Chamber and committees

As part of the ongoing work of the COVID-19 Education Recovery Group (CERG), we published the Strategic Framework for Re-opening Schools, Early Learning and Childcare Provision in Scotland on 21 May. Alongside this, we published an Initial Impact Assessment to accompany the framework. This document sets out some of our key priorities in this area and our commitment to completing full impact assessments with the input of equalities groups and other interested parties in due course. These documents continue to be developed and will be published prior to schools reopening in August.

It is the statutory responsibility of Dumfries and Galloway Council to manage its school estate. The Scottish Government works with Councils to provide additionality to their investment plans and work is underway on the Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP).

The Scottish Government recognises that transport plays an important role in joining up communities and maximising the economic potential of South West Scotland, including the part that the A75 plays in connecting Dumfries with the wider trunk road network. The South West Scotland Transport Study – Initial Appraisal: Case for Change Report was published in January 2020 and includes the amongst its recommendations, the option for partial dualling and targeted improvements of the A75 between Dumfries and A74(M). This is one of the 23 recommendations that will be subject to more detailed appraisal, as part of the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2).

While the study has emphasised the importance of a connected, safe, resilient, and high quality strategic transport network for those travelling in South West Scotland it has not recommended taking forward the option for dualling the A75 between the A74(M) and Dumfries and onwards to Stranraer. The alternative series of targeted improvements, supports the regional transport objectives, whilst more proportionately meeting the Sustainable Investment Hierarchy set out in the National Transport Strategy and our commitment to delivering transport projects which will help us to create the conditions for an inclusive and net zero emissions economy.

We remain committed to working with stakeholders to take forward STPR2, albeit in revised timescales, that take account of the Covid-19 impacts and as we work toward a green economic recovery. We will also need to understand how the impact of the pandemic may shape our future transport system and the demands placed on it. We will do that as part of an overall Government programme, before we can take individual decisions on schemes such as future road improvements to the A75.

Despite all regulatory and legislative responsibility for telecommunications resting solely with the UK Government, the Scottish Government has taken decisive action to greatly improve digital connectivity in Scotland. The £463 million Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) programme has delivered transformative results across all parts of the country, including Dumfriesshire, where more than 31,000 properties in the constituency are now able to access fibre broadband as a direct result of the DSSB roll-out – with more than 27,500 able to do so at speeds of at least 24 Megabits per second (Mbps).

Of course, I recognise the ever-increasing importance of digital connectivity to all aspects of our lives – including education – and the COVID-19 pandemic has only served to reinforce that. Situations like this are why we made our commitment to ensure that 100% of properties in Scotland are able to access superfast broadband. This commitment will be delivered through three strands of activity – the main Reaching 100% (R100) contracts; a Scottish Government funded, nationwide superfast voucher scheme that will be demand-led; and continued expansion of commercial coverage. As you may be aware, the Scottish Government is funding £579 million or 96.5% of the £600 million R100 contracts with the UK Government contributing 3.5% of funding (£21 million), despite the latter having full responsibility for oversight of the UK telecommunications market.

With regards to the R100 contracts for the South and Central regions, surveys are being undertaken and we know that BT’s intention is to look to accelerate build wherever possible, with our expectation that work will begin in the South lot area this month. Of course in the South of Scotland, specifically, 100% of the build by BT, under our £134 million South Lot contract with them for R100, will be for a full fibre solution, with speeds of up to one gigabit per second. This is the current ‘gold standard’ and a tremendous outcome for almost all of the approximately 26,000 premises in the Lot area that have yet to receive a superfast broadband service.

We will launch an online checker this summer that will allow owners and tenants to determine if and when the R100 contracts will deliver a superfast broadband connection to their property.

Anyone who will be unable to access a superfast broadband service before the end of 2021 will be eligible for our new nationwide voucher scheme that will provide grants to customers in business and domestic premises; offering support to access a range of technologies and suppliers to deliver superfast broadband speed services. We are working through the details of the scheme, and I will update Parliament in due course.

We are making real and sustained progress in supressing the virus in Scotland but we must remain cautious and vigilant. COVID-19 remains a serious threat and any resurgence could rapidly undo the progress we have made.

