Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential economic impact of rolling out ultrafast full fibre broadband across Scotland.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Project Gigabit is supporting connectivity improvements across Scotland through contracted delivery. Openreach has been awarded a £157 million contract, and a further £131 million of contracts have been signed since the beginning of 2025, together covering over 70,000 additional Scottish premises. These contracts form part of the UK wide Project Gigabit programme, which is estimated to generate over £14 billion in economic benefits across the UK. The government does not publish disaggregated data on economic impact of Project Gigabit in Devolved Administrations.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when she plans to respond to the correspondence in relation to Digital ID of 6 February, 12 March and 13 April with reference numbers SL03345/dw and MC2025-00011528.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department apologies for the delay in responding on this occasion, which falls below the standards we strive for. I provided a full response on 19th May.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure Scottish families and businesses, including those in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East, are included in reforms to improve ultrafast broadband access proposed in the UK Government’s latest consultation.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The consultation on legislative proposals to address broadband rollout in leasehold flats was published on 15th December and closed on 16th February 2026. The proposals are based on leasehold law and are applicable in England and Wales. Whilst the proposals in the consultation do not extend to Scotland, we continue to engage with the Devolved Nations on issues relating to the deployment of digital infrastructure, including deployments to blocks of flats.
It was confirmed in the King’s Speech on 13 May 2026 that the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill would include provisions to create a new right for leaseholders in flats to request improvements, such as gigabit-capable broadband. We are currently analysing responses to the consultation and are working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the final policy proposals. We will provide an update on the outcome in due course.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has, in collaboration with its counterpart in the Scottish Government, made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to allow broadband providers to access communal areas in multi-dwelling units to upgrade flats and apartments across Scotland.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The consultation on legislative proposals to address broadband rollout in leasehold flats was published on 15th December and closed on 16th February 2026. The proposals are based on leasehold law and are applicable in England and Wales. Whilst the proposals in the consultation do not extend to Scotland, we continue to engage with the Devolved Nations on issues relating to the deployment of digital infrastructure, including deployments to blocks of flats.
It was confirmed in the King’s Speech on 13 May 2026 that the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill would include provisions to create a new right for leaseholders in flats to request improvements, such as gigabit-capable broadband. We are currently analysing responses to the consultation and are working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the final policy proposals. We will provide an update on the outcome in due course.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of whether those living in in leasehold flats and apartments in Scotland will be able to benefit from the improved access to ultrafast broadband proposed in her Department’s recent consultation.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The consultation on legislative proposals to address broadband rollout in leasehold flats was published on 15th December and closed on 16th February 2026. The proposals are based on leasehold law and are applicable in England and Wales. Whilst the proposals in the consultation do not extend to Scotland, we continue to engage with the Devolved Nations on issues relating to the deployment of digital infrastructure, including deployments to blocks of flats.
It was confirmed in the King’s Speech on 13 May 2026 that the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill would include provisions to create a new right for leaseholders in flats to request improvements, such as gigabit-capable broadband. We are currently analysing responses to the consultation and are working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the final policy proposals. We will provide an update on the outcome in due course.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what legislative options her Department is considering to improve broadband builders’ access to upgrade rental flats and apartments.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The consultation on legislative proposals to address broadband rollout in leasehold flats was published on 15th December and closed on 16th February 2026. The proposals are based on leasehold law and are applicable in England and Wales. Whilst the proposals in the consultation do not extend to Scotland, we continue to engage with the Devolved Nations on issues relating to the deployment of digital infrastructure, including deployments to blocks of flats.
It was confirmed in the King’s Speech on 13 May 2026 that the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill would include provisions to create a new right for leaseholders in flats to request improvements, such as gigabit-capable broadband. We are currently analysing responses to the consultation and are working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the final policy proposals. We will provide an update on the outcome in due course.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with the Scottish Government on whether the R100 programme is on track; and when full connectivity is expected to be achieved in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The 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.
The R100 programme is scheduled to complete delivery by 2028. The Scottish Government is responsible for management of the contract including the timescales for delivery in particular locations, including in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to take measures alongside the Scotland Office and his counterparts in the Scottish Government to ensure the R100 programme is carried out in full and on time.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The 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.
The R100 programme is scheduled to complete delivery by 2028. The Scottish Government is responsible for management of the contract including the timescales for delivery in particular locations, including in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether additional funding and staffing has been allocated to regulators and public bodies to implement the strategy to replace animals in science.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has announced £75m of funding to accelerate alternatives and innovation, with new capabilities being developed across the UK. This funding will help bring forward advanced testing methods that can save lives and support a faster, science‑led route to regulation. Discussions are underway with regulators and public bodies to determine how this funding will be allocated to support effective implementation of the Replacing Animals in Science strategy
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2025 to Question 92670, whether a scientifically satisfactory method or testing strategy requires validation.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Where a novel method is devised, it is expected to undergo evaluation in studies that describe its performance in its capacity to predict outcomes of testing of chemicals of a known profile. Such studies will be a forerunner to formal validation of the method which will likely involve comparative testing in many different laboratories, to ensure the method’s performance is robust.
In terms of what constitutes acceptable validation, the OECD also published a guidance document on validation of methods (see https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/guidance-document-on-the-validation-and-international-acceptance-of-new-or-updated-test-methods-for-hazard-assessment_e1f1244b-en.html).
In the strategy, we committed to establishing a UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (UKCVAM).