To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason Highland and Cairngorms local action groups were unsuccessful in their bid for funding from the Broadband Challenge Fund.

The reasons these bids could not be supported was that the score of the bids against the full criteria used fell below that of the others. In the case of Highland, the bid’s explanation of the impact on jobs, and the area and population covered, was weaker than the highest scoring bids. Other bids also provided technical solutions likely to deliver longer term sustainability.

In the case of Cairngorm the bid did not explain the project delivery or the impact of the technology proposed as clearly as higher scoring bids.

Unfortunately, though both bids were sound, they scored less highly than the successful bids.