We do not want to keep any part of the country in any lockdown measures for longer than necessary which is why we published Coronavirus (COVID-19): Scotland’s Route Map through and out of the crisis on the 21 May. It sets out the criteria to be met for progressing through the route map phases.

When the Route Map was published, the number of cases of coronavirus in Scotland was relatively high and community transmission was widespread. Since that time, we have carefully changed our lockdown measures following the Route Map phases, informed by the evidence on our progress in suppressing the epidemic in Scotland.

While this is real progress we must continue to work to suppress the number of infections across Scotland. We continue to monitor the virus, and data is published daily on the Scottish Government website by Health Board.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-trends-in-daily-data/

National Records of Scotland weekly COVID-deaths report also has a breakdown by Health Board.

https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//statistics/covid19/covid-deaths-report-week-25.pdf

We will continue to keep the option of geographical variation in Scotland under review.

Following publication of the updated Route Map on 18 June, which outlines the order in which we will carefully and gradually lift lockdown restrictions, I can confirm that all street-access retail throughout Scotland is permitted to re-open from 29 June.

Retail units are permitted to open providing they have entrance / exit(s) for customers to use connecting them directly to outside space. For non-essential retail, if the customer entrance / exit(s) connects to an indoor space, such as an indoor shopping mall they are asked not to re-open until Phase 3. This represents a change from the first iteration of the route map and previous guidance where a size threshold for Phase 2 was indicated.

The Scottish Government does not routinely collect data on children living in households without broadband. The Scottish Household Survey 2018 noted that home internet access had reached an all time high of 87%.

The Scottish Government has committed to investing £25m to support digital inclusion amongst disadvantaged children and young people. We are in close discussion with local authorities through SOLACE, ADES and Cosla about how to deliver best value and impact on that investment to ensure as many children and young people as possible are lifted out of digital exclusion and are able to connect with their schools, their teachers and their learning.

Learning at home or school should be teacher led and schools and teachers should work with learners, parents and families to take account of and adapt to circumstances such as lack of internet access when setting home learning tasks. To support teachers to deliver learning, no matter the home circumstances during school closures, Education Scotland is continuing to develop ‘Scotland Learns’ a resource bank of straightforward, open-ended learning activities which are challenging, and that develop children’s and young people’s independence in learning. These learning activities were designed to support learning at home during lockdown and can also be used to support a model of blended learning if required.

We understand that many learners who do not have access to broadband are suffering from socioeconomic disadvantage. That is why we are continuing with our commitment to invest £182 million from the Attainment Scotland Fund in 2020/21. For the first time, Pupil Equity Funding allocations have been confirmed for two years, to provide more certainty for head teachers and aid learning during the pandemic. We have also ensured that local authorities and schools have the flexibility they need to redirect Attainment Scotland Funding to help mitigate the impacts of school closures on our most disadvantaged families; and to make adjustments to existing plans to be delivered as schools return. For example, local authorities have used the funding to provide tablets to support digital learning at home, to provide transport to enable learners to attend hubs and supporting home-school link workers to maintain regular contact with children. In addition, the Scottish Government has committed to investing a further £25m in the provision of laptops, tablets and connectivity to support digital inclusion for our most disadvantaged children and young people.

Digital technology plays a key role in successful delivery of any blended learning model. We know that this will cause issues for some of our most disadvantaged children and young people who do not have access to an appropriate device; do not have access to the internet; or both.

The Scottish Government has committed to investing £25m to support digital inclusion amongst disadvantaged children and young people. We are in close discussion with local authorities through SOLACE, ADES and Cosla about how to deliver best value and impact on that investment to ensure as many children and young people as possible are lifted out of digital exclusion and are able to connect with their schools, their teachers and their learning.

The Scottish Government has committed to investing £25m to support digital inclusion amongst disadvantaged children and young people. We are in close discussion with local authorities through SOLACE, ADES and Cosla about how to deliver best value and impact on that investment to ensure as many children and young people as possible are lifted out of digital exclusion and are able to connect with their schools, their teachers and their learning.