The final item of business is a debate on motion S4M-15404, in the name of Tavish Scott, on broadband and mobile phone coverage in rural and island communities. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament considers that reliable and affordable broadband and mobile phone coverage is essential for businesses and households looking to access a range of services; understands that the current Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme has vast regional variations, with only 75% of premises in Orkney and 77% of premises in Shetland being reached by the end of 2016 compared with the 95% target across Scotland as a whole by March 2018; further understands that “not-spots” in mobile phone coverage, including 2G and 3G, are far more common in rural and island communities; considers that the full implementation of superfast broadband and universal mobile phone coverage can counter falling population in outlying areas while bringing significant economic benefits; believes that plugging the remaining gaps in coverage is likely to require a range of different technologies, and notes calls for the Scottish Government to work with partners to find solutions for households and businesses in harder-to-reach communities and prioritise investment in those places that fall below the average or have no access to broadband and mobile phone coverage
17:34
I thank members from across Parliament and the Deputy First Minister for their assistance in making this brief debate happen.
The crime drama “Shetland” is currently screening on TV on a Friday. Most of us at home are watching it to see whether we are in it, whether any of our friends are extras are in it, or even just to see whether our house is in it. For those of us who do not watch it, Dougie Henshall is often on his mobile, not just in Lerwick but out in the wilds of the islands. That is where the TV series very definitely becomes fiction. I am pleased to say that there have been no recent murders in Shetland; nor has mobile phone coverage reached all the islands.
Mobile phone coverage and fast broadband are linked. Many mobile phone companies see no economic case for improving coverage in Shetland. I know that that is the case across large chunks of our country. The situation will worsen as companies merge and competition diminishes. For example, much of Shetland is excluded from Vodafone’s rural open sure signal project. Why? Because it needs a reliable, if modest, broadband service.
Last October, EE was awarded the contract for Airwave, the network that is used by the emergency services across Scotland and indeed across the United Kingdom. That contract could specify 4G across Scotland, which would mean better broadband on phones and tablets than people will get through the superfast broadband roll-out that is supported by the Scottish and UK Governments, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and British Telecom.
I ask the Deputy First Minister to ensure that the new emergency mobile phone system is specified as 4G not just in Shetland but right across Scotland because of the benefits that that would undoubtedly bring to many parts of the country. It is, I know, a UK Government responsibility, but I will very much support Mr Swinney and his Government if they are able to make that case. I say that because superfast broadband, like certain beer commercials, is not quite reaching the parts that it is meant to reach.
Last week, I received a letter from the Deputy First Minister about the digital Scotland superfast broadband programme. He wrote:
“Areas as far north as Lerwick in the Shetland Islands and as far south as Gretna in Dumfries and Galloway are now live thanks to the programme.”
As the Deputy First Minister knows, there is more to Shetland than just Lerwick. Shetlanders living in Unst, Walls or Northmavine are just plain fed up at having no idea when they will benefit from all the public money that is rightly being invested in superfast broadband.
In the islands, investment needs to be directed at providing high-speed broadband for the hardest to reach customers rather than chasing a flat percentage population target. I suspect that I am not the only constituency member who would like to see that approach. Will the Deputy First Minister agree with that approach and look at how his Government can best target the resources that are available?
A Uyeasound resident in Unst told me last week that she is unable to view online learning videos for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. I have a letter—no doubt many other rural members do as well—from the chief officer of the service, Alasdair Hay, saying that the service is desperate for new retained firefighters. However, Caroline Hunter in Unst cannot do her online fire training because the broadband is so woeful. That rather makes the point about the importance of broadband in providing emergency services that we all depend on.
Despite receiving a meagre 0.5Mbps, Caroline and other folk in Uyeasound are forced to pay the same as those who receive 20Mbps—such as here in the capital city of Scotland. They see that as extremely iniquitous. I agree and I hope that the Deputy First Minister does too. Perhaps he can say tonight what Ofcom, the regulator, is doing about what seems to many across Scotland—and certainly in Shetland—to be a manifestly unfair situation.
An Aith father—rather more pointedly, perhaps, as I am a parent myself—said to me that a simple update to his son’s games console could exceed the household’s monthly broadband data allowance, given what they can currently access. For those of us with children, in an age of multi-device households—I do not know how many are in my home—that just does not cut it.
More needs to be done. Numerous constituents believe that they will not benefit from the broadband roll-out that is currently envisaged. The Northmavine Community Council cannot progress its community project as it is passed from pillar to post between BT, HIE and community broadband Scotland.
I asked the Scottish Parliament information centre to confirm how many of community broadband Scotland’s projects have been completed. It could not come back to me with an answer on that. It would be helpful if the Deputy First Minister could tell Parliament how those projects are coming along. I hope, too, that he would recognise that communities without any plan or date for broadband upgrades deserve not just answers but action and greater clarity from the Scottish Government, BT and HIE.
Shetland residents say that digital Scotland’s scheduled rollouts for their respective areas are heroically optimistic. One Stromfirth resident told me how his local exchange was listed as
“Coming soon between July and December 2015”.
