STEVENSON HIGHLIGHTS EXTENSION OF BROADBAND SIGN-UP SCHEME

Banff & Buchan MSP Stewart Stevenson is campaigning to highlight an extension to a scheme that helps households and businesses get government help to access Broadband services.

Recognising the importance of access to broadband the Scottish Government launched 'Broadband Reach' last October. The scheme aims to give support to those households and businesses previously unable to access broadband.To benefit from Broadband Reach, households and businesses need to register their interest.

While the initial closing date for registration was 18 January the Scottish Government has continued to accept applications while running a procurement exercise for contractors to deliver the scheme.

Last week (8 May) in the Scottish Parliament, Jim Mather, Minister for Enterprise, Energy, and Tourism, announced that the procurement programme is ending and announced a further extension of the deadline for applications to the end of May.

Commenting on the extension Mr Stevenson said:

"In an increasingly digital age, the term global village is one that has become an apt description of how through internet access and other digital technologies people from other sides of the world can disseminate and communicate information within seconds.

“Having access to Broadband is a critical business tool and vital for households to access a wide range of information and services. Households and businesses in some rural areas have faced great difficulties in accessing broadband, threatening to place them at a disadvantage in the digital age."However through the Broadband Reach programme the Scottish Government is aiming to ensure service for all geographic regions irrespective of local demographics and is to be congratulated on the flexibility they have shown in keeping this scheme open.

“It is only by registering a difficulty in accessing broadband that the Scottish Government can work to alleviating the situation. I would thus urge households and businesses from Banff & Buchan who have difficulty in accessing broadband to register as soon as possible and by the end of May at the very latest.”