To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will enable broadband technology to be available to the community of Ewes, near Langholm, and, if so, how and when this will be accomplished.

Broadband is available to over 99% of Scottish households. We are now consulting with the public and potential suppliers on options for extending access even further and a budget of £3.5 million is currently available for this. Once this stage is complete, I intend to outline the solutions we propose to adopt.