Observant members will recognise that we are now in February 2016, and it has not come yet. Helpfully, the website now says that broadband is going to come soon between January and June of the year that we are now in. People are understandably frustrated when there is an expectation of progress and then it does not actually happen.
In that particular example, HIE and BT justify not providing a local broadband cabinet by saying that
“it would only provide superfast speeds to a minority.”
I was a bit taken aback by that, because is that not the point? Why should the few be left behind? The whole point of investment in superfast broadband with public money is to help the areas in all our constituencies that currently cannot achieve it through market provision. Incidentally, HIE is unable to confirm whether my constituent in that case will receive coverage in any future phase.
Another Gott resident is a photographer. Her download speed is 0.39Mbps, so she struggles to send photos via email. HIE and BT have confirmed that she will not see the benefits of the roll-out due to her distance from the existing telephone exchange. I am sure that many colleagues will recognise that issue. No fibre cabinet is currently planned or coming soon in the area.
I reiterate my call for further investment in the areas of Shetland and elsewhere in Scotland that have poor or non-existent superfast broadband. I ask the Deputy First Minister to explain where and when we will see improvements to superfast broadband and who will be the 5 per cent who are left behind, because they are the ones who feel it the most at the moment. I hope that he will accept that his Government, HIE and BT must be more transparent with local people about if and when they will really see that improvement.
Fast internet is a service that many people take for granted, and I very much look forward to the day when we can do the same in Shetland and in all parts of Scotland. If the Deputy First Minister can provide my constituents with a route map to achieve that, he will have my full support.
17:41
I commend Tavish Scott and congratulate him on securing the debate. He is right to stress that digital and physical communications are absolutely vital for all of us. For people who live in rural Scotland, especially rural island Scotland, they are essential.
There are some good things to be celebrated. The roll-out of the broadband project is continuing apace and people are getting a service in some places in Scotland. In my constituency, there are 3G signals via EE, but nothing from Vodafone or O2. Although I have been critical of Vodafone, it sometimes comes good. On Friday, I opened a new sure signal facility in the village of Ormsary in Kintyre and I am glad to say that there is a new sure signal facility operating in Easdale, which is positive.
The real problem with introducing the much-needed services in my constituency and elsewhere lies not with Vodafone or any of the other mobile companies; it lies with BT, because it provides the groundwork and the infrastructure that support all the rest. I want to focus on that, because it is no exaggeration to say that my constituents and many other constituents in Scotland have a major problem with BT. In the past 12 weeks, I have opened 39 new constituency cases complaining about BT, and they are only the tip of the iceberg. Indeed, I have become so concerned that, some weeks ago, I emailed Brendan Dick, who is the head of BT in Scotland, to say that I think that there is a crisis in his organisation. I say it again today—there is a crisis in BT in Scotland in respect of how it delivers. As an organisation, it is not listening to its customers or to rural Scotland—it is not listening to the most vulnerable people in our society.
I want to start with the case of Mrs Ackroyd in Lochdon on the island of Mull. She is 79 and she lost her husband a few months ago. Seven weeks ago today, she lost her land-line. Every day, somebody has called BT about that problem. Nine times out of 10, she is promised a call back but it never comes. Her mobile signal is very patchy in Lochdon. As often happens in such cases, she has even been given specific times and dates for visits by engineers, but they pass by with no contact whatsoever. More worrying still, as happens right across Scotland, her alarm pendant is dependent on her land-line. She is still paying for that and relying on it, but it has not worked since 22 December last year. Her local councillor, Mary-Jean Devon, contacted me yesterday and said that she had watched a confident lady begin to lose her confidence because she is so worried about the lack of service. BT is letting that lady down.
I could go through a list of other people in my constituency whom BT has let down. In Bridge of Orchy, which suffered some damage just before Christmas, I had three vulnerable constituents who did not have their service restored quickly enough and who also received constant promises that were not kept.
Toward primary school—I should declare an interest as my wife is headteacher at the school—has gone for three weeks without an adequate land-line service, which is essential for a small rural primary school. The staff have been using their mobile phones and allowances to make amends.
On the island of Easdale, which I know Mr MacKenzie knows well, there are constant problems with land-lines and broadband. The same is true right across Argyll and Bute but the problem is not being treated seriously. It is a problem for individuals and for businesses. On the island of Mull, Duart castle, which is one of the main tourist attractions, has had four lines out for seven weeks with no action being taken. I was in Kintyre on Friday to look at the two wind farms that have been established by the community with Lithgow Energy Ltd. They pleaded with BT to get the service that they need to run those wind farms. It took almost a year and £40,000 to get anything approaching an adequate service.
There is a crisis in delivery, even when broadband is delivered. I have constituents who pay the full price for superfast broadband, but because they are connected to fibre by copper, they do not get anything like the speeds that they have been promised and have contracted to get.
Damage is being done by the failure of BT—I have to put it as bluntly as that. The superfast broadband programme is fantastic. I supported it when I was in the Government and I support it now. It is making, and will make, a huge difference in the Highlands and Islands. However, it and the prospect for change are being let down by BT.
