Responding to the Scottish Government’s Call for Evidence as part of its early engagement on its priorities for planning in Scotland, Mobile UK has set out its view of what policies will help spur on the economic and societal recovery post COVID-19 and beyond.

The Coronavirus has brought about many challenges in the immediate term but the planning framework looks to the long-term. What is clear from the current crisis is that new ways of working and the dependence on connectivity is unlikely to be reversed as we enter a ‘new normal’. For example many employers have welcomed the maintenance of productivity during home-working, and many employees have welcomed the reduction in travel and the extra flexibility that home-working allows, (even roles which rely on large corporate systems -such as some call centre functions). Long-term policy must therefore unavoidably pivot away from our physical infrastructure and towards our digital infrastructure.

Commenting on the Scottish Government’s Call for Evidence, HamishMacLeod, Director at Mobile UK, said:

“A future planning framework must place much more emphasison the promotion of investment in our fixed and mobile digital infrastructure.“

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