Scottish Rural Development Programme 2014-2020: ex-post evaluation - main report

21. Focus Area 6C

Introduction

This chapter answers the evaluation question related to FA 6C.

CEQ 18: To what extent have RDP interventions enhanced the accessibility, use and quality of information and communication technologies (ICT) in rural areas?

Public expenditure

One scheme was programmed to contribute to FA 6C – the Broadband Scheme (BS) which sat under via Measure 7 (Basic services and village renewal in rural areas).

The 2023 AIR and previous AIRs note that the BS closed early (see more detail below) and realised expenditure was around €50,000, Table 21.1.

Source: Scottish Government, Annual Implementation Report, 2023.

Performance indicators

A summary of the outcomes achieved under FA 6C is provided in Table 21.2.

Source: Scottish Government, Annual Implementation Report, 2023.

The target indicator under FA 6C relating to the BS is the percentage of the rural population benefiting from new or improved ICT infrastructures and services.

SG originally envisaged that 21,240 of the rural population in Scotland would benefit from new or improved ICT infrastructures and services – this equated to 0.88% of the rural population.

The BS was, however, closed as part of the sixth modification of the Programme. The scheme did not support any projects to the stage where anybody living in the rural population in Scotland benefited in terms of improved ICT services or infrastructure. The target indicator for the BS was subsequently reduced to zero and removed as part of the sixth modification of the Programme.

Rural Scotland is, however, continuing to benefit from new or improved ICT infrastructure and services via the SG R100 Programme.

Wider commentary at a SRDP level

Broadband Scheme

As part of previous enhanced AIR submissions (2016 and 2018), SG highlighted that a key priority was to ensure rural areas in Scotland had robust and improved digital infrastructure and access to faster broadband speed upgrades. This was with a view to plugging connectivity black holes across the country.

At that time, SG also noted that poor levels of ICT infrastructure and services was a well-documented cause of dissatisfaction among rural residents and businesses alike. For example, SG reported that a lack of access to modern ICT infrastructure and fast broadband had a negative impact on:

• levels of business start-up in rural areas.
• business growth, productivity, competitiveness, and internationalisation.
• people’s ability to work from home.
• student learning (and experience).
• rural tourism.
• the overall attractiveness of rural places to live, learn, work, and do business.

Previous AIRs included reference to existing research reports which provided evidence on the importance of digital connectivity to rural areas (see for example, Analysis Mason (2009) 'Telecoms connectivity in the Highlands and Islands.

The original intention of the BS was to make funding available to community groups in rural areas in Scotland to allow them to procure a private sector provider to design, build and operate a broadband network in their area. The Broadband Delivery UK scheme, which is run by the UK Department of Media and Sport (now known as the Department for Culture, Media and Sport) and supported by State Aid, would not recognise a project as valid until the community group had completed the procurement phase.

At the time of the 2016 enhanced AIR, 16 BS projects were in the pipeline - for example, initial assistance had been provided through the scheme to scope demand and to meet the State Aid requirements. Ultimately, the BS worked with five projects to the stage of almost completing the procurement phase at which point information on project costs would have become available.

Four of the five projects supported received funding. This expenditure was used to support community groups to engage professional expertise to help procure suitable broadband. As noted above, this resulted in both committed and realised expenditure of around €50,000.

The enhanced AIR 2018 reported that due to the success of the SG Reaching 100% (R100) programme, the SRDP’s separate BS would not continue. The SG remains committed to enabling access to faster broadband, and is doing this through:

• over £600 million R100 contracts which are expected to be completed in 2028 and is reaching some of the most rural parts of Scotland.
• the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme which provides help in the form of a subsidy worth up to £5,000 if a home or business broadband speed is less than 30Mbps and the property is not in plans to receive a superfast connection through the R100 contracts or commercial build.
• ongoing commercial coverage which includes monitoring the roll-out of commercial broadband build and is a key part of the R100 programme.

Progress with the R100 programme as at July 2024 is illustrated in the infographic below.

Source: Digital Scotland, R100 facts

Infographic text:

• There were over 61,000 connections enabling access to faster broadband thanks to R100. This includes R100 SBVS, contract and additional premises which were not in the contracts but have now been connected as a result of R100 contract build.
• Over 50% of homes and businesses in Central R100 Contract have been connected.
• Premises in all 32 local authority areas have accessed faster broadband through the R100 programme.
• 3,000,000 metres of new cable has been installed so far this year (2024) by Openreach and their R100 sub-contractors.
• Over 4,300 premises have used the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme, with another 800 in the pipeline.
• First procurements associated with the UK Government’s Project Gigabit programme outside of England launched: a local procurement in the Scottish Borders and parts of the East Lothian containing 11,000 eligible premises and a regional procurement in the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee and Moray Coast areas which includes a further 68,000 eligible premises.

Since the enhanced AIR 2018 it is also important to recognise that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical role of digital connectivity in keeping societies and businesses functioning – and as Scotland continues its recovery from the pandemic increased reliance among people and businesses on digital connectivity remains a key feature.

EKOS conclusions and recommendations

While the BS did start to deliver some activity the scheme closed earlier than planned. The SG subsequently decided to meet the ICT needs of people and businesses located in rural areas of Scotland using a different mechanism which is supported using alternative funding sources

The R100 programme is firmly in its implementation stage and progress is monitored and reported on. A watching brief should remain on the overall effectiveness and success of the alternative delivery mechanism chosen by the SG in meeting the needs of rural Scotland.