The Deputy First Minister is a man of great charm and persuasion. The next time he has Brendan Dick in to see him, perhaps he can say to him that his eminently reasonable friend on the back benches is getting a little bit fed up. Like me, my constituents just cannot take any more from BT. I hope that the Deputy First Minister will persuade Brendan Dick to get his organisation into a shape that can deliver for people now and for those who rely on building and developing those services for the future. That is essential; it must happen and Brendan Dick must listen.
17:47
I congratulate Tavish Scott on securing the debate. It is a really important issue for Shetland and the whole of the Highlands and Islands.
In the first session of parliament, my colleague Maureen Macmillan started to campaign for access to broadband because she realised the implications of it for our communities. Peter Peacock took that campaign over when Maureen Macmillan stood down and I was happy to pick up the cudgel when he retired.
Our MPs in Westminster recently compared their constituencies’ download speeds. The Western Isles was worst, with Ross, Skye and Lochaber at 647th out of 650 and Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross 640th. Add that to the statistics in Tavish Scott’s motion and we see that the Highlands and Islands are extremely poorly served.
The Scottish Government’s target of 95 per cent by 2017 does nothing to address the problem because it only needs to target urban areas to reach it. To make the target meaningful, it needs to be across much smaller units of population, even smaller than council areas, which tend to have urban and rural populations.
The digital Highlands and Islands project has made and will make a real difference. Without it, many more people would be outwith the reach of next-generation broadband. It will provide the backhaul that is required for mobile phone network operators.
However, that does not mean that we should simply say thank you and leave it at that: we still need to fight for 100 per cent coverage. Those who are the furthest from a connection have the most to gain. They are often the most disadvantaged as it stands, and access to next-generation broadband would redress some of that disadvantage. The same is true with mobile coverage; 2G, 3G and 4G also have the ability to work over terrain in which laying fibre is difficult. We must also look at mast sharing and roaming to give the best coverage to mobile data users.
We need to utilise all the technologies to ensure 100 per cent coverage. Access to next-generation broadband is no longer a luxury; it is essential. People need it to submit their common agricultural policy forms—in the event that the claims system is ever sorted out—and to apply for benefits. Remote communities have the most to gain from access to telehealth and telecare.
I recognise what Mike Russell said about help calls. I, too, had a constituent who have a help-call button whose phone line was cut off. I have spoken to BT about that and have suggested its having a vulnerable persons register, on which people with help-call devices would be registered so that they would be given priority in having their phone lines reconnected when there is a problem. I understand that BT is considering that. Organisations including Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission Ltd—SHETL—can make sure that vulnerable customers are reconnected quickly when there is a power cut, so BT should be able to do likewise.
There are businesses in my region that are looking to relocate because of their poor broadband connection; that is simply wrong. They are companies that value their communities and that want to remain there. In effect, they are being forced out.
The Government set up community broadband Scotland to help to provide last-mile solutions, but it provides only funding and advice. In order for people to qualify for help from community broadband Scotland, they need to know that they will not get next-generation broadband in the roll-out, and we do not know who will be covered. We need a definitive map of which areas will have coverage and which will not so that people can decide what they need to do to ensure that they get coverage in the future.
Communities that work with community broadband Scotland need to be able to develop solutions for themselves; they need to be able to organise themselves into community companies. That does not happen everywhere, because not all communities have the capacity to do that. That is often the case with communities that are closer to urban areas, which are less self-sufficient because they depend on the urban areas for services. We need to consider how to address the issue: we need to set up co-operatives or social enterprises that will reach out to those communities and provide the services that they desperately need. The Government needs to take the lead in driving forward that work. It must ensure that there are no not-spots in Scotland, either for broadband or mobile phone coverage.
17:52
During Mr Russell’s speech, it occurred to me that he is on Easdale almost more than I am these days, such is the effort that he puts into representing Argyll and Bute. I am often off on other islands—for example, Orkney—and I am very much looking forward to going to Shetland this weekend to experience again what Tavish Scott talked about.
In looking back over my whole adult life as an islander, I can think of nothing that has transformed the experience of island life more than the coming of the internet. I received the very first email ever to arrive on my home island of Easdale in 1992. Somehow, I knew that that was the start of something significant, and I printed out a copy and gave it to our local museum.
However, back then little did I know just how much the internet would transform our lives by connecting us with the rest of the world and providing access to knowledge and information that had hitherto been greatly restricted. Almost at a stroke, we were transformed from a backwater and granted fully fledged membership of the community of Scotland and the rest of the world.
Nor can I think of anything that has contributed more to reducing the regional inequality from which islanders have historically suffered than the internet. Little did I know back then that in taking the first steps in accessing this miraculous technology we were at the start of what was to become a race to stay connected at the same rate and level as the rest of the world. The innovation and progress of information technologies has been astounding. The range and quality of services that are increasingly consumed online is staggering. Even so, we have barely scratched the surface.
Participation in the modern economy demands good internet access—fixed and mobile. Very promising developments such as telehealth and telemedicine, fuel poverty initiatives such as smart metering and innovations such as smart houses all require good internet access. Such things can transform our lives and make public services far more effective and efficient than we are capable of making them at the moment.
