Scotland: policy, programmes & councils

Scottish Government: broadband and connectivity

The Scottish Government maintains a dedicated policy area for broadband and connectivity, describing how public investment, commercial build, voucher schemes, and mobile programmes fit together. That hub is the best place to start when you want programme descriptions in the government's own words.

Reaching 100% (R100) and related delivery

Reaching 100% (R100) is the flagship Scottish programme associated with extending access where commercial build has been uneconomic. The programme hub emphasises contracts, voucher support, and collaboration with industry; timelines and premises counts change as build progresses, so we do not freeze figures here—use the R100 data insights page for current metrics.

Digital strategy and public services

Scotland's refreshed Digital Strategy frames how digital tools, data, and public services should develop together—with emphasis on inclusion, skills, and sustainable digital public services. Its 2025–2028 delivery plan is useful when asking how connectivity relates to wider public-service reform, not only to consumer broadband marketing.

Local government: COSLA's Digital Office

Councils deliver many of the services people experience first-hand: libraries, education, housing-related support, and local economic development. The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) hosts a Digital Office that supports collaboration across councils on digital priorities, including inclusion and service design. When you want to understand “what councils are doing together,” that office is a sensible first reference.

UK-wide context (Scotland included)

Some infrastructure funding and regulatory frameworks affecting Scotland originate at UK level—Project Gigabit style procurements and Ofcom reporting on coverage and quality are examples. When a policy question touches reserved matters, we still note it here because households experience outcomes as a single lived reality, even where responsibilities are split.

Local authority action: Glasgow

Reading policy hubs only gets you so far. Here's what "local government acting on this" actually looks like when a council goes further than most.

Glasgow City Council published Scotland's first Digital Housing Strategy 2022–2028 — the only local authority strategy to address both digital housing services and digital exclusion together. Its own evidence base produced a striking finding:

The strategy identifies affordability, lack of digital skills, and reluctance to transact online as the three primary barriers. Crucially, it includes a written safeguard requiring that traditional service methods — face-to-face and telephone — continue alongside digital channels, preventing digital-only design from excluding tenants.

Progress is being reported through annual Local Housing Strategy reviews. A standalone evaluation of the Digital Housing Strategy has not yet been published — which means the accountability picture is still incomplete. The intent is documented; the outcomes are not yet independently verified.

Sources: Glasgow's Digital Housing Strategy — Glasgow City Council · Full strategy document (PDF) · Local Housing Strategy Annual Review 2023–2024 (PDF)

How to use this page as an activist

• Pair official programme links with local stories from your community council, tenants' union, or school parent group.
• Ask candidates and officers how voucher pathways are advertised in libraries, GP surgeries, and housing offices—not only online.
• Request updates in accessible formats for residents who are not confident with PDFs or web forms.

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