 Ie ddod i'r next item of business, which is topical questions. Our first question is from Colin Smyth. To ask the Scottish Government by what date the R100 project is expected to deliver its target of 100 per cent super-fast broadband coverage. Mr Paul, who is that? As I outlined in my update to Parliament on Friday, the procurement is on-going and delivery timescales will be confirmed once you have a supplier or suppliers in place later this year. The £600 million that we have committed to the R100 programme is a vital investment in Scotland's national infrastructure, and 96.5 per cent of that investment is coming from the Scottish Government, despite broadband services being wholly the legal and regulatory responsibility of UK ministers. We do that because we want to secure the right outcome for Scotland, one that will underpin digital connectivity and economic growth for decades to come, and we will work to deliver that as early as possible. Colin Smyth. I thank the minister for that answer, but it did not answer the question. The question was very specific when, as the Government expected to deliver its target of 100 per cent super-fast broadband, previously the Government was very clear that it said consistently that it would be by 2021. The minister now seems to be saying that it will be as soon as possible, so can the minister answer the question? Will the Government meet its commitment to deliver super-fast broadband R100 by 2021? Yes or no? As I said in my original answer, if Mr Smyth had been listening, we will confirm that once we have a supplier or suppliers in place. It is part of the actual negotiations with the bidders. We are setting them our objective of achieving the goals by 2021, and we are inviting the bidders—this is how bidding works—to submit their bids on the basis of how much they will deliver by 2021. Clearly, it is impossible to see at this point in time, during the live procurement process, exactly what we will see, but I certainly want to commit to giving Parliament. As soon as we have a preferred bidder in place and we have, as I say in my answer, dealt with that, we will be able to come back to Parliament with more certainty about the delivery timescales. I think that that was possibly the longest no that I have heard. It is quite clear that the Government is clearly not going to hit the original target that you set. The minister has announced that the contracts are now being awarded effectively a year later than they were originally being awarded. Does the minister say now that meeting that target and meeting the coverage that the Government believed that it would meet by the end of 2021, or by 2021, is now less likely as a result of the delays and award in the contract, or are you still on target? We have always acknowledged that 2021 would be a challenging target to meet. Given the scale and complexity of the procurement, legally, financially and technically, we will not sacrifice our aim of achieving the best result for Scotland. I am confident that the process is working well. We have maintained competition throughout the process, which is vital to trying to ensure that we get a good deal for the public taxpayer, but we are getting good engagement through the process. I would hope to give Mr Smith confidence that the Scottish Government is delivering well on broadband. I mean that I only have to direct him to the Ofcom 2018 Connected Nations report, which confirms that Scotland continues to outperform the UK as a whole in providing superfast broadband access. I am stating a quote, because I hear some scoffing from the left, but over the past year, i.e. 2017 to 2018, the coverage of superfast broadband across the UK increased from 91 per cent to 94 per cent. Scotland is seeing the largest increase of 5 per cent's points from 87 per cent to 92 per cent. An Ofcom figures show that, since the DSSB, the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband Programme began in 2014, access to superfast broadband has increased by 31 per cent in Scotland, compared with just 19 per cent in the UK. We are doing well. We want to carry our track record forward in delivering R100. As I have said to the member, I am confident that I will be able to give the members a fuller update once the procurement process proceeds to the preferred bidder stage and appointment of the contractors. We will have more information about the delivery timescales. There are five members who wish to get in, so if we can try and be successful, we might get through all five. Finlay Carson. For 18 months, this Government has been cron about R100 being delivered by 2021. That, since Dennett Mackay's 2017 budget announcement, given false hope to constituents right around the country, £600 million has been promised, but in reality, on the ground, investment in broadband infrastructure has fallen from £114 million in 2017-18 to only £32.9 million in 2019-20. Will the member apologise to my constituents and take immediate action to support businesses of my constituency who are struggling for any kind of connectivity? Despite their protestations to the contrary, the Scottish National Party Government has responsibility for the roll-out of areas where commercial providers are unable or unwilling to provide it on a commercial basis. Well, Mr Carson predictably has gone for this line of attack, I have to say. I need to remind Mr Carson that I have done to several Conservative MPs and MSPs who have written to me on broadband issues. As I said in my answer, legally and regulatory responsibilities are the responsibility of UK ministers. In terms of the delivery— All right. Let the minister answer, please. Mr Carson wants to direct things to delivery. Let's talk about delivery in Dumfries and Galloway. When the DSSB programme commenced in Dumfries and Galloway, just 17 per cent of premises in Dumfries and Galloway could have a superfast broadband connection. By February of this year, 2019, 83.3 per cent can now have a superfast connection. That is the record of delivery. As I read out in my response to Mr Smith, if the member wants to disagree with Ofcom, Ofcom has violated that the Scottish Government's track record is better than that of the UK Government. As I said, 31 per cent increases Scotland since January 2014, 19 per cent in the UK as a whole. In spite of the most challenging geography in these islands, we have overachieved compared to the UK average. Richard Lyle has been followed by Edward Mountain. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Can the minister advise how the approach here in Scotland differs from that being taken by the UK Government, because it is reserved? What, how that impacts on R100, what contribution the UK Government is making to R100 and what the UK Government's target date for 100 per cent access to superfast broadband is? It is an extremely important point. As Richard Lyle has said, the UK Government does not have a commitment for 100 per cent superfast coverage across the UK. Scotland is the only part of the UK to have made such a commitment. One supported by £600 million of public investment targeted towards the areas that need it most. Only £21 million, or 3.5 per cent, of that £600 million cost is coming from the UK Government, despite responsibility for broadband being wholly reserved to Westminster. The UK Government has indicated an objective to have full fibre access across the UK by 2033, but no funding has been committed, no funding, in support of its ambition. The Scottish Government is not waiting. We have acted. The £600 million that we have committed to the R100 programme will put Scotland in an enviable position as one of the best-connected nations in Europe. That is something that I would hope members across the chamber will get behind. Edward Mountain will be followed by Stuart Stevenson. Given that NHS Highland is starting to rely on superfast broadband to deliver its near-me treatment service, do you agree with me that the failure to deliver R100 on time is bad for the health of Highlanders? Mr Mountain is trying to make a point here, which I think is extremely unfair. In Highland alone, in between January 2014 and February 2019—this is the impact of the digital Scotland superfast broadband programme—there has been an increase of 58.3 per cent in access to superfast coverage. That, again, is well above the 19 per cent increase that we have seen across the UK over the same period. If anything, Highlands has been well served by the investment that this Government is making and the stewardship of the DSSB programme with our partners has delivered an outstanding result. Perhaps the member might want to acknowledge that. I agree with him that access to broadband is extremely important for new innovation areas, such as health innovation. Through SIFTECH and other measures, we are pioneering new approaches to the use of digital technology in the NHS Highland area, and that will benefit hugely from the investment in R100 and the continued investment in DSSB. Stuart Stevenson, to be followed by Jamie Halcro Johnston. Is the minister aware of the UK Government's announcement on the universal service provision for broadband, which is for a lower speed than that of the R100 programme? More fundamentally, it is a cap to investment, where the subscriber will have to pay any extra money above the cap that the UK Government has been in place. Is such a cap in place for the R100 programme? In answer to Mr Stevenson, no, there is no such cap in R100. We are looking not only to spend £600 million through the initial R100 procurement, but we have always acknowledged that we may need aligned interventions to supplement that. I am concerned that the initiatives that are in place as a result of the UK Government's decisions around universal service obligation will be insufficient to provide the cost of delivering a connection to many rural properties. The member is absolutely right to highlight that, but we are trying to work with the UK ministers to see how we can combine our efforts in respect of voucher schemes, try to get the best bang for the public buck and make sure that we do as much as we can to accelerate deployment in those areas that are affected by poor service at this present time. Jamie Halcro Johnston Thank you very much. Despite the picture being painted by the minister and other SNP members today that all seem to be rosy in the broadband garden, which survey released earlier this year showed that parts of my Highlands and Islands region have among the worst broadband speeds in the country, with Orkney having the slowest speeds for any local authority area, Shetland not far behind and Murray the worst mainland authority. As a time when more and more services are moving online, has the Scottish Government made any analysis of the wider cost of those delays to broadband roll-out, particularly in Scotland's remote and rural communities? Jamie Halcro Johnston I have just said to Mr Halcro Johnston that I have highlighted in a number of times now that the roll-out in Scotland has been faster than the UK average, starting from a lower base. We have caught up when he had two points behind. I note that the member takes a particular interest in Orkney Islands, for example. In the absence of DSSB, there would be 11.1 per cent of broad premises in Orkney Islands that would have had access to superfast broadband. Currently, it is 65.1 per cent. We are looking to the R100 programme. If the member would listen, the R100 programme has set a commitment to mandated areas across all of them in the Highlands and Islands that have to be delivered by the selected bidders. We have also set weighted areas in particular in our island communities to make sure that we address the deficiencies in broadband coverage. I remind him and other members that this is a responsibility to regulate returns and legally of the UK Government. We are merely taking the funding that has been allocated, augmenting it with our resources and doing better than the UK Government in rolling out the schemes. I