Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government regularly liaises with stakeholders, including Highlands and Islands Enterprise and BT, regarding the delivery of broadband services. The Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband project in the Highlands and Islands remains on track to deliver at least 84% fibre broadband coverage across the region by the end of 2016. Coverage in Argyll and Bute will be at least 83% by the end of the project. Commercial coverage alone would only have delivered to 28% of premises in Argyll and Bute.

All parties are committed to providing accurate deployment information to the public as and when it is confirmed. Weekly updates are provided via the Digital Scotland interactive map and postcode checker which can be accessed at:

www.scotlandsuperfast.com.

Community Broadband Scotland (CBS) is helping communities across Scotland deliver innovative broadband solutions in areas that won’t have coverage delivered by Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband. CBS has approved funding for 67 projects, including GigaPlus Argyll which will deliver superfast broadband to over 1,400 premises across the island communities.

The Scottish Government and Highlands and Islands Enterprise are committed to providing the public with the most accurate rollout information possible in relation to the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband project. A definitive view of which premises will receive superfast broadband can only be obtained once site survey work has been undertaken.

The Digital Scotland website is updated weekly with the most up to date information on where service has gone live. The interactive map can be accessed at: www.scotlandsuperfast.com.

The South Arran Marine Conservation Order 2015 has in effect created a static gear only fishing area with regard to demersal fisheries. This has caused an increase in creel fishing. There is no evidence of over fishing, and creel fishing has a much lower environmental impact than demersal trawling which it has replaced. Consequently there are no current plans for further regulation. Marine Scotland will continue to monitor the situation.

Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd is currently exploring the potential of introducing portable Precision Approach Path Indicators at Tiree Airport. The viability of this proposal will be evaluated once the safety case and associated work has been undertaken.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-00063 on 25 May 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

The South Arran Marine Protected Area (MPA) was designated on 07 August 2014. Since that date the MPA has been regulated through the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 via section 83 in relation to licensing decisions by public authorities, and the general protective provisions of section 95. The MPA designation order does not regulate fisheries. Such regulation is provided by the South Arran Marine Conservation Order 2015 which came into force on 8 February 2016. The marine conservation measures which were previously made under Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 were revoked by the 2015 Marine Conservation Order. There are no current plans for further regulation of this MPA.

Aviation security is reserved to the UK Government. We are not aware of any proposal to withdraw security screening at Tiree Airport. Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd complies with current security requirements and will continue to do so, working with the relevant UK regulatory authorities and Loganair to provide security based upon assessed risks.

The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 is intended to support, and bring greater transparency to, the charitable sector in Scotland, whilst reassuring the public that their money is being used effectively and efficiently. The legislation is underpinned by the principle that all charities that enjoy the benefits of charitable status should be subject to the same degree of scrutiny where possible and appropriate. However, this is balanced by the principle that the regulation of charities should be proportionate and not unduly restrictive.

The legislative framework is reviewed regularly as part of the Scottish Government’s formal and informal engagement with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) and with the charity sector in Scotland. There has been no other informal or formal representation to Scottish Ministers from the charity sector in Scotland in recent years seeking to reduce the burden of charity regulation on small charities.

On 1 April 2016 OSCR introduced a new targeted approach to regulating Scotland’s charities, after extensive consultation with the sector, which reduces the annual reporting information required by OSCR from small charities. This new approach has been welcomed by the charity sector in Scotland.

We will continue to work with OSCR and charity stakeholders to ensure that the legislative framework for charities in Scotland remains fair, robust and fit for purpose.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-00061 on 24 May 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The gender balance in Scottish theatre is improving but needs to improve further. While it is not possible to have a direct comparison (due to different data collection methodology), the general trend is positive since 2009. Creative Scotland collects data directly from theatre organisations funded on a regular basis through their annual statistical survey which show a more positive picture than the Where are the Women? report cited.

Women made up 26% of theatre directors in 2009, rising to 47% in 2014-15. When compared internationally, Scotland was well ahead of Canada in 2010-11 where only 28% were women compared to the then figure of 38% in Scotland.

An artistic director (AD) is not employed in all theatre organisations funded by Creative Scotland, but of 24 AD posts in organisations funded by Creative Scotland, nine women have AD roles, representing 38%. The figures indicate that there are seven women (29%) with sole artistic leadership, with two of the theatre organisations having co-artistic directors – one man and one woman.

Creative Scotland is monitoring gender imbalance in theatre as part of its current equalities, diversity and inclusion review, which will provide more robust data on those employed in the theatre and wider arts sector. Theatre has particular issues as working hours are often not family friendly. Creative Scotland is making equalities activity, including gender balance, a core expectation for those in receipt of public funding.