To do that will require good internet access—well beyond that which we experience in the islands today. The irony is that we are actually losing the race. Increasing usage and demand mean that what was perfectly adequate connectivity a very few years ago is now hopelessly inadequate in both mobile and fixed-line services. That is the result of both market and regulatory failure. When coverage is available, it is still very patchy across the Highlands and Islands.
That is why I was absolutely delighted by the £127 million investment that the Scottish Government is making across the Highlands and Islands to provide the all-important fibre-optic backbone for high-speed broadband, which is the necessary first step in catching up and staying abreast of others in the race. I am also delighted that community broadband Scotland is committed to addressing the areas where fibre optic cables will not reach. Progress has been slower than hoped for, but I am very aware of the technological challenges and the sheer physical challenges involved in operating in such a hostile terrain and climate. However, I am very optimistic that we will see a sea change in improvement fairly soon.
To be fair, I am also pleased to note that the UK Government is working on a universal service obligation for 10Mbps. I note that it promises 95 per cent coverage by the end of 2017, but that is not good enough for our islands because inevitably they will always be in the 5 per cent that is left behind. The sleeping giant that is Ofcom has begun to waken to the issue, but it is not fully awake yet. I believe that the best way to deal with the situation is to provide proper and effective regulation, rather than Governments paying out to address market failure.
I note that the regulatory powers still reside with Westminster. However, I am sure that if they were here in this Parliament, we could address the issue properly.
Due to the number of members who would like to speak in the debate, I am minded to accept a motion without notice under rule 8.14.3 to extend business beyond the normal time.
Motion moved,
That, under Rule 8.14.3, the debate be extended by up to 30 minutes.—[Tavish Scott.]
Motion agreed to.
17:57
The challenge of providing high-quality mobile phone and broadband services in a country like Scotland is not one that should be underestimated. The geography of the country will always bring about difficulties. However, if we look around the world, we find that such difficulties have been overcome effectively in other countries. My experience of alpine nations is that they tend to have a much higher quality of mobile phone signal and better performance even among the highest mountains and on top of those mountains. Indeed, I have been told by the BBC, so it must be true, that it is now possible to get a 4G signal on the summit of Mount Everest. If that can be achieved, then what can be achieved here in Scotland?
The fact is that the basic mobile service that is available over most of Scotland is very basic indeed. Personal experience indicates that there are difficulties even in the areas where there should not be. My home town has a Vodafone signal that is basic at best. On two occasions in the past year, it has been down for three weeks at a time. That is something that may be an advantage to an MSP who looks for a bit of peace at the weekends, but I can assure members that it is far less convenient for the doctor who regularly phones me to tell me that his signal has gone. Such examples make it clear that our problems are not simply in the most extreme peripheries of Scotland but exist in some form across the whole country.
When we come to broadband, the Deputy First Minister will not be unaware that I have complained to him many times about the quality of my broadband service. This is in a town where superfast broadband arrived a number of years ago in a blaze of publicity, only for us to be told that those of us who were connected directly to the exchange could not have it because we were not connected through a cabinet. I have spoken to a number of people about the problem, but I have never received an adequate answer that explains why it cannot be dealt with quickly and efficiently or why it has not been dealt with yet.
Many challenges face us, but we have a system in place that is beginning to address them. The problem is that the challenge and the resources that are being mobilised in order to overcome the difficulties are so great that we have some confusion about what needs to happen and when it will happen. It would be of great service to those who are aware of what has to happen if they could be told when the changes are likely to take place. Communication is vital, whether it is about the times and schedules for upgrades or simply direct communication with the sad constituents that Michael Russell talked about. It is much easier to accept that we have to wait for good things if we know that someone is working on them and there is a time when the services will be available. Sadly, that is not always the case.
I end by returning to the issue of rural mobile phone signals. It has to be made clear—I am sure that we all know this, and the Deputy First Minister will understand it only too well, as he comes from rural Perthshire—that we have now lost most of our phone boxes in rural areas and the mobile phone system is now a vital part of the safety system. When accidents happen in remote and rural areas or medical attention is required at short notice, the mobile phone is often the only way to deal with the situation.
Sadly, we do not have the universal coverage that we need. We need to look at all the available options to ensure that we can provide that coverage even in the most remote areas. Scotland deserves it. The work is being done, but we are not achieving results as quickly as we should.
You must draw to a close, please.
I therefore ask the minister to consider how we can make the resources that are available work more effectively for people right across Scotland.
18:02
I, too, thank Tavish Scott for lodging his motion, which has enabled us to discuss this important issue. Of course, the Deputy First Minister does know about the issue, because the Finance Committee met in Pitlochry in his constituency on 18 January and the lack of rural broadband in Highland Perthshire was one of the big issues that was raised. I know that, if he did not already know about it, the Deputy First Minister took away the information that we heard that day.
In my constituency of Cunninghame North, we have the isles of Arran and Cumbrae, as well as rural areas where houses are scattered few and far between in mainland North Ayrshire. I am therefore acutely aware of the need for reliable and affordable rural broadband and mobile phone coverage. These days, there is an expectation bordering on an assumption that everyone will be able to access information online, complete a web form, email something and so on, so the minority who do not have access are at a considerable disadvantage. That is frustrating for individuals, and we need to make rural and island communities more competitive and appealing as places to live, work and do business.
