The Scottish government has set up an independent panel to conduct what it described as a "game-changing" review of Scotland's planning system.

Its role is to bring together ideas for "a quicker, more accessible and efficient" planning process.
The panel includes representatives of Planning Aid Scotland and the Scottish Property Federation.
It will examine issues such as development planning, housing delivery and community engagement.
It will be led by Crawford Beveridge, who chairs the Scottish government's Council of Economic Advisers.
The move was welcomed by local authority body Cosla but the Royal Town Planning Institute Scotland expressed disappointment that there was no chartered planner on the panel.
The current planning process has come in for criticism from Scottish housebuilders and developers over the amount of time taken by councils to reach planning decisions.
Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil said the panel members would be able to provide "an objective and strategic perspective".
He said: "There has already been significant planning performance improvement as a result of previous modernisation, but I believe that more can be done by all stakeholders so planning plays a more positive and effective role in creating high quality places for current and future generations, while respecting local democracy.
"As set out in the Programme for Government, published earlier this month, this review will look at wide-ranging issues affecting the planning system, including how planning is resourced and how we can streamline and improve our system in Scotland.
"It will aim to increase delivery of high quality housing developments, by delivering a quicker, more accessible and efficient process, and it will reinforce our commitment to a fair and open planning system that works for everyone, especially local communities."
The panel is due to report its findings in the spring.
Stephen Hagan, planning spokesman for local authority body Cosla, said: "Last month I had a lively and highly constructive debate on planning modernisation with council leaders.
"The issues covered included the need to strengthen local democracy through the planning system, the need to integrate and not centralise the local planning process and the cost of resourcing the planning system locally.
"Leaders agreed there is a lot that needs to change in policy, practice and perception terms with planning locally."
He added: "Cosla therefore welcome the proposal by the cabinet secretary for a further consultation on the modernisation of planning legislation and regulation by an independent panel and will play a full and constructive part in the review."
Pam Ewen, Scotland Convener for the Royal Town Planning Institute said: "While the members of the panel bring a lot of expertise, I am astonished and very disappointed that there is not a planner on the panel with recent practical experience of the planning system.
"The success of the review will depend upon knowledge and expertise of how the planning system works from the inside as well as the outside."


The SNP's attempt to be made the official opposition at Westminster has been rejected by the Speaker of the House of Commons.

The Scottish National Party had argued that its Commons leader enjoyed the support of more MPs than Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
There are currently 54 SNP MPs but only 40 of Labour's 229 MPs expressed support for Mr Corbyn on Tuesday.
Speaker John Bercow said he had sought expert advice.
He said Labour "currently constitutes" the official opposition and its leader is recognised by the Speaker "for statutory and parliamentary purposes" as the leader of the opposition.
Mr Bercow was replying to a point of order raised by SNP MP Pete Wishart, who told the Speaker that Labour had lost two-thirds of its shadow cabinet and its leader no longer commanded the majority of his backbench MPs.
The SNP MP said: "It can now longer provide shadows for large departments of State. It is in clearly in no shape to assume power and meet these key responsibilities and obligations as outlined in Erskine May (the parliamentary rulebook)."
The SNP said it would be able to fill all of the relevant shadow posts to the government.
Mr Corbyn has still not appointed a shadow Scottish secretary.
The previous incumbent, Ian Murray, has not been replaced after becoming one of more than 20 members of Labour's shadow cabinet to quit earlier this week in an effort to force Mr Corbyn to resign.
Mr Corbyn subsequently lost a vote of no confidence by 172 votes to 40 but said the ballot had "no constitutional legitimacy" and that he would not "betray" the members who voted for him by resigning.
His allies have challenged Mr Corbyn's critics to trigger a formal leadership contest if they want to replace him.
Earlier, Labour's shadow chancellor John McDonnell - who has remained loyal to Mr Corbyn - said the SNP would "always play a few stunts and you can't blame them for that".
The SNP won 56 seats at last May's election, but Michelle Thomson and Natalie McGarry have since withdrawn from the party whip amid police investigations.


The music video for South Korean singer Psy's Gangnam Style exceeded YouTube's view limit, prompting the site to upgrade its counter.

YouTube said the video - its most watched ever - has been viewed more than 2,147,483,647 times.
It has now changed the maximum view limit to 9,223,372,036,854,775,808, or more than nine quintillion.
Gangnam Style became a worldwide hit when it was released in 2012, largely due to the surreal video.
How do you say 9,223,372,036,854,775,808?
Nine quintillion, two hundred and twenty-three quadrillion, three hundred and seventy-two trillion, thirty-six billion, eight hundred and fifty-four million, seven hundred and seventy-five thousand, eight hundred and eight.
Why was Psy nearly too much for YouTube?
YouTube's counter previously used a 32-bit integer, which is a unit used to represent data in computer architecture. This means the maximum possible views it could count was 2,147,483,647.
On 1 December, it  posted a statement saying: "We never thought a video would be watched in numbers greater than a 32-bit integer... but that was before we met Psy."
Google, which owns YouTube, later told website The Verge that engineers "saw this coming a couple months ago and updated our systems to prepare for it".
YouTube now uses a 64-bit integer for its video counter, which means videos have a maximum viewer count of 9.22 quintillion.
Psy has yet to comment although news of YouTube's change was posted on his Facebook and Twitter pages.
The second most-watched video on YouTube - Baby by Justin Bieber - lags behind Gangnam Style by more than a billion views.


