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That is a quite substantial change from previous reports, which talked very specifically about a 25 per cent reduction. What process are you going through? What is the timescale for the process? Have you consulted with staff? Are you at a point at which you are speaking to people about new jobs? How far advanced is the process, and when will you start to be able to say that this is what you think future staffing will be?

Thank you, convener, and good morning.

When you last attended the committee, Keeper, I recall asking specifically about staffing levels. The indication was that there would be a 25 per cent reduction in staff, but you said that that was under review, not least given the backlog that the service was facing. Your current corporate plan refers to a planned reduction in staff numbers over the next five years, but there are no references to any figures. What is the scale of the planned staffing reduction?

I think it would be fair to say, though, that the plan is pretty vague when it comes to the skill sets that you need. The plan contains a diagram that seems to suggest that there are some very tall people working for the service and some very small people. There is no detail on your direction of travel. What is the overall aim of the staffing reduction? Is it a budget process? Do you have to reduce numbers in order to balance the books? You have said very clearly that there will be a planned staffing reduction, but you do not seem to know what the reduction will be.

So when you publish your next plan, you are likely to have projected numbers.

Cabinet secretary, you talked about the challenges that rural areas face in accessing digital opportunities—connectivity in particular. However, there are also barriers when it comes to skills and an understanding of the business opportunities that good digital services provide, especially for small businesses, which make up the vast majority in rural areas.

Last week, you announced that you were scrapping proposals for a rural entrepreneur fund. Whenever we have a round of the digital boost funding, it is oversubscribed and many businesses do not get to access it. What specific support is being provided to businesses in rural areas to ensure that they do not fall behind big businesses in our cities when it comes to breaking down the barriers to digital opportunities?

I will take you up on that offer, cabinet secretary. The convener will prevent me from doing that just now, but I will follow up that opportunity.

On the issue of mobile connectivity, there are again challenges for rural areas. In your opening comments, you suggested that the 4G infill programme had connected 22 masts. My understanding is that the intention was to deliver 45 new masts by 2022. Are you still on target for 45 new mast sites by the completion date of 2022?

I was not clear about the figures, cabinet secretary. The Government had quite a specific target of 45 new masts by 2022. Is that still a target, or is there a new target date for all the planned 55 masts?

Is there not an argument that we need something specific for small businesses in our rural areas, because they are not grasping those digital opportunities? That is often because they do not have the skills but also because they are not aware of them. It is not just about bidding for digital boost funding but about bringing those businesses to a point at which they are fully aware of the opportunities that exist. That is a big problem for small businesses in rural areas in particular.

You mentioned that we need providers to use those masts. Are mobile companies stepping up to the market and using those masts, or is it simply the case that we have one provider? Again, that is a challenge for people in rural areas if they do not use that provider. Is there uptake from commercial providers so that several share the masts rather than there being one provider?

I am sure that the committee will pick up that that different remit means that we appear to have a gap in areas that are not covered by South of Scotland Enterprise or Highlands and Islands Enterprise, which have a social remit, because projects in those town centres would not get such support. For example, the Midsteeple Quarter project, which the committee visited, receives support from South of Scotland Enterprise, but if that project was in Ayr, it would not get support from Scottish Enterprise, because it has a very different remit.