In July 2015, Deloitte published a report—it was commissioned by the Scottish Futures Trust—that explored three scenarios for digitalisation in Scotland over the next few years. It concluded that, if Scotland becomes a world leader in digitalisation, it could see an increase in gross domestic product of more than £13 billion by 2030. Even in the least optimistic scenario, the increase would be £4 billion. Furthermore, the report describes countless positive impacts of increased digitalisation on GDP per capita, employability, tax revenues, the environment and healthcare. I encourage anyone who is interested in the wider benefits of digitalisation to have a look at that report.
In March last year, the Deputy First Minister wrote to the UK Government asking it to implement a universal service obligation for broadband services to ensure that there is access to affordable, high-speed broadband for all in Scotland. In November, the Prime Minister announced that such an obligation would indeed be put in place. Although his planned obligation to provide every household with a 10Mbps broadband connection by May 2020 is less progressive than the up to 80Mbps that is aimed for in the digital roll-out, it is a step in the right direction.
The Scottish Government and partners have, of course, invested £410 million through the digital Scotland superfast broadband programme and I welcome the recently announced further investment by the Scottish Government of more than £130 million for Scotland’s digital strategy, which will mostly support infrastructure to help towards meeting the target of 95 per cent of premises having access to next-generation broadband by March 2018. Tavish Scott mentioned that in his opening speech, of course. It is encouraging that the 85 per cent target for March 2016 has already been surpassed, but it is crucial to keep up the pace.
My constituents on Arran regularly report concerns about the reliability of their connections much in the way that Mike Russell’s constituents express concerns. However, more than 1,400 premises in parts of Brodick, Lamlash, Shiskine and Whiting Bay in Arran now benefit from the new fibre optic network, and further coverage and roll-out on Arran are scheduled to take place this spring and summer. Originally, there would be coverage on 97 per cent of the island, with an area around Machrie omitted for topographical reasons. I continue to urge BT, which is delivering the Arran roll-out, to explore every option to ensure that Machrie will benefit from the network.
Properties in Machrie are connected via so-called exchange-only lines directly to the exchange, rather than through a green roadside cabinet, and it is more difficult to bring fibre to the properties that are served by those lines. However, that has been done before, as we have already heard, and I understand that it should happen in Machrie by the end of this year. I hope that it will.
Another problem area in my constituency is the small community of Burnhouse on the mainland. There, the challenge is its remoteness from the exchange, which means that residents are not yet able to access fibre broadband. Solutions are being explored to get Burnhouse upgraded, but that takes time that residents simply do not feel that they have.
I cannot stress enough how important it is that rural and island communities have access to reliable, fast broadband and mobile phone coverage. Significant progress is being made, but I will continue to press for all areas in my constituency to benefit from the digital broadband programme. Those who live in rural and island communities should not have to feel that they are running behind the rest of Scotland, and we must ensure that they have no reason to.
18:07
Like other members, I congratulate my colleague Tavish Scott on giving us an opportunity to debate the issue. The picture that he described very much reflects the picture in my Orkney constituency. If we replace Unst, Walls and Northmavine with Birsay, Rousay and North Ronaldsay, the picture is very much the same. Poor broadband and mobile coverage generates a large proportion of my mailbag on a weekly and monthly basis, as it does for Mike Russell.
The United Kingdom Government, the Scottish Government and its partners rightly deserve credit for the investment that is being made in the superfast broadband roll-out, but the figures suggest that, at the end of the process, 75 per cent of premises in my Orkney constituency will be covered, compared with 84 per cent across the Highlands and Islands and 95 per cent Scotland-wide. Perhaps there are reasons behind that, but I hope that the Deputy First Minister accepts that the priority for any future investment needs to be areas that continue to lag so far behind the national and regional averages. The digital divide that has opened up between rural and urban Scotland is now being reflected in a digital divide opening up in rural communities, and that is a source of real concern.
I listened to Mike Russell’s concerns about BT and I have some sympathy with them, but I put on the record my gratitude for the efforts of many Openreach engineers, some of whom I have seen labouring away in ditches in a rain-soaked North Ronaldsay trying to address problems that were caused by lightning strikes on that island.
Michael Russell rose—
I cannot give way at the moment.
Mike Russell’s points about the company’s approach to customer services were well made. The picture on mobile coverage is very similar, too. I will illustrate those points in two ways, which look at the economic development impacts and service delivery.
On economic development, I have been struck by the extent to which the tourism sector has to adapt to the digital age. At a recent conference on that very issue that was organised by the Orkney tourism group, it was reflected that some people still go to Orkney to escape the digital age, but by and large expectations are changing. Holidaymakers research destinations and activities online, look for recommendations and bookings online, and interact with businesses ahead of arrival. Once they are there, they look to capture and share their experiences and images with friends, families and others who may be interested. It is not just about having wi-fi in your room, your self-catering cottage or your visitor destination, but about having access to reliable mobile coverage while on the move.
