 Fy nid i'i gael eich lleoddau ffergus Ewing i gael 100 per cent y trofodaf yn S Cyberfast Broadband yn Scotland. Fy nid i'i gael eich lleoddau ffergus Ewing i gael eich lleoddau ffergus Ewing i gael manifest o'r ffordd i'i cyfgaldio at y ffergus Ewing, i gael i'i gael eich lleoddau ffergus Ewing, i gael i'i gael eich lleoddau ffergus Ewing i gael pwyllwg gwyfforddau yn cynnig. ynglyn â'r ddweud o'r ddweud y dyfodol ynglyn sy'n ddweud ymwysgol yw £600 miliwn i'r ystod y dyfodol yw ddweud y 100 per cent y dyfodol, y dyfodol yn gweithio'i gwybod yn gwneud o'r ddweud. Rwyf i'n gweithio'r ddweud o'r ddweud o'r ddweud o'r ddweud o'r parlymyn i'n gweithio'r ddweud o'r ddweud o'r ddweud o'r ddweud o'r ddweud o'r ddweud. Over the past few weeks, there has been a great deal of conjecture and, quite frankly, disinformation about how Scotland is performing in terms of broadband delivery. This statement is an opportunity therefore to set out the facts and here is the key one, Presiding Officer. By the end of 2021, Scotland will be the only part of the UK where every single home and business can access superfast broadband. The £600 million that was announced last week is the biggest public investment ever made in a UK broadband project and launches the first universal superfast programme in the UK. To put that fully into context, it is over double the amount of public funding committed to our current digital, Scotland's superfast broadband project—that is £280 million—and more than three times bigger than the £190 million fibre fund that the chancellor announced for the whole of the UK in his recent budget. It is a programme entirely unique to Scotland. That is a choice that the Scottish Government has made, superfast broadband for all. Why is this so crucial to Scotland and why do we need it now? Will it be simple? If we want a Scotland that delivers inclusive economic growth, helps businesses in our rural and urban communities to innovate and grow, prepares our children for the workplaces of the future, creates a digitally-skilled workforce fit for the digital century and reforms our public services through digital innovation, then we need a future-proofed digital infrastructure. This new procurement will help to deliver that, and I will talk more about it in a moment. First, it is worth reflecting on the truly spectacular progress that has been made in recent years. Our investment, along with that of our partners in the digital Scotland's superfast broadband programme, has genuinely transformed the availability of broadband across the country. Commercial investment alone would have delivered coverage to just 66 per cent of premises, largely in urban Scotland. Coverage in the Highlands and Islands would have been just 21 per cent, and there was no planned coverage at all in Orkney, Shetland or the Western Isles. Recognising the unique challenges that were posed by Scotland's geography, we concluded that a distinct approach was required. Rather than taking forward 32 small-scale procurements at local authority level, we took the joint decision with our local government partners to aggregate planned public investment into two larger regional projects in Scotland. That created a scale that has dwarfed any other project in the UK, extending broadband access to over 800,000 premises across Scotland so far, with further deployment to follow throughout next year. The success of that approach is demonstrated by the coverage figures. Ofcom figures continue to show that Scotland has made the fastest progress of any of the UK nations in extending superfast access, and we are well on track to meeting our 95 per cent coverage target by the end of this year. The programme has had a massive impact, but it has not reached everyone. We could have chosen to stop there, as the UK Government has done. We could have taken the decision that their USO, set at just 10 megabits per second, was sufficient for our rural communities, but we did not. We chose a different path. We concluded that the economic damage would be caused by consigning large parts of rural and island Scotland to the broadband slow lane, and by extension the economic slow lane was simply unacceptable. That is why, even with broadband reserved, as it is to Westminster, we have launched the reaching 100 per cent programme. It is why, even though the Government was only willing to commit £21 million to our 100, the Scottish Government has stepped up to ensure a £600 million investment in a vital piece of Scotland's national infrastructure. The procurement that was launched last week will build on the success of the DSSB programme, but it will be different in some key respects. Unlike the DSSB programme, we plan to make the delivery of new backhaul in particular rural locations a requirement. That will help to create a truly national fibre network, ensuring that all parts of Scotland are within reach of accessible fibre. Allowing for currently planned commercial coverage, there are around 245,000 homes and businesses in Scotland that cannot access superfast broadband. This initial investment will deliver superfast access to a significant proportion of those, but we do not expect it to deliver 100 per cent coverage on its own. There will be further phases through which we will ensure that superfast broadband reaches each and every premise. We expect that to involve a wide range of superfast technologies, supported by a national voucher scheme, available to individuals and communities. However, the initial phase is the key one. Extending a future-proofed accessible fibre network into remote rural areas will provide the essential platform for delivering superfast broadband for