Chamber and committees

Ofcom’s Connected Nations 2022 report for Scotland – published on 15 th December 2022 – stated that 198,196 properties across the electoral region of the Highlands and Islands were capable of receiving a superfast broadband connection of 30 Megabits per second (Mbps) and above, with 5,824 properties unable to access speeds of 2Mbps or above.

Local authority and constituency breakdowns of those figures can be found on Ofcom’s Connected Nations interactive dashboard at https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/multi-sector-research/infrastructure-research/connected-nations-2022/interactive-report .

Similarly, independent broadband analysis website, thinkbroadband, provides up-to-date coverage percentage breakdowns for local authorities, as well as Scottish Parliamentary constituencies and regions, at https://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/scotland .

The Scottish Government recognises that all recorded information relating to its business is subject to Freedom of Information law, irrespective of its format or the platform on which it is held. This includes any information held in or originally generated in WhatsApp or similar messaging apps. This responsibility is discharged through the relevant business units who have the responsibility for capturing this information as set out in the Scottish Government Records Management Policy

Following a recent review of updated security advice, the Scottish Government have restricted the use of, and installation of, the TikTok app from any Scottish Government managed phones including those used by Ministers. TikTok is therefore not installed on any Scottish Government managed devices. This approach brings us inline with other governments around the world.

The Scottish Government values the contribution the electronic music industry makes to our cultural and economic offer in Scotland. Those in the industry are talented and skilled artists, and are held in high regard. According to the Night Time Industries Association report, Scotland’s electronic music industry is worth £550 million to the economy and asks questions on support, regulation, education and promotion of the sector.

The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting the sustainable recovery of the night-time industry, as we have throughout the pandemic. We have backed our economic recovery with more than £1.7bn since March 2020 – on top of over £4.7bn provided in Covid-related business support. Some £256 million in Covid support funding was also provided to help cultural organisations to navigate the challenges brought on by the pandemic.

We are committed to working with the business community to ensure the smooth application of regulation and have established a Joint Taskforce with COSLA, local authorities, our regulatory agencies and business to consider the differing impacts of regulation on business.

Culture and creativity is also recognised within our National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) under ‘Productive places’ to sit alongside economic and sectoral policies as part of a joined-up response to the priorities of the National Strategy for Economic Transformation.

We are in regular dialogue with business organisations and leaders to monitor impacts of the cost crisis. We will continue to engage with the night-time industry and monitor the evolving impacts, while pressing the UK Government to help businesses and ensure sustainable development within the night-time economy.

I can confirm that funding for the Scottish 4G Infill (S4GI) programme is fully committed to building and activating 55 masts across Scotland and that no remaining funding is available.

The Scottish Government does not hold the specific information requested. However, through our mainstream Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP), we have supported many community controlled housing association developments across urban and rural Scotland. Each year, since 2008-09, an Affordable Housing Supply Programme Outturn Report is published which sets out the organisations which have received funding through the AHSP. Specifically in rural Scotland, since the introduction of the Rural and Islands Housing Fund in 2016-17, 44 community-led rural projects have been completed providing 152 additional homes. The fund play an important role in offering support to community organisations and others to deliver affordable homes, while complementing the delivery through our mainstream programme by Councils and Registered Social Landlords.

We can confirm that build work for the Scottish 4G Infill programme masts at both Skerries and Foula (sites named Bruray and Ham respectively) is now complete and activation is currently expected to take place by end of July 2023.

The Unsuitable Accommodation Order was extended to all households in May 2020 to ensure all homeless households are provided with the highest quality accommodation to support them out of homelessness.

This means that the maximum number of days that local authorities can use unsuitable accommodation for any homeless person is seven days and has the effect of ending stays in unsuitable accommodation, such as hotels, apart from in emergency situations.

Any household placed in unsuitable accommodation for longer than seven days should be recorded as a breach.

The Scottish Housing Regulator is obliged to monitor and assess local authority compliance with the Unsuitable Accommodation Order (UAO) and, if any UAO breaches are reported, will intervene as appropriate.

Scottish Government officials meet with local authority Directors of Finance representatives on a monthly basis and last met on 10 March 2023. The Scottish Government will continue to meet with COSLA and individual local authorities on a regular basis to cover a range of topics, including current and future budget pressures.

The Scottish Government has had a number of meetings with Ricardo AEA Ltd since May 2021:

• Meetings to discuss research and analysis that Ricardo AEA Ltd has been commissioned to deliver for Scottish Government: this has involved around 20 research commissions, each with regular meetings to discuss project progress and direction, to agree method and approaches and to review and sign off outputs.
• Meetings related to working groups and advisory groups to which Ricardo provides technical expertise, for example related to air quality, either convened by Scottish Government or convened by others (eg UK Government) and in which Scottish Government is a co-participant. These meetings discuss matters such as data and evidence provision, analytical methods and research dissemination.