Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme: R100

 

Key Facts: Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme

Some important facts about the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBV Scheme) are summarised below. This summary is provided for information only and does not describe all the terms and conditions that will apply to you if you take part in the SBV Scheme, so please take time to read the full set of terms and conditions, which are available here (the T&Cs).

 

What is the SBV Scheme?

The SBV Scheme is part of the Scottish Government’s “Reaching 100%” (R100) Programme. The objective of the R100 Programme is that every home and business in Scotland has access to broadband that provides download speeds of at least 30 Megabits per second (speeds of at least 30 Megabits per second are recognised as Superfast).

Under the SBV Scheme, vouchers are available to eligible homes and businesses to meet certain costs of broadband equipment and its installation to deliver a Superfast broadband connection. Vouchers are paid directly by us to the broadband supplier after the connection has been installed.

 

What can vouchers be used for?

Vouchers can be used to meet certain one-off costs of installing a Superfast connection, as agreed between us and your broadband supplier. Please note that vouchers cannot be used towards the ongoing costs of receiving broadband services or for any other computer or IT equipment.

 

Do I qualify for a voucher?

Vouchers are available to homes and small to medium enterprises (SMEs) anywhere in Scotland that do not have, and are not scheduled to receive, a Superfast connection through a government-funded project or the plans of a commercial supplier.

There are certain other conditions of eligibility, which are set out in the T&Cs. We recommend that you read the T&Cs to check that you meet the eligibility conditions. Please note, for example, that you are not eligible to receive a voucher if:-

  • The installation of the Superfast connection will not at least double your current broadband speed.
  • You do not reside at the relevant premises, or in the case of SME customers, you do not actively trade from the relevant premises.
  • You have applied for or have previously received a voucher under another government-funded scheme (for example, the UK Gigabit Voucher Scheme or Rural Gigabit Voucher Scheme).
  • You are a business customer, but you do not meet the SME definition criteria.

 

How can I apply for a voucher?

You can check whether your home or business premises may be eligible for a voucher on our address checker.

You can find a list of suppliers who have registered for the SBVS scheme here.

If your home or business is eligible for a voucher, you can then contact any supplier on the list of registered suppliers to request that they install a Superfast connection using a voucher. Your selected supplier can then apply to us for a voucher on your behalf.

 

What happens if I am eligible for a voucher?

 If your home or business is eligible for a voucher, your supplier can then go ahead and install the Superfast connection. You will be required to provide certain information to us and to your supplier in connection with the installation as described in the T&Cs.

The installation must be completed within 12 months of us confirming to your supplier that you are eligible for a voucher.

 

What is the value of a voucher?

The value of the voucher will be agreed between us and your supplier and will depend on the supplier’s eligible costs of installing the Superfast connection to your particular home or business.

 If you are a residential customer, the maximum value of a voucher is normally £5,000 (inclusive of VAT).

If you are a SME customer, the maximum value of a voucher is normally £5,000 (exclusive of VAT).

If you are a SME customer, you will be responsible for paying the VAT on your supplier’s installation costs.

Please note that a voucher is not available to residential or SME customers where the eligible costs of installing a Superfast connection to your premises are less than £200.

 

How will a voucher be paid?

Payment of a voucher will be made directly to your supplier, and not to you or your business/organisation. Payment will be made to your supplier after we have checked that a Superfast connection has actually been installed and other relevant conditions of SBV Scheme have been met.

 

What are your responsibilities in relation to the SBV Scheme?

Please refer to the T&Cs for full details of our responsibilities to eligible beneficiaries in connection with the Scheme, and for details of any restrictions on our responsibilities. For example, please note that:-

  • We reserve the right to end the SBV Scheme at any time or to stop issuing vouchers. We may also vary the terms of the SBV Scheme on reasonable notice.
  • We may cancel or withdraw your voucher or reclaim its value in full if you (or your supplier) have provided incomplete, false or misleading information.
  • We do not endorse any particular supplier or product and you should satisfy yourself with the supplier you have selected and suitability of the product before placing an order directly with the supplier of your choice.
  • We are not liable to you for any installation work undertaken by your chosen supplier. SBVS
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 I am an SME business, what does this mean in terms of receiving public subsidy?

As an SME, when you are in receipt of a voucher that is used to pay your SBVS supplier, you have received a public subsidy. This means that you are receiving a ‘Minimum Financial Amount’ under the Subsidy Control Act (2022). This amount is set as no more than £315,000 of public subsidy in the current and previous two financial years. When you confirm acceptance of the Terms and Conditions of the SBVS, you will also need to confirm that the SBVS subsidy of up to £5,000 per premise (so if you are receiving vouchers for 3 premises, the subsidy is up to £15,000) will not take you over the Minimum Financial Amount of £315,000.

 

 How will you process my personal data?

Any personal data provided by you to us in connection with the SBV Scheme will be used in accordance with our privacy statement, which can be found on our Privacy Policy. You should also refer to your selected supplier’s own privacy policies for details of how your supplier will process any personal data that you provide to them.

If you are a SME customer, please also see paragraph 6 of the T&Cs for further details of your and our obligations in relation to data protection.

 

Audit Services

Campbell & Kennedy Maintenance Ltd are the appointed compliance agent for the Auditing of Broadband Installations for the Scottish Government. 

Campbell & Kennedy Maintenance Ltd perform compliance audits to ensure that the Suppliers services to beneficiaries have been delivered in line with the Broadband Installations SBV Scheme for Reaching100% (R100) Programme, terms and conditions.

If your broadband supplier has installed your service under the SBV scheme, then a member of our team may contact you via email or phone, to arrange an audit appointment. Our auditor will inspect the installation of the broadband equipment, measure and record the broadband speeds and provide a report to feedback the standard of the installation to BDUK who are an Executive Agency to the Department of Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and also to the Scottish Government.

 

Email: Operations@ckmaintenance.co.uk

Telephone: 0141 952 1933

Website: https://campbellkennedy.co.uk

For more information please visit: https://www.gov.scot/news/delivering-r100/

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