all. We are purposely targeting the funds where they are needed most in rural Scotland, so that first phase will not focus on cities. My firm belief is that coverage gaps in urban areas should be filled by commercial suppliers. I am greatly encouraged by emerging plans from the likes of BT, Virgin Media, City Fibre and Vodafone, among others, which suggest that that is beginning to happen. The procurement will be split across three regional lots. That is designed to maximise competition, and that is vital to drive both value and innovation. I am confident that the scale of our investment and our ambition will attract interest from a wide range of telecoms suppliers across the UK and, indeed, Europe. That is a huge public investment. It is vital that we get the right deal for Scotland, so the procurement will take some time, approximately one year. It is being run as a competitive dialogue, and those generally take between 12 to 18 months to complete. We are confident that we will have suppliers in place and ready to start building by early 2019. Currently, broadband activity will continue on the ground between now and then. Alongside extensive commercial activity, the DSSB programme will continue to deliver throughout the coming year with new investment that has been generated by early take-up on the new fibre network. The so-called game share funding plans for new deployment in every local authority area across Scotland during next year, avoiding any significant gap between DSSB ending and R100 starting. Much has been achieved over the past three years. The latest off-com figures show that superfast coverage in Scotland has increased by 26 per cent since 2014, compared with just 16 per cent for the UK as a whole. However, we now want to finish the job. The £600 million investment that we will make is fantastic news for Scotland's rural and island economy and the real statement of the Scottish Government's intent to make Scotland a truly world-class digital nation. The investment will transform the economic prospects of rural Scotland, the fibre network that we help to build shall be the backbone for delivery of our 100 per cent commitment and beyond that for the future development of Scotland's digital economy. It will underpin a wide range of connectivity services long into the future, 4G and superfast broadband today, 5G and ultrafast broadband tomorrow, and it will help to drive innovation and growth right across the economy, supporting new business models and industries whilst ensuring that Scotland is competitive in the next digital age. We can be in Scotland a world leader in this digital century, one that is inclusive, innovative, outward looking, driving technological and digital innovation and making Scotland the most attractive place in the UK to invest. Working alongside Highlands and Islands Enterprise and our local government partners, we have already developed an enviable delivery track record through the DSSB programme, one that has largely bridged the coverage gap between Scotland and the rest of the UK over the past three years. We will now build on that success and through the R100 programme help to deliver a future-proofed national fibre network that will place rural Scotland among the best-connected places anywhere in Europe and underpin future economic growth. I am happy to take questions. I urge members who wish to ask a question to press their request-to-sweet button now. We have only got until 2.52 am, so I am conscious that not everybody might get in. I thank the cabinet secretary for prior sight of his statement. The cabinet secretary is big on high power today, but the fact is that Scotland is behind England in terms of roll-out of superfast broadband. Superfast broadband of more than 30 megabits per second has reached 92 per cent of households in England, but only 87 per cent in Scotland. Also, 6 per cent of premises in Scotland have less than 10 megabits compared to only 3 per cent in the rest of the UK. Another huge concern is the budget data showing that the spend on digital connectivity for next year is being slashed from £136 million in 2017-18 to only £58.5 million in 2018-19, of which only £34 million is capital. That is certainly not helping to accelerate the roll-out. The cabinet secretary has stated that suppliers through procurement for R100 will only be in place by early 2019. My first question is, will next year be a wasted year? Finally, there is great confusion about reaching the 95 per cent target. In page 15 of the draft budget 2018-19, it states that, by the end of 2017, we will have achieved our existing commitment to deliver fibre access to at least 95 per cent of premises in Scotland. However, on page 147 it states, in 2018-19, we will deliver the final phase of the DSSB programme, which will extend fibre broadband access to at least 95 per cent of premises across Scotland. Can the cabinet secretary confirm which is the true statement? I thought that all Scottish MSPs would welcome the fact that, today, I have announced the biggest ever investment in enabling people in rural Scotland and our islands to have superfast broadband. The difference between what we are doing and what Mr Hancock is not doing is that we have a plan. We are investing £600 million to deliver that plan, as we stated, by the end of 2021, so that everybody can have access to superfast broadband. The difference is that our definition of superfast broadband is the conventionally accepted one of 30 megabits per second, but the UK has no such ambition. It does not plan to reach everyone and it believes that the correct speed is 10 megabits per second, not 30 megabits per second. What is