As of 13 May 2021, 36,064 devices and 32,332 data packages have been provided. All Connecting Scotland customers have access to training and support. Interim results from our follow-up survey indicate that around half of Connecting Scotland customers found this support helpful in improving their digital skills.

In the next phase, Connecting Scotland will provide any or all of device, internet connection and package of support to those who are:

• digitally excluded – do not have an appropriate device and/or are not connected to the internet at home; and
• on low incomes so cannot afford to buy a device or pay for internet access (e.g. claiming or eligible for Universal Credit ); and
• are seeking support for employability (Priority will be given to organisations working with people who are likely to have been affected most by the changes to the labour market over the past year, either due to existing inequalities or redundancy. This includes: Single Parents, Women, Young people, Disabled people, Minority ethnic people, people experiencing other forms of socio-economic disadvantage)

Connecting Scotland will also provide any or all of device, internet connection and package of support to those who are:

• digitally excluded – do not have an appropriate device and/or are not connected to the internet at home; and
• on low incomes so cannot afford to buy a device or pay for internet access; and
• are isolated as a result of the pandemic, particularly single parents, older or disabled people

A total of £48 million has been committed to reach the target of 60,000 households. The proportion allocated to each is:

(a) devices – 36%

(b) data – 54%

(c) training and support – 6%

Phase 3 of Connecting Scotland will launch on Monday 7 June 2021.

The Scottish Government is developing policy to deliver our manifesto commitment to ban the sale of peat related gardening products, and is already working with the horticulture industry to understand the challenges for transition to alternative growing media.

Connecting Scotland is delivered in partnership with the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO). SCVO set up and manage the application, assessment, contracting and distribution of devices. Local authorities assess applications from public and third sector services and organisations, who identify eligible customers and provide frontline Digital Champion support to end users.

A total of £26.6 million has been allocated to Phase 3, with the potential to provide 23,000 devices and data packages. Every Connecting Scotland customer is allocated a Digital Champion and has access to one on one training and support if they want it. So far a total of 2,700 Digital Champions have been trained through the programme. Interim results from our follow-up survey indicate that around half of Connecting Scotland customers found this support helpful in improving their digital skills.

The majority of terrestrial Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) in Scotland are co-designated with and underpinned by Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Where the release of game birds on an SSSI is potentially damaging, it is listed by NatureScot as an operation requiring consent.

In considering any application for such consent, NatureScot must fulfil the requirements of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations with regard to the assessment of the implications of plans or projects for European sites.

NatureScot has advised that to date, two applications for consent to release game birds on an SPA or SAC have been received. The assessments concluded that there would be no adverse effect on the sites’ integrity.

There are offences of intentional or reckless damage to SSSIs, SPAs and SACs. Scottish Ministers can also make Nature Conservation Orders to prohibit the carrying out of operations on or near these sites for the purposes of conserving any natural feature for which such land is designated, or is otherwise considered by the Scottish Ministers to be of special interest.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting children and adults who have hearing loss, sight loss and dual sensory loss to access the health services and social care they need through its National See Hear Strategy .

See Hear provides a strategic framework of action for meeting the needs of people with a sensory impairment and since 2014, the Scottish Government has provided almost £4.5m to establish and support a national network of See Hear Leads and local partnerships between statutory and third sector organisations across every local authority area in Scotland. See Hear partnerships are responsible for identifying local priorities, developing work streams, timescales and implementation plans, based on local priorities and need.

In addition, the Scottish Government provides funding for the Scottish Sensory Hub, based in the ALLIANCE which was launched earlier this year. It hosts the See Hear National Coordinator, along with deafscotland, and the Scottish Council on Visual Impairment (SCOVI). It will facilitate collaboration between the Deaf, Deafened, Hard of Hearing, Deafblind and Sight Loss sectors and develop a rich resource base of expertise, skills and knowledge for people with sensory loss and those who work in this field.

The Scottish Government also continues to fund and support the contactSCOTLAND - BSL online interpreting Video Relay Service, which enables Deaf and Deafblind British Sign Language (BSL) users to telephone, via video relay interpreters, private sector numbers as well as statutory and third sector numbers, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Further, the British Sign Language (BSL): National Plan 2017-2023 sets out in detail the actions the Scottish Government is currently taking, and working towards, to help ensure deaf and deafblind BSL users are fully involved in all aspects of daily and public life. The BSL National Plan can be accessed online here: British Sign Language (BSL): National Plan 2017 to 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

At present there is little evidence to show that gamebirds are causing damage to protected areas in Scotland, however NatureScot will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Gamebird releases within European protected sites are controlled through the Operations Requiring Consent (ORC) list. This means that land managers need to apply to NatureScot for consent to release gamebirds within the boundaries of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), where this may have an impact on the special features of nature conservation interest on the site. If the SSSI overlaps with a Natura site (which can be either a Special Protection Area or a Special Area of Conservation), NatureScot must carry out a Habitats Regulations Appraisal before consent can be given.

NatureScot’s Site Condition Monitoring Programme measures the health of the notified features across all of Scotland’s protected areas, including European sites. The Programme also identifies underlying causes for unfavourable condition of features in order to inform management actions. Gamebirds are mentioned in around 0.2% of these assessments and gamebird releases have not been identified as the cause of any features on protected sites being in unfavourable condition.

In 2021-22, the Scottish poundage is 49.0p with a supplement at the Intermediate Property Rate (IPR) of 1.3p for properties with a rateable value from £51,000 to £95,000; and of 2.6p at the Higher Property Rate (HPR) for properties with a rateable value over £95,000. In England, the equivalent multiplier is 49.9p with a supplement of 1.3p for properties with a rateable value over £51,000. The following table shows the estimated costs of reducing the HPR to 2.2p, thus equalising the total tax rate paid by these properties in Scotland (49p + 2.2p) with the rate they would pay in England (49.9p + 1.3p) had this change been delivered in 2021-22.