Hansard

I thank Kenny Gibson for bringing this issue to this less than packed chamber. I have no doubt that many people will be watching the debate from afar and paying close interest to BT’s plans.

Like Kenny Gibson, I have engaged with BT to get some background about its plans and to get a better understanding of why it is doing what it is doing.

It is important that any changes to payphone provision are not to the detriment of community needs, such as access to emergency services, particularly in areas where there is no other means of contacting people, such as those where there is poor mobile coverage.

Kenny Gibson’s motion states a fair point, which is that, although people still use payphones, the adoption of smartphones has dramatically increased in recent years. In the past decade, payphone use has dropped by more than 90 per cent, which is no small figure. In fact, some call boxes are used by fewer than a dozen people a year and, anecdotally, some phone boxes are used by no one at all. However, as is often the case, we do not miss something until it is gone. I have no doubt that usage therefore has an important part to play in the decision-making process.

BT says that, after the removal of 24 payphones in North Ayrshire, there will be 84 remaining in the area, which is slightly more than the figure of 35 that is stated in the motion. Nevertheless, there will still be a loss of payphones in that part of the world. I should declare that I live in North Ayrshire and, on occasion, have been known to use a phone box when my mobile is out of battery or has no coverage. Unfortunately, that still happens too often.

BT has said that it will not remove payphones that have been identified as social need payphones, and it has set some clear criteria for that. Mr Gibson outlined the criteria to do with location and usage. If those criteria are met, a kiosk cannot be removed. I think that that is right. It is also worth pointing out that BT consults local authorities on proposed removals, and if a local authority is against a proposed removal, that will be taken into account. That second level of scrutiny is important as well.

With the adopt a kiosk scheme, I note that what we are really talking about is finding alternative uses for things that have been made redundant. There are not many red phone boxes left, but those that we have are certainly worth preserving. I did a quick internet search to find out some of the uses for adopted kiosks, and I was quite bemused by the images. I encourage members to have a look at what people have done and the sheer ingenuity and creativity that they have shown in adapting old phone boxes, which have been put to an amazing array of uses. In addition to the purposes that have been mentioned, I saw coffee shops, automated coffee vending machines, salad bars, bookshops and people selling a wide range of cottage industry products and services from phone boxes. It is hard to believe how much can be fitted into a phone box.

In essence, I support the motion. We should be careful not to take away vital access to telecommunications points, especially from people in rural communities, but we should also think about the fact that not everyone owns a mobile phone. Mobile phones can be prohibitively expensive for people. We will probably hear about the ambitious plans that the Scottish Government has to ensure that we have full connectivity in Scotland, but even if coverage is available, a mobile phone, like internet access, is still unaffordable to many. The simple phone box is a cheap alternative solution that allows people to make calls, and many people still use and rely on phone boxes for calling people.

Any removals that are done should follow the strict processes that BT has put in place, and any phone boxes that are removed should be ones that have been identified as simply not being used by the public. I encourage people to engage in consultations on the matter. The old adage “use it or lose it” is important, and I encourage people who have a phone box to make use of it; otherwise, it may be too late. I also urge people in Ayrshire to think about the adopt a kiosk scheme and the creative things that they could do with any phone boxes that are decommissioned. I look forward to seeing the results of that.