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The Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) has now extended fibre broadband access to over 943,000 premises – around 103,000 more than originally anticipated. Thanks to our success in encouraging take-up of services on DSSB-funded infrastructure resulting in the release of Gainshare funding totalling £38.7M, DSSB will continue deployment well into 2020.

We are also creating an investment climate in Scotland that supports and accelerates commercial deployment of digital infrastructure. We are providing 10 years of rates relief on newly laid and lit fibre – five years more than the UK Government. Emerging plans from the likes of BT, Virgin Media, Vodafone and CityFibre confirm that our approach is working.

As the UK Government operates already existing voucher schemes, we are working with UK Ministers and officials to join up our respective funding pots and processes to deliver the most streamlined and effective solution to benefit people, businesses and communities. Our approach will aim to make use of a proven application and payments platform, which is used for the existing UK-wide Rural Gigabit Connectivity programme. Through a synchronised delivery, we can provide a single platform where individuals can access all the information and funding they need to secure connectivity, minimising the potential for confusion and duplication.

The Scottish Government’s substantial investment in education has ensured that digital skills are widely embedded in all levels of education, from primary through to post graduate qualifications and apprenticeships. While it is difficult identify how much of this investment is focussed on skills relating specifically to digital connectivity, we do know that 2017-18 this investment generated 10,329 Modern Apprenticeship starts in STEM disciplines; 7,300 STEM qualifiers from Scottish universities and that our schools delivered 194,445 qualifiers in STEM qualifications. In addition to this investment in mainstream education and apprenticeships, we have also invested an additional £25m since 2014 to support businesses and individuals to develop their digital skills, including:

The £1m Digital Start Fund, offering those on low incomes the opportunity to re-train, acquire digital skills and enter high value employment.

• £3m for CodeClan, generating 800 highly skilled graduates for Scotland’s economy.
• £2m on Phase 1 of the Digital Development Loan to help businesses increase their digital skills capacity.
• The £1.6m DigitalBoost programme, which supports businesses to improve productivity by upskilling staff to digitalise their operations.

In 2019, we published Scotland's Future Skills Action Plan, setting out our vision and ambition to help meet Scotland’s future skills needs. Through Phase one we are increasing our investment in workforce development to £20m per annum from
‎ 2020-21, building on the current £10m Flexible Workforce Development Fund.

The Scottish Government is funding £579 million (or 96.5%) of the £600 million committed to the Reaching 100% (R100) programme, which will ensure that every home and business in Scotland can access superfast broadband. The R100 programme has not yet incurred any capital costs. Costs will be claimed retrospectively by BT on achievement of agreed milestones.

 As I announced to Parliament on 9 January, it is expected that the majority of build for both the £83 million Central lot and £133 million South lot will be complete by the end of 2023, with timescales for the North lot (of £384 million in value) dependent on the length and outcome of the current legal proceedings.

As I made clear in my statement and the subsequent responses I gave to Members’ questions, on its own, the main procurement contracts would be insufficient to deliver our commitment of 100% superfast broadband access by the end of 2021. This is why, - we will provide additional support to ensure that everyone can access, as a minimum, superfast broadband services by the end of 2021 if they are either not included in the list of premises specified in the successful bid or, where included on the target list of premises, the R100 roll-out in their area will not reach them in that timescale.

To deliver against this, I confirmed to Parliament that any properties which are not targeted through the contracts, or will benefit through delivery after 2021, will be eligible for our new Scotland-wide, demand-led voucher scheme that will be launched later this year to distribute grants to eligible customers. This new voucher scheme will be funded by the Scottish Government and will be targeted at allowing people and businesses to obtain superfast broadband from other sources and across a range of technologies, thereby ensuring access for all premises within the agreed timescale.

We will meet our commitment to provide superfast broadband access to every home and business in Scotland, as planned, by the end of 2021. This will be delivered through a combination of the Reaching 100 percent programme (R100) contracts, a broadband voucher scheme and commercial rollout.

It is only as a result of this Government’s intervention that Scotland is set to benefit from universal superfast broadband access. Once delivered, the R100 programme will undoubtedly have a positive impact on productivity, tax revenue, and GDP. Of course, the South lot area, including the entirety of the Galloway and West Dumfries constituency, will benefit from the outcome that a full-fibre solution will be delivered to 99% of the remaining 26,000 premises across the South that do not yet receive a superfast broadband service.

Indeed, independent research carried out by Analysys Mason indicates that every public pound invested in fibre broadband through Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) is delivering almost £12 of benefits to the Scottish economy and we fully expect that the Scottish Government’s investment of £133 million in improving the digital connectivity of South Scotland will provide a significant economic boost to the region.

My statement to Parliament on Thursday 9 January set out the details which are currently available for the roll-out of the contracts for lots 2 and 3 of R100.

In the case of the South lot, covering the entirety of Dumfries and Galloway, some 26,000 premises across the local authority areas within the lot area were identified for the contract and I am pleased to say that the successful bid from BT will deliver a fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) solution for 99.2% of those premises, with a residual of in the region of 200 premises requiring an alternative solution through our aligned intervention; delivered through grant funding via a voucher to ensure a service of at least superfast speeds can be accessed.

As I explained in the Chamber, BT is currently updating its own modelling to reflect changes in commercial delivery and ,once this is complete and detailed survey work has been undertaken, I have committed to share specific details of the roll-out plans, down to premises level, and this information will ultimately be made available to the public through a proposed on-line checker.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-26787 on 9 January 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

The Scottish Government is advised on these matters by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI has already evaluated and recommended moving from Zostavax to Shingrix in the current Shingles Vaccination Programme, providing that it could be secured at a cost effective and affordable price. The Scottish Government is working with colleagues in Public Health England (PHE), who procure the vaccine on behalf of the UK Health Departments, to take forward this recommendation. However, PHE have advised the availability of the Shingrix vaccine is expected to delay implementation of the JCVI recommendation, and in the meantime, the vaccine Zostavax will continue to be used for the programme.

The vaccination is not a treatment for shingles, however, protects against the disease.