Chamber and committees

The costs of processing parliamentary questions and motions are largely those attributable to the time of parliamentary staff in making checks on admissibility and compliance with the relevant guidance, publishing questions and motions in accordance with Standing Orders and transmitting questions to the Scottish Government for answer. Due to the fact that questions and motions lodged by members will require different levels of input from parliamentary staff, it is not possible to be precise about the costs. However, most questions and motions require minimal intervention by staff and on this basis processing costs can be estimated at (a) £8.50 for a parliamentary question and (b) £5.50 for a motion. Costs for the minority of submissions that require further work will rise with increasing levels of intervention, which can include a dialogue with members, but we do not hold information on how many submissions require more than the minimal intervention reflected in these figures or the amounts of extra intervention that can be required.

The average cost to the Scottish Government of answering a parliamentary question is £98.51.

Further details can be found in the most recent (2008) Study into the average cost of answering Scottish Government Parliamentary Questions, copies of which are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 46897).

The Scottish Government is currently developing a national broadband plan for Scotland. As part of this work, we are currently investigating a number of different roll-out options (including technical specifications, financing and procurement models) and are actively consulting with a range of industry and public sector stakeholders on those options to ensure we bring forward the right delivery solution for Scotland. In the last six months, we have held discussions with a number of smaller telecoms companies including: Tooway, BCS, Bluwan and CityFibre Holdings.

We will agree the main components of our national broadband plan by the end of the year and produce a detailed roll-out plan with funding proposals before March 2012.

This information is not held by the Scottish Government.

Ofcom’s Communications Market Report, published on 4 August 2011, indicates that by the end of 2010, 37% of Scottish households were passed by Virgin Media’s cable broadband network, which offers next generation broadband services.

The same report indicates that in June 2011, 8% of Scottish households were connected to a BT exchange which provides next generation broadband services (although typically only 80-90% of premises in these exchange areas are able to receive such services).

The Scottish Government is currently developing a national broadband plan for Scotland. Although the Scottish Government does not currently measure roll out directly, data is held by the various suppliers and the regulator, Ofcom. We will agree the main components of our national broadband plan by the end of the year and produce a detailed roll-out plan with funding proposals before March 2012.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on private sector investment in the delivery of next generation broadband which is currently being progressed by a number of industry suppliers.

To date, the Scottish Government itself has not yet invested in the provision of next generation broadband to rural areas using fibre optic, satellite or wireless technology. However, public sector funding of over £144 million is being made available to support the delivery of next generation broadband in areas of market failure. This includes the Next Generation Digital Fund of £50 million, announced in the Scottish Spending Review 2011 on 21 September; £68.8 million UK Government funding; plus up to £25.5 million ERDF funding in the current programme.

We will agree the main components of our national broadband plan by the end of the year and produce a detailed roll-out plan with funding proposals before March 2012. It is anticipated that a mixture of technologies will be used in the delivery of our national broadband plan.

BT has recently confirmed superfast broadband upgrade plans for 40 of its 1,070 Scottish exchanges, representing 3.7%. Twelve of these exchanges are fully complete and are currently providing next generation broadband services, while the remainder are in the process of being upgraded. BT has also confirmed that 17% of Scottish households are served by these 40 exchanges.

The Scottish Government is not aware of any indigenous companies providing next generation broadband services but is aware of a number of community broadband groups which are developing next generation broadband plans. As part of our national broadband plan for Scotland, we will explore how we can provide further support to develop sustainable models for delivery of broadband infrastructure and services, in a framework which aligns with the national approach.

We will agree the main components of our national broadband plan by the end of the year and produce a detailed roll-out plan with funding proposals before March 2012.

Housing and regeneration budgets for the period 2012-13 to 2014-15 were included in the Scottish Spending Review 2011 and Draft Budget 2012-13, published on 21 September 2011. The Draft Budget is currently being scrutinised by the Scottish Parliament, and I have provided further details of the portfolio’s budget to the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee on 24 October, which have been published on the committee’s website. I will be giving evidence about the Draft Budget to the Committee on 9 November. The Scottish Government will consider the findings of the Parliamentary Committees before introducing the Budget Bill for 2012-13 in January.

Between 1 January and 30 June 2011, 102 housing projects (each covering several units) were approved by the Scottish Government and by Edinburgh and Glasgow City Councils through the Transfer of Management of Development Funding. This information may include a number of phases of development on the same site which are recorded as separate projects. This figure also excludes data from schemes which are recorded as individual house approvals such as our Open Market Shared Equity and Home Owners Support Fund schemes.