apologise to Rhoda Grant, but there is no more time for any questions. There is a lot of interest in that subject, but I can tell. 2. Alistair Allen To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect Scotland's fisheries interests around Rockhall. Our relationship with Ireland is strong and we value it highly. Our aim is to reach an amicable position with the Irish Government. Before I set out the latest steps, it may be helpful to Parliament if I provide some background. In 2017, the Scottish Government became aware of a significant increase in fishing by Irish vessels in the territorial seas and fishing grounds within 12 nautical miles of Rockhall. Irish and other EU vessels can, of course, fish in the external 200 nautical miles of the exclusive economic zone with quota. In April 2017, the then Irish Foreign Minister asked to speak with me about his concerns regarding potential enforcement by Marine Scotland. Since 2017, we have had regular ministerial meetings and calls where the issue has been discussed alongside official-level meetings. We have made various political and diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue without the need for enforcement action. In September 2018, given that no resolution had been reached, we notified the Irish Government that, in the absence of an agreed way forward, we would need to prepare enforcement options in line with international law and that we would give them notice of such action. Dialogue is continuing between the Irish and Scottish Governments. There have been close contacts and official level over recent days and it has now been agreed that a process of intensified engagement will take place, led by senior officials from both administrations. We want to reach an agreement with Governments and our Governments are talking as we speak in an effort to do so. While that discussion takes place, Marine Scotland will continue to monitor the area using aerial and satellite capabilities. I thank the cabinet secretary for her reply. The Scottish Government clearly does, as she has said, have the legal right to regulate fishing rights and access up to 12 nautical miles from Rockall, and that is laid out in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. She will be aware of the importance of the fishing industry to my own constituency and to many other communities across Scotland. Is the cabinet secretary able to outline to Parliament what increase in activity around Rockall has been in recent years and what impact has the notice of enforcement had on any such activity? I agree entirely that sustainable fishing and responsible fisheries management depend to a large degree on adherence and enforcement of the law. In recent years, activity by Irish vessels in the area had increased sharply from 15 incursions in 2015 to 33 in 2016 and 94 in 2017. In 2018, there was a slight decrease in activity due to a change in fishing quotas and the absence of some seasonal fisheries. Surveillance by Marine Scotland has shown a decrease in Irish vessels activity in the area as a result of the notice of enforcement action. Officials and ministerial channels have always remained open through this period and I welcome the move to intensify discussions in the coming days. I thank the cabinet secretary for that information. As she has outlined, Rockall is recognised in domestic law as part of Scotland and the Scottish Government clearly therefore does have a duty and obligation to regulate the use of the territorial waters around it. The actions of the Scottish Government in showing our determination to protect the rights and interests of Scottish fishermen, as well as willingness to engage in discussions, have demonstrated that we take the protection of our fishing interests seriously. Would the cabinet secretary confirm that the dispute does not, in her view, impact on our constructive relations with Ireland? Will she or the Rural Affairs Secretary report back to Parliament on the outcome of the discussions that are currently under way? It is our duty to protect the interests of the Scottish fishing industry and our territorial seas. We have an obligation to uphold the law and exercising our rights under international law, just as other countries do. Scotland has a strong and enduring relationship with our nearest neighbours, Ireland, which we value greatly. One is demonstrated by our regular ministerial conversations and our political, economic and social connections. We hope that strong relationship will help to lead to a constructive resolution. Parliament will be updated as and when there are further developments. Andy Wightman I declare an interest as an Irish citizen. The minister will be aware that Rockall was annexed by the British Crown and the advice of the colonial office, when, in September 1955, Lieutenant Commander Scott landed in the rock, raised the union flag and announced in the name of Her Majesty. I heard by I take possession of this island of Rockall. Does the minister agree with me that we should reject complicity in Britain's last act of colonialism, make it clear that we will have nothing to do with such land grabs and instead renounce any Scottish claims over Rockall? Clearly, the sovereignty issue by the UK Government is one thing. Management of fisheries and sustainable fisheries, I would have thought, would be something that the member would be interested in. Our obligations and our responsibilities are clear in relation to the responsibilities of this Parliament in relation to fisheries management and sustainable fisheries management. Recognition of the importance of the fisheries industry to Scotland's economic interests is something that we in the Scottish Government will continue to promote. As I said, I value very much our relationships. We want to strike a new relationship with Ireland as we progress. Of course, there may be difficulties along the way, but the way to resolve them is in diplomatic discussions that we have had and will continue to have with the Irish Government.