If that seems slightly frivolous, how about the effect on health service delivery? A 2012 report by Dr Andrew Inglis, a consultant working for the emergency retrieval team, which operates out of Glasgow, concluded that poor network coverage in rural areas
“results in an impaired service for patients and increased NHS costs.”
Dr Inglis cited a report in The BMJ:
“Rural practitioners need to provide emergency care, and in some remote areas they may have to manage critically sick or injured patients for a number of hours before these patients can be transferred.”
That certainly reflects the experience of Bernie Holbrooke, the nurse practitioner in North Ronaldsay, whom I met yesterday.
During our discussions about air ambulance service provision, the issue of mobile coverage kept coming up. It was pointed out that that helps to improve response times, allows initial assessment and information to be passed on ahead of the patient’s arrival at hospital and provides support to community responders, or those first on the scene who may be lacking experience and knowledge but can be guided through the process. More routinely, it allows more successful management of patients with chronic conditions and can avoid unnecessary and arduous trips away from, in this case, North Ronaldsay, or even from Orkney, thereby improving patient care while reducing costs.
Those are just some of the advantages that high quality broadband and mobile coverage can provide. They show why such coverage is essential to communities in Orkney and why they cannot afford to continue to languish at the back of the queue.
I again thank Tavish Scott for allowing the Parliament to shine a light on the issue and I very much look forward to the response of the Deputy First Minister, who is familiar with many of the circumstances in Orkney.
18:11
It is an absolutely immense privilege for each and every one of us to be elected as an MSP. This touches on the issue that we are debating tonight, but in my case, the particular privilege is that when I come to the Scottish Parliament, my broadband speed leaps by a factor of 800. Over the past 10 days, the median broadband speed at home has been 0.2Mbps. On Sunday, it took 40 minutes to book my railway ticket to journey to Parliament. That is not terribly good. My constituents are in a similar position.
The digital Scotland website tells us that exchange-only lines, to which reference has been made, are more prevalent in Aberdeenshire—Mr Johnstone should note that—and Dumfries and Galloway, just because of the history of how the telephone network was installed. However, let us not imagine that only rural areas are affected. Earlier, I was speaking to someone from Comely Bank, which is right in centre of Edinburgh, who is on an exchange-only line, too. Right across Scotland, exchange-only lines are a significant issue that denies people the ability to access services in the way that the majority are able to access them.
There is an economic value in ubiquity. On the day that everyone in Scotland is connected to a high-speed broadband connection, we should shut down all the communication methods that must continue in order to support low bandwidth connections—then we would save money centrally.
I have a solution. It is not a technological solution; it is a straightforward policy solution. The Scottish Government must install devices on its own internet connections that restrict the speed of those connections to the speed that prevails in the rural areas of Aberdeenshire, Shetland, Orkney, the Western Isles and Dumfries and Galloway. [Interruption.] I hear Mr Russell pleading that my list should include rural Argyll, too. If what I propose were to happen, I have a vague feeling that we might get things fixed.
Last year, my family had a pleasant holiday in Plockton, where we rented a cottage. I did not want to come home: the broadband speed was running at 6Mbps—20 times the speed that it was running at when I left home in Banffshire.
My wife and my dentist are the greatest proponents of our getting proper access to high-speed broadband, mainly because my wife does not like the sound of my chewing the edge of my desk in frustration; I am sure that members can work out my dentist’s concerns for my teeth.
The issue is not just broadband. Where I live, there is no mobile phone signal—2G, 1G, 3G or whatever the prevailing G is—and there is no Freeview access. I cannot even get satellite broadband, because the satellites, of which there are two, are not due south, so the angle of attack is 20.5° or 22° and the terrain stops me seeing them. I am not alone; people on that side of the hill cannot get satellite—not that it is as good as proper, fibre broadband.
I have costed the wholesale purchase of the fibre that would be needed to connect my house to the exchange, which is not that far away. It is £300. Well, I have got the 300 quid waiting.
18:15
I congratulate Tavish Scott on bringing this timely debate to the Parliament tonight.
Like other members, I welcome the Scottish Government’s investment in delivering broadband to the rural and island communities that I represent.
Even in the almost five years that I have been a member of this Parliament, it seems that expectations and working practices have changed a great deal across the Highlands and Islands. There was a time when broadband was seen as a luxury, and superfast broadband was regarded as even more of a luxury, but now superfast broadband is a necessity of life, like water or a roof over one’s head. Anyone who is contemplating running a small business in the rural areas that I represent, or even in the towns and more urban parts of the Highlands and Islands, simply cannot do so without superfast broadband. A mobile signal is also essential, as members have said.
I endorse Tavish Scott’s request that we ascertain the success of community broadband Scotland projects. The BT website has a map that shows where we can have a BT presentation in our communities, but there are gaps. I hope that community broadband Scotland can plug the gaps, but it is not clear whether that is working. We often leave contact details for community broadband Scotland with community groups but hear little about the progress that is made thereafter.
