- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 April 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has plans to procure pre-exposure prophylactics (PrEP) as a COVID-19 treatment for severely immunocompromised patients, and, if so, when this will take place.
Answer
The Scottish Government will closely monitor the outcome of additional testing being undertaken by the UK Health and Security Agency in order to ensure that any decisions to make Evusheld available to patients in Scotland are based on the best available evidence.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 19 April 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of reported concerns that Confucius Institutes may represent a threat to academic freedoms and freedom of expression.
Answer
We are concerned by suggestions of foreign interference in Scottish universities. Our universities are autonomous institutions and the alliances they forge across global academic networks are a matter for them and their governing bodies.
However, we expect all universities to understand and manage the reputational, ethical and security risks associated with international partnerships. This includes conducting appropriate due diligence before entering into new international partnerships and monitoring existing partnerships. Guidance to support universities has been published by Universities UK.
Academic freedom is of paramount importance in Scotland and we have legislated to expand the statutory definition of academic freedom in the Higher Education Governance Act 2016. We also expect our universities to listen to the campus community when taking decisions affecting the university, its staff and students.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 April 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether the £5,000 main voucher portion of the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme can currently be used to access the Starlink satellite service.
Answer
The terms and conditions of the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (R100 SBVS) require that suppliers meet Ofcom's definition of 'affordable' broadband - set by Ofcom as no more than £46.10 per month, as per the terms and conditions of the UK's broadband Universal Service Obligation. As Starlink's satellite service currently costs £84 per month (set to rise to £94 per month from 9 May 2022), it does not meet this requirement and, therefore, Starlink is unable to register as a supplier for the R100 SBVS.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 April 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme, how many properties (a) are eligible and (b) have applied for the (i) £400 and (ii) £5,000 voucher, all broken down by (A) local authority area and (B) Scottish Parliament constituency.
Answer
The interim voucher portion of the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme is now closed. We do not hold data for Scottish Parliamentary constituencies. However, data on voucher eligibility for all 32 Scottish Local Authorities is provided in the following table:
Local Authority | Properties eligible for the voucher worth up to £5,000 |
Aberdeen City | 2,231 |
Aberdeenshire | 6,437 |
Angus | 1,916 |
Argyll and Bute | 3,897 |
City of Edinburgh | 4,601 |
Clackmannanshire | 317 |
Dumfries and Galloway | 3,616 |
Dundee City | 630 |
East Ayrshire | 1,440 |
East Dunbartonshire | 1,392 |
East Lothian | 1,071 |
East Renfrewshire | 1,197 |
Falkirk | 1,579 |
Fife | 3,801 |
Glasgow City | 11,317 |
Highland | 10,316 |
Inverclyde | 398 |
Midlothian | 1,297 |
Moray | 2,552 |
Na h-Eileanan an Iar | 1,912 |
North Ayrshire | 1,222 |
North Lanarkshire | 1,314 |
Orkney Islands | 2,404 |
Perth and Kinross | 3,890 |
Renfrewshire | 2,017 |
Scottish Borders | 2,304 |
Shetland Islands | 1,850 |
South Ayrshire | 977 |
South Lanarkshire | 2,480 |
Stirling | 1,642 |
West Dunbartonshire | 391 |
West Lothian | 1,447 |
Total | 83,855 |
Data on the number of applications received through the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (as of 1 March 2022) is provided in the following table:
| | Voucher worth up to £400 | Voucher worth up to £5,000 |
Local Authority | Vouchers Requested | Vouchers Issued | Vouchers Installed | Vouchers Requested | Vouchers Issued | Vouchers Installed |
Aberdeen City | | | 1 | | 8 | 13 |
Aberdeenshire | 3 | 41 | 75 | 12 | 175 | 271 |
Angus | 4 | 1 | 8 | | 103 | 39 |
Argyll & Bute | | 8 | 13 | | 24 | 37 |
City of Edinburgh | | | | | 14 | 12 |
Clackmannanshire | 1 | 1 | 7 | | 1 | 5 |
Dumfries & Galloway | | 7 | 110 | | 28 | 23 |
Dundee City | | | | | 17 | 1 |
East Ayrshire | | 1 | 16 | | 6 | 7 |
East Dunbartonshire | | | | | 2 | 1 |
East Lothian | | | 3 | | 15 | 7 |
East Renfrewshire | 1 | | 5 | | 4 | 4 |
Falkirk | | 1 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 2 |
Fife | | 1 | 10 | 1 | 16 | 21 |
Glasgow City | | | | | 9 | 9 |
Highland | 1 | 7 | 45 | 1 | 161 | 196 |
Inverclyde | | | 1 | | | 1 |
Midlothian | | | 11 | | 15 | 6 |
Moray | 1 | 5 | 27 | 1 | 75 | 75 |
Na h-Eileanan an Iar | | | | | | |
North Ayrshire | | | 10 | | 1 | 16 |
North Lanarkshire | | 1 | 7 | | 18 | 11 |
Orkney Islands | | | | 5 | 60 | 9 |
Perth & Kinross | 1 | 17 | 78 | 1 | 37 | 45 |
Renfrewshire | | | 7 | | 11 | 4 |
Scottish Borders | 2 | 14 | 154 | | 31 | 57 |
Shetland Islands | | | | | | |
South Ayrshire | | | 2 | | 1 | 11 |
South Lanarkshire | 1 | 3 | 39 | | 6 | 21 |
Stirling | | 5 | 104 | 7 | 17 | 24 |
West Dunbartonshire | | | 2 | | | |
West Lothian | | | 1 | | | 2 |
Total | 15 | 113 | 740 | 30 | 865 | 930 |
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 April 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has done of any satellite services that can be procured for the purpose of providing broadband to properties that will not be served by the R100 programme and will be able to be purchased with a £5,000 main voucher under the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme.
Answer
Two suppliers of geostationary satellite services are registered to the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme.
Konnect offer commercial services for the central and eastern belt of Scotland (including Orkney and Shetland) and Bentley Walker (under the brand name 'freedomsat') is also registered as a supplier, offering nationwide coverage.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 April 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the Starlink satellite service as a means of providing superfast broadband to hard-to-reach properties across Scotland.
Answer
Officials advise that Starlink's base level satellite internet service offers speeds of between 50Mbps and 150Mbps, but that Starlink's beta commercial service is currently only available at a latitude below 55 degrees. This means it is unavailable to the vast majority of premises in Scotland at this time.
Starlink has indicated that they have plans to make their service available above 55 degrees latitude in financial year 2022-23 – however, there is no firm date for further availability of the service.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 19 April 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any Chinese state influence or interference in universities in Scotland.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07562 on 19 April 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 19 April 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of any reported allegations that the Chinese Communist Party, through student groups on university campuses in Scotland, is seeking to deter certain events from taking place, and, if so, what action has been taken to address this.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07562 on 19 April 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 April 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will extend the deadline for applications for the interim voucher portion of the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme for people who are experiencing delays under the R100 programme.
Answer
As of 31 March 2022, the interim voucher portion of the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme is now closed. The main voucher worth up to £5,000 remains open for those who are not planned to benefit from build through R100 contracts or commercial coverage.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 April 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-07084 by Kate Forbes on 17 March 2022, how many requests for vouchers through the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme have been declined in each local authority area, also broken down by (a) interim and (b) main voucher scheme.
Answer
No requests for a voucher through the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) for eligible premises have been declined.