What action it is taking to extend access to broadband services for communities.

Last week, I published an update to our broadband strategy, which details all the actions we are taking to increase the availability of broadband throughout Scotland. I also announced a new initiative, worth up to £24 million, aimed at accelerating and extending the reach of broadband across Scotland. Moreover, under the DTI's Broadband Fund, the Executive is taking forward a suite of projects, many of which include trials of innovative ways of delivering broadband to communities. Under the Executive's Pathfinder project, communities in both the pilot areas, the Highlands and Islands and the South of Scotland, will hopefully benefit from the additional telecoms investment that could be stimulated by the aggregation of public sector demand for broadband services. In addition, the Spark project aims to deliver a broadband interconnect to every education authority across Scotland. In the longer term, the project also aims to make its facilities available to community learning and lifelong learning interests.