it contributing to the Scottish Government in terms of R100? It is contributing £21 million—3.5 per cent—of the total of £600 million. No, next year will not be a wasted year. As I said in my statement, if you have been listening to it, next year DSSB will continue to deliver to a great many homes on top of commercial delivery. Secondly, the two statistics that you quoted are entirely different. One is in respect of delivery of fibre and one is in respect of delivery of access to superfast broadband. There is a technical distinction and I suggest that you read the Offcom Connected Nations report. Finally, the claim that I repeated by today that Scotland is three years behind the rest of the UK is simply laughable. The latest Offcom figures show that the opposite is the truth. Superfast coverage in Scotland over the past three years has increased by 26 per cent compared to 16 per cent for the whole of the UK, and those are not the Scottish Government figures, but the figures of the independent regulator, Offcom. Rhoda Grant Thank you, Presiding Officer. We share the Cabinet Secretary's ambition to reach 100 per cent by 2021. However, we are concerned that the Scottish Government will not achieve this, and people will be let down. It will take the Government at least a year to procure the next phase, so it will be some way into 2019, before a shovel goes in the ground, leaving only 18 months or two years for the most technically difficult areas of Scotland to be reached. Estimates suggest that, for the Highlands and Islands alone, it could cost up to £300 million, half the budget allocated. Can I ask if he realistically believes he will achieve his goal? Given that he has more than half the budget next year, how much will be invested from Gainshare and added to the budget next year? Will he also give the assurance that the availability of a voucher scheme will not be seen as discharging the obligation to the hard-to-reach areas for 2021? We delivered on the digital Scotland's superfast broadband projects. Three years ago, I am quite sure that, if we look back through the official report, we could have seen MSPs' opposition MSPs' challenges then. Will you deliver the ambitious project? Will you enable access to more than 800,000 homes and businesses in a matter of simply three years? We have done that. I am optimistic. Of course, there is lots of hard work to be done. The tender process involves competitive dialogue, and that is to ensure the maximum likelihood of competitive bids. I take heart from the encouraging reports from Offcom, which says that, at PARA 1.7—this is the most recent report that was published last week—we recognised that there have been significant improvements in mobile and broadband connectivity in recent years. Local authorities in the Highlands and Islands have seen some of the largest increases in superfast broadband availability in the UK. I could read much more, but the independent regulator recognises that we have done a good job. There is no reason to question at this early stage why we could not be able to achieve what we have achieved already with the SSB. I am acutely conscious that people who do not have such access at the moment will feel bitterly disappointed. In many cases, they are angry. I understand that. That is precisely why it is so important that we have a credible plan, a plan that will devote substantial resources, the line share of which will be devoted to the northern regional bloc, including the Highlands and Islands. I am determined that we shall deliver, working with our local authority colleagues, whom I have invited to meet fairly early next year to discuss how we go forward, and I do not share the member's pessimism. I recognise the push for cover in rural areas and the difficulties that that brings. However, there are still gaps in urban areas, for example in East Kilbride, where it would seem to be due to exchange on the lines or tepon technology. That affects domestic and industrial estates, which is worrying in an industrial town at East Kilbride. The commercial providers do not seem to be covering those gaps because it would seem not to be commercially viable. Will the cabinet secretary please take that on board and have a word with the commercial suppliers to meet their obligation in urban areas? I regularly meet the commercial operators. It is primarily the obligation of the commercial operators to meet the needs of the commercial market, not of the taxpayer, to displace that investment, but for that to be made by commercial operators, with whom we have excellent relations. I would say to Linda Fabiani that the Scottish Government has already passed regulations and respective building regulations, for example, which require in respect of new housing developments over, I think, 30 units, to be provided conduits and ducts, providing access for superfast broadband for all new houses to be built. Of course, that is an area that I have discussed with the commercial operators and on which further work is done. I am happy to speak to her and meet her with regard to the particular challenges that exist to some of her constituency in East Kilbride. 