broadband to hard-to-reach properties across Scotland.
Answer
Officials advise that Starlink's base level satellite internet service offers speeds of between 50Mbps and 150Mbps, but that Starlink's beta commercial service is currently only available at a latitude below 55 degrees. This means it is unavailable to the vast majority of premises in Scotland at this time.
Starlink has indicated that they have plans to make their service available above 55 degrees latitude in financial year 2022-23 – however, there is no firm date for further availability of the service.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 April 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many properties in (a) Perth and Kinross and (b) Fife are deemed to be eligible for the £5,000 main voucher portion of the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme that is available to people who will not receive broadband services under the R100 programme.
Answer
As of 31 March 2022, 3,890 properties in Perth and Kinross, and 3,801 properties in Fife, remain eligible for the main voucher worth up to £5,000 through the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme component of the R100 programme.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 April 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has had any discussions with Starlink satellite service regarding the pricing structure to ensure that the £5,000 main voucher portion of the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme can be used to access this service.
Answer
As Starlink's satellite service currently costs £84 per month (set to rise to £94 per month from 9 May 2022), it does not meet the affordability requirement as set out in the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (R100 SBVS) terms and conditions and, therefore, Starlink is unable to register as a supplier. As paragraph 2.6 of the beneficiary terms and conditions for the R100 SBVS sets out, vouchers are for one-off installation and set-up costs only. Vouchers cannot be used to subsidise service charges.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 April 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether the £5,000 main voucher portion of the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme can currently be used to access the Starlink satellite service.
Answer
The terms and conditions of the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (R100 SBVS) require that suppliers meet Ofcom's definition of 'affordable' broadband - set by Ofcom as no more than £46.10 per month, as per the terms and conditions of the UK's broadband Universal Service Obligation. As Starlink's satellite service currently costs £84 per month (set to rise to £94 per month from 9 May 2022), it does not meet this requirement and, therefore, Starlink is unable to register as a supplier for the R100 SBVS.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 April 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has done of any satellite services that can be procured for the purpose of providing broadband to properties that will not be served by the R100 programme and will be able to be purchased with a £5,000 main voucher under the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme.
Answer
Two suppliers of geostationary satellite services are registered to the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme.
Konnect offer commercial services for the central and eastern belt of Scotland (including Orkney and Shetland) and Bentley Walker (under the brand name 'freedomsat') is also registered as a supplier, offering nationwide coverage.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 25 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government when it will bring into force part 8 (Recovery of Unpaid Parking Charges) of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019.
Answer
Transport Scotland, as part of the implementation of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, has been working on the liability provisions contained within Part 8 of the Act which will bring into force Keeper Liability across Scotland.
I am advised that Transport Scotland officials have been prioritising the secondary legislation for the pavement, dropped kerb and parking prohibitions and that work on implementing Part 8 of the Act is still ongoing.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 March 2022
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 30 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what it is doing to address reported workforce pressures in health and social care.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 30 March 2022