Question reference: S6W-16137
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 24 March 2023
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Current status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 14 April 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that there is 100% broadband coverage for rural properties that currently rely on the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme.
Answer
The R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme – offering vouchers worth up to £5,000 for properties not within R100 contract or commercial build plans – remains available. We are seeking to drive demand in a number of ways – sharing case studies and updates online; working with public sector partners, including local authorities, to raise awareness of the scheme locally; and liaising with suppliers registered to the scheme to encourage them to proactively identify opportunities for voucher-funded projects.
We also continue to urge the UK Government to ensure that their investment in Project Gigabit is targeted at the hardest-to-reach properties in Scotland, thus extending gigabit coverage even further into rural Scotland and eliminating the need for some of those properties to require a voucher at all.