Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Scottish Government has ever requested additional funding from them to assist with the delivery of the Reaching 100% programme.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Reaching 100% (R100) programme is funded primarily by the Scottish Government.
In the financial year 2016/2017, the UK Government provided £21 million from the earlier Superfast Broadband Programme to the Scottish Government to support superfast broadband coverage in Scotland. The Scottish Government used this funding to support the R100 procurements.
Following the inception of Project Gigabit in 2021, the UK Government has subsequently provided a further £31 million to support extensions in coverage and to enable delivery of gigabit-capable coverage (>1000Mbps) in place of superfast speeds (>=30Mbps).
This funding has supported the rollout of high-speed broadband to tens of thousands of premises across Scotland.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Scottish Government regarding reported delays to the delivery of the Reaching 100% programme.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
UK Government has maintained regular engagement with the Scottish Government regarding the delivery of its Reaching 100% (R100) programme and continues to work closely with Scottish counterparts to monitor progress and support delivery.
As the contracting authority for R100 and previous superfast broadband contracts in Scotland, the Scottish Government is responsible for administering any penalties for delays under these contracts.
The UK Government has also managed contracts in Scotland under the Local Full Fibre Networks Programme and the Rural Gigabit Connectivity Programme. These contracts were delivered within agreed timescales.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total cost of any penalties issued to Openreach for projects in Scotland in each year since 2016.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
UK Government has maintained regular engagement with the Scottish Government regarding the delivery of its Reaching 100% (R100) programme and continues to work closely with Scottish counterparts to monitor progress and support delivery.
As the contracting authority for R100 and previous superfast broadband contracts in Scotland, the Scottish Government is responsible for administering any penalties for delays under these contracts.
The UK Government has also managed contracts in Scotland under the Local Full Fibre Networks Programme and the Rural Gigabit Connectivity Programme. These contracts were delivered within agreed timescales.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the projected impact of new powers granted to Ofcom under the Online Safety Act 2023 on the level of online abuse against women and girls.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
Under the Online Safety Act, platforms must proactively tackle illegal content, much of which disproportionately affects women and girls.
Services likely to be accessed by children must also protect children from harmful and age-inappropriate content including abuse.
Category 1 services will also need to remove legal misogynistic content, where their terms of service prohibit it.
As of 17 March Ofcom can take robust enforcement action against those failing to comply with their illegal safety duties. The effectiveness of the Act will be kept under review.