I spent most of the summer recess on the islands, meeting social enterprises and community groups and associations. Broadband was the hot topic in every case. Last weekend, I was invited to meet a group of people in Elphin, who could not understand why the fibre cables would run through their community but would not be for their community. The issue needs to be addressed as a priority by us all, if we want a fairer Scotland.
Broadband is not just for business or for fun. More often than not, we are encouraged to do things online, whether we are talking about applications to the Department for Work and Pensions, payments for licences or applications for crofting support. Crofters are often the very people who have no access. Liam McArthur talked about Orkney, where superfast broadband does not reach 25 per cent of premises. It is essential that more priority is given to plugging the gaps in Orkney and elsewhere.
It is more than that, however. There is a real issue of democracy for this Parliament that I have talked about before. The cross-party group on crofting now has the facility in room Q1.02 to hold our meetings live online—people can dial in or come in on the internet. That is great for people from here, but the cross-party group on crofting does not attract crofters from central Edinburgh or central Glasgow. Its work is of interest to people who are in rural areas and who would like to access the discussion that is happening in Parliament. If we want to see real democracy working across the country, and if we believe what we say about wanting people to access the Parliament and its work, we need to see those things as relevant to the debate on broadband too.
18:20
As is the normal practice, I congratulate Tavish Scott on bringing the debate to the chamber. The fact that there are so many people here taking part in the debate shows its real worth, so I thank Tavish Scott for securing it.
Would it not be great if we were talking this evening about what an exciting, fantastic, connected country Scotland is and how we are leading the world in our broadband and mobile coverage? Our tourism businesses would be able to put out online the excitement and dramatic value of the beauty that they represent, our farmers would be able to bid for the beasts that they see in the market online, our kids would be able to involve themselves in educational tools to help with social inclusion, telehealth could provide people with access to information in a way that is not possible at the moment, and people in rural and remote areas could overcome some of the difficulties that are faced over transport by having great connectivity.
That is the vision that we should all be sharing, and the opportunities for us as a nation are utterly boundless if we can get it right. I am hugely excited by the potential, and because of that I am delighted with the extra money that is being put in by the Scottish Government and the UK Government to get us to where we need to be.
I am engaged with communities the length and breadth of my constituency, in every nook and cranny from Tyndrum to Mugdock and from Fallin and Cowie to the shores on the east of Loch Lomond, and there are many areas where broadband is working fantastically well, but there are also not-spots—which are described well in Tavish Scott’s motion—across my constituency.
I want to thank digital Scotland for its sheer level of engagement with me, particularly through Duncan Nisbet. If anyone were to ask, Duncan would tell them that he has been more engaged with my constituency than with any other in the country, because I am never off the phone to the man. I know that he has a reception here this evening, which Stewart Stevenson is hosting. He is going a great job, but he is doing it with a workforce of two men and a dug, and he probably needs a bit mair support.
Likewise, Sean Marley from community broadband Scotland has been engaged with me in those communities as we look for new, bespoke solutions for every community that finds itself in a not-spot. That is one of the problems. As Rhoda Grant said, some communities need a bit more capacity, and there are fantastic people coming up with great solutions, particularly around how the wireless network can be used, but we need to be able to think of the long term and how sustainable that model is for all those communities that are working in different ways. I was pleased that the community broadband advisory group on Stirling Council recently agreed to carry out an audit of the not-spots across the Stirling area, so that it can get communities to work together to find solutions that help them.
That is all good and all the activity that is going on in communities is fantastic, but things could be sorted so much more quickly. The universal service obligation should have been there. We should not have been waiting till now to have that universal service obligation. It exists in Spain and in Finland. If we had the right to get access to the telephone in the past, so that anyone could pick up a telephone and use it, why do people in this modern day and age not have the right to have access to fast broadband speeds?
A structural problem exists. I heard Mike MacKenzie giving BT a walloping and I understand that, but there is a structural problem because of the Chinese wall between Ofcom and the BT main company. The two are not allowed to talk to each other. The structure that has been put in place across the UK is ridiculous.
There are many technical aspects that I could go into, Presiding Officer, but I see you shaking your head to tell me that I do not have enough time to do that. I will finish by once again commending the great work that is being done across my community by people who are working hard under their own steam to make this work. Talking of steam, I wish that we no longer had a network for connectivity that comes from the steam age and that we could get into the modern age.
18:25
I thank Tavish Scott for lodging the motion and securing the debate. I reassure members that I understand entirely the significance of this issue and its importance to all communities in Scotland, particularly the rural and island communities that are the focus of Mr Scott’s motion. That is the case not only because of my experience in representing Perth city, Perthshire and the rural parts of north Perthshire into the bargain, but because this is the issue on which I correspond the most with members of the Scottish Parliament, by far. Some of the usual suspects, who represent a significant part of my mailbag, are here tonight.
I understand the significance of the issue. Why? Because as a society we now live lives in which, in many respects, broadband is an essential service with regard to the way in which we undertake all our transactions and activities. At a recent meeting of the convention of the Highlands and Islands, the convener of Western Isles Council made the point that he viewed the roll-out of broadband to the homes and the communities of the Western Isles as of equal significance to the roll-out of mains electricity to those places in the 1950s. That rather puts the significance of the issue into perspective.