2018-2019 will be a wastage year. Some households and businesses will have to wait until 2022 to get broadband. That is simply not good enough. Can the cabinet secretary confirm that the budget for the 2018-2019 has been slashed, and only existing money and contractual mechanisms will provide funding? Where is the £600 million in the budget? That will equate to £200 million a year for three years. How is that £600 million made up? Is it all Scottish Government money? Is it UK Government money? Is it private Government money? Can the cabinet secretary clarify, please? The £600 million is, apart from the pittons provided by Mr Hancock's UK Government of £21 million, the rest of nearly £580 million is provided by the Scottish Government. The UK has provided just 3 per cent, and yet broadband is a reserved area. We waited for a while until 2014, in fact, for the UK to fulfil its obligations on a reserved area, but we waited in vain, and that is why we acted in the digital Scotland superfast programme. The member may be interested to know in relation to the matters that he has raised that, were it not for that contract, delivered by the Scottish Government and the HIE—in this case, the Scottish Government—then the deployment in Dumfries and Galloway of access to superfast broadband as at 212 would be 26 per cent. Thanks to the DSSB, it is now at 82.5 per cent—26 per cent—then, after the Scottish Government investment, it is at 82.5 per cent. I would have thought that a thank you would be an order from the Tories. Willie Coffey to be followed by David Stewart. Thank you. The investment that is already made by the Scottish Government is certainly appreciated by the 94 per cent of people in East Ayrshire who already have superfast broadband. Can the cabinet secretary clarify for us whether the roll-out schedule for the R100 programme will be made available to members and the public so that people can have an idea when the service will come their way? A very sensible question from Mr Coffey. We have learned from the DSSB programme that one of the things that people and communities wished was to know if you like, when the access work was to be scheduled for their communities. Therefore, as early as possible once the procurement process is completed in 2019, we plan to share the information with the people and communities as quickly as we possibly can because there is, of course, a desire to know. Next year will not be a year of inactivity, there will be a substantial work carried out by commercial operators and also using the funds provided by the Scottish Government and other public sector providers, and that game share work will carry on. Also, it would not have been possible to proceed earlier with this procurement because had we done so, the only possible bidder would have been BT and it was only possible to determine and describe and define the coverage area, the intervention area, after the DSSB contracts were substantially completed. We are proceeding in accordance with a plan to invest £600 million in Scotland and I commend that plan to the member and to his colleagues in London. What role does the cabinet secretary envisage for Highlands and Islands Enterprise and is there a need for novel technological solutions for the difficult to reach last 5 per cent? Yes, HIE will be playing a role in respect of continued delivery of those communities that wish to proceed under the CBS scheme with their own projects and their communities and HIE will be working to deliver that, although I should say that many of the communities who had been minded to proceed with their own schemes have recently determined that it would be better to wait, better rather to participate in the R100 programme. In regards to the second question, I can confirm that a variety of technologies will be available, not only a satellite but technologies involving wireless and even TV white space and using mobile technology in order to provide a signal. Therefore, a variety of technologies will be available in order to reach those that we cannot reach through fibre and details of that will be announced in due course. Mike Rumbles will be followed by Emma Harper. Is not the whole point of the cabinet secretary's commitment to ensure that every household receives at least 30 megabytes per second? Is the minister not aware that in this week's off-comes report only 87 per cent, not 95 per cent of premises have the speed and by the end of the year, in just 12 days' time, his own target will be missed? No, that is not the case. The case was to reach 95 per cent in respect of fibre and provide access to superfast broadband and the speed at which the broadband services are available depend, of course, as the member I am sure will know, on a number of other factors, including what package they get and how the system is rooted in their own particular householder premises. That is simply not the case. I am very heartened by the positive verdict of off-com. I notice that the Opposition members do not mention it, so here it is, if they want to look at it. Off-com confirms that Scotland has made more rapid progress in these matters than anywhere else in the UK. I need to remind members that I am the PLO to the cabinet secretary. Can the cabinet secretary confirm that one of the three region lots included in his statement is South of Scotland and how many homes and businesses in the south of Scotland will be connected through R100 and how will this approach ensure that areas currently with or without, or far from, fibre cabinets such as near Borg or Kirkcwbry will benefit? As I mentioned earlier to Mr Carson in Dumfries and Galloway, we have moved from 26 to 82.5 per cent, so there has been a lot of progress, but there remain around 26,000 homes and businesses that will be given access under the R100 programme. We expect that fibre will be central to many of their plans, but, as I said, new and emerging technologies could play a role. My apologies to Stuart Stevenson, Kate Forbes and Rachel Hamilton, but we have to move on to the next item of business, which is a debate on social security. We'll just take a few moments for the members and the ministers to change seats.