Committee publication · Scrutiny evidence · 5 January 2026
Note of the Committee’s visit to Skye – December 2025
Summary
On 8 December 2025, the Scottish Affairs Committee visited the Isle of Skye to gather evidence for inquiries into digital connectivity, fixed link connectivity, and Scotland's high streets. The Committee held three roundtable events with Highland Council, local businesses, and community councils. Key concerns identified include poor fibre coverage (13% vs 83% in Scotland), Openreach's inadequate rollout, over-reliance on costly satellite solutions, infrastructure deficits despite high tourist numbers (Skye is Scotland's second most-visited destination), workforce shortages post-EU exit, and fragmented central government funding approaches that disadvantage rural areas.
Key findings
- Digital connectivity on Skye is severely deficient: fibre coverage at only 13% compared to 83% across Scotland and 89% across the UK, forcing businesses and residents to rely on expensive alternatives like Starlink (£250–300 upfront, £75/month) or to fund private superfast broadband at thousands of pounds yearly.
- Openreach is perceived as unresponsive and inadequately resourced, installing fibre lines without sufficient connection boxes; participants argue a Universal Service Obligation should mandate fibre to every household, treating digital connectivity as an essential utility like water or gas.
- The Skye Bridge (opened 1995) has doubled vehicle crossings and enabled massive tourist growth, but infrastructure investment has not kept pace; Portree high street is ranked poorly for pedestrian accessibility and has inadequate parking despite being Scotland's second most-visited destination after Edinburgh.
- Central government policy is urban/central belt-focused and lacks 'rural-proofing'; fragmented small funding streams with competing criteria and short time horizons incentivise siloed working and prevent coordinated placemaking investment.
- Over 250 regional transformation projects worth around £100.4bn (space, wind, aquaculture, Kishorn port expansion) require digital and fixed infrastructure investment to be capitalised on, but workforce, housing, and childcare shortages—exacerbated by post-EU exit labour loss—are major barriers.
Tone
CriticalTopics
Key actors
Scottish Affairs Committee, Patricia Ferguson MP, Highland Council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS), Openreach, West Highland Chamber of Commerce, Shared Rural Network (SRN)
Notable line
“Scottish Affairs Committee 2 achieved. Participants argued that digital connectivity should be considered an essential utility in the same way as water, gas or electricity.”
Key Quotes
“… fibre coverage rates are 13% in Skye, compared to 83% in Scotland and 89% across the UK”
“Openreach "is not interested" in smaller, remote communities”
“… digital connectivity should be considered an essential utility in the same way as water, gas or electricity”
“… businesses now "can't survive" without effective broadband”
“… approximately 80 supermarket food delivery vans reach the island each week”
“… high speed broadband (1G symmetrical to the premises) was needed to meet the needs of working professionals”
“… if subsea cables are cut or damaged, whole parts of the island are cut off”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