That is exactly the point that I hope the debate will highlight. It is definitely the case that looking from the outside in would help island and rural areas.

Energy customers are encouraged to switch to a smart meter, but the barriers to installation that people in rural areas face include a lack of installers, long waiting times and poor communication from suppliers. Those problems are exacerbated by the planned shutdown of the radio teleswitch—RTS—on 30 June 2025. There are hundreds of thousands of households whose meters operate using the signal, but the timeline does not align with the pace of smart meter roll-out. It is unknown what will happen to RTS meters after the shutdown. They might continue to work but not as intended, or they could stop working, resulting in either no heating and hot water or permanent heating, increasing energy bills in areas with the highest fuel poverty rates.

A further barrier is that some rural and island areas have no access to the wide area network that smart meters use. A technology-based solution is being developed, but it is only at the trial phase, so it seems unlikely to be successfully deployed in time for the RTS shutdown.

The Minister for Climate Action wrote in the Shetland News on Tuesday that customers should contact suppliers for “alternative solutions”. People have been doing that for years and getting no answers. One of my constituents first contacted his supplier about a replacement meter more than four years ago and still has not been able to get one. Another constituent had been waiting two years before contacting me more than two years ago. For every person who contacts me about meters, there will be others in the community facing similar problems.

By considering those impacts holistically, we see that people in rural and island areas are facing a digital divide. Depopulation will continue and enterprise growth will continue to suffer if services and infrastructure continue to be worse in those areas than in urban areas. What people in rural and island areas seek is parity and the same opportunities that other communities across Scotland already take for granted. With a bit of political will between our two Governments, that can be achieved in the island and rural areas in Scotland.