I want to reassure members of the importance that the Government attaches to this issue. That is why the Government has participated with the UK Government to fund a £410 million investment programme for the roll-out of the digital Scotland superfast broadband programme. Why is that important? Because, had the Government not done that, instead of 75 per cent of properties in Mr McArthur’s constituency being able to access digital broadband, none would—that would have been the case in Mr Scott’s constituency, too. Similarly, in Mr Crawford’s constituency, only 57.5 per cent would have had access to broadband rather than the 93.4 per cent that we anticipate under the programme. For completeness, in my constituency, 40.2 per cent of properties would have had access to broadband rather than the 90 per cent that are scheduled to have it.
The cabinet secretary is entirely justified in pointing out where that market failure needed to be addressed by public investment. However, does he accept that, given that a backbone has had to be constructed in order to allow people to build outwards, the priority from here on is to make up the ground in those areas that continue to fall below the regional or national average?
Mr McArthur makes a fair point. I am confident that the roll-out of superfast broadband will reach the targets that have been set. The 85 per cent coverage target that was set for March 2016 was reached six months ahead of schedule. I have confidence in the roll-out of the programme and I pay tribute to Highlands and Islands Enterprise, which has led on the programme, and to those who have worked on the programme, which has been carried out in partnership with BT. However, it is vital that members in the constituencies that are involved in this issue understand the priority that the Government attaches to ensuring that we complete this process for everyone in Scotland, not just people who will be covered by the programme that we have already commissioned.
My focus is on finding the solutions and using the resources that we have available to us to try to ensure that we can maximise coverage. Already, in the main programme that the Government is taking forward, we have generated a gainshare return of around £18 million. That means that £18 million of extra capacity beyond the existing plan is available to reach out to further properties, and we have phase 2 of the superfast broadband programme, which is valued at £42 million, which will also be added to the roll-out of the programme.
Mr Scott asked me about the extent of the involvement of community broadband Scotland, which is a crucial intervention to try to deliver projects that will not be serviced by the BT contract that the Government has commissioned. Community broadband Scotland has approved funding for 62 projects so far and is actively supporting a further 90 projects, comprising more than 19,000 premises across Scotland. Community broadband Scotland has gained momentum and is now delivering real impact in localities. Although I am satisfied that the resources that are available to community broadband Scotland are adequate to meet the demand that is being expressed, I reassure Parliament that if I feel that demand outstrips the resources currently allocated, I will attach priority to finding new resources to add to those to ensure that we are able to roll out broadband to a broader range of communities than is currently envisaged under this process.
I understand the significance that members attach to mobile coverage. Although the Scottish Government has no regulatory responsibilities in that area, I have convened discussions with the four mobile network operators a number of times to encourage a partnership approach. The Government is looking at planning regulations and business rates issues and is encouraging local authorities to look at planning issues, in order to break down some of the obstacles that might exist in expanding capacity. I reassure Mr Scott that, in the negotiation of the UK-wide emergency services mobile communications programme, we are pressing for the programme to provide the added value of additional 4G connectivity as a consequence of the financial contribution that we will make to the programme, which will be mirrored by the UK Government.
Mr Russell, in his characteristically understated fashion, has been severely critical of BT. I will see BT on Thursday and will make the points that Mr Russell has made to me, although I am sure that BT will have heard those points. I invited BT, along with the mobile network operators, to come to the convention of the Highlands and Islands in Elgin a few months ago in order that the leaders of the public sector in the Highlands and Islands could make their point very directly to BT and the mobile network operators and ensure that they clearly understood the importance that we attach to digital connectivity. I repeatedly make the point to BT about the importance that must be attached to effective service, although Mr Russell’s comments went beyond that to the issue of the active service that some members of the public experience.
On Ofcom, all that I could get past the Smith commission, of which Mr Scott and I were members, was for us to have more say in Ofcom. I cannot remember whether Mr Scott was an ally of mine on that issue. I am sure that he was an ally—he was always an ally in the Smith commission. The furthest that we could get the Smith commission to go was to say that Ofcom had to have a more direct relationship with the Scottish Government and that we should nominate a member to the board of Ofcom.
I place on record my appreciation to the chief executive of Ofcom, Sharon White, who has made extraordinary efforts to strengthen the dialogue with the Scottish Government. Just last week, I met Sharon White and Baroness Noakes, one of the board members of Ofcom, for one of a number of discussions—I have also met the chair of Ofcom within the past few months—to set out the importance that the Government and Parliament attach to improving connectivity. I have every confidence that Ofcom has heard that message and is pursuing it in the exercise of its responsibilities, one of which will be to consider the issues in connection with the universal service obligation.
I hope that what I have said tonight to Parliament does justice to the importance of the issues that have been raised by members and by Mr Scott in his motion. I welcome the fact that members have been appreciative of the investment that we have made and the success of the programme to date. However, I want to make it absolutely clear to members the centrality that the Government attaches to resolving these issues to ensure that, whether for business, leisure or professional purposes, every citizen of our country is able to access digital connectivity in their homes and their localities and is well connected to the modern world.
Meeting closed at 18:34.Previous
Decision Time