Journalists at Fairfax Media, one of Australia's largest publishers, have gone on strike after the company announced plans to cut 120 jobs.

Staff were informed of the proposed redundancies and reduced editorial budgets via email on Thursday.
The cuts are expected to affect journalists at the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Australian Financial Review.
The media union described the cuts as "savage" and a "body blow".
"It's the staff on the newsroom floor who have driven the transition to digital and through all the challenges continued to produce high quality independent journalism. And this is the reward... We will be fighting for every job," said Paul Murphy, chief executive of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance.
Staff took to social media to express their disappointment, saying they wouldn't return to the office until Monday.
"No auction results, no Grand Prix coverage nothing until Monday," Fairfax digital editor Saint Bhakthi tweeted.
The email from Fairfax editorial director Sean Aylmer said the decision to cut jobs was based on "our understanding of our audience".
"Change is a permanent part of our industry. It is a reflection of what we know about the ways our readers are consuming our stories. We must continue to evolve with them," Mr Aylmer said.
Australia's media sector is grappling with falling print advertising revenues.
Fairfax's Sydney Morning Herald is one of the country's most-visited news websites, but competition in the digital news space is fierce.
The Huffington Post, The Guardian and the Daily Mail have all created large Australian newsrooms to compete with Fairfax and News Corp Australia titles.


A campaign set up by children's author Patrick Ness to raise funds for Syrian refugees has raised more than £150,000 in 24 hours.

Ness offered to match the first £10,000 in donations, an offer that was itself matched by fellow authors John Green, Derek Landy and Jojo Moyes.
Other writers rallied to the cause, exhorting their readers to donate.
"What started out as a small thing has exploded," wrote Ness on Friday on his official fundraising page.
With gift aid and other pledges included, the award-winning author has estimated that nearly £200,000 had been raised for the Save the Children charity.
In his initial post, Ness - whose works include A Monster Calls and the Chaos Walking trilogy - said he was "tired of just tweeting [his] despair about the current refugee crisis".
Initially hoping to raise £20,000, he said he had been "astonished at how people have responded".
"I think, by pure accident, I happened to express my frustration at the right moment," the author told The Bookseller.
Calls for the UK to take in more refugees have intensified after the publication of a picture of the body of a drowned three-year-old Syrian boy, Alan Kurdi, washed up a Turkish beach.
Prime Minister David Cameron is expected to announce plans later to increase the number of refugees being allowed into the UK.


Sherrie Hewson has bid an emotional farewell to Loose Women after 14 years on the panel.

During her final appearance on the show on Monday afternoon, she thanked viewers and her fellow panellists for their support over the years.
Hewson said: "Thank you to everybody out there who has cared about me and my family, and watched them grow up.
"It has been fantastic. Thank you so much for everything, every tweet, every message you have sent me."
Hewson received a collage of some of her most memorable moments on the show and one of her co-stars, Coleen Nolan, sang her a song in tribute.
She thanked her fellow panellists for being there for her during "those very bad times" over the years.
"I love them all, they've been so good and wonderful," she added.
Hewson was also surprised by appearances from her Benidorm co-star Jake Canuso and former Coronation Street co-star Kevin Kennedy.
This Morning presenters Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes also paid tribute to Hewson in pre-recorded messages.
Hewson announced in August that she would be stepping down from her role as a Loose Woman, stating that the programme was "in my DNA".
Follow us on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, on Instagram, or if you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.


Super League's longest-serving match official Richard Silverwood has called time on his refereeing career.

He was suspended by the Rugby Football League in June pending an investigation and has not taken charge of a game since Magic Weekend in May.
It was his third suspension, having been stopped from officiating in 2009, and again in 2011.
The 40-year-old refereed more than 400 Super League games and the 2013 World Cup final during his 15-year career.
RFL chief operating officer Ralph Rimmer said: "We would like to thank Richard for his contribution as a referee at the sports highest level over the past decade and a half."
Silverwood added: "I have had an outstanding career as a referee. I have no regrets but I am now looking to the next chapter of my career."
Silverwood became Super League's youngest official when he took charge of his first game, between Salford and Halifax, in 2001 at the age of 24.
He was suspended in 2009 following an alleged leak of confidential information to a trade union, while his 2011 disciplinary procedure resulted from an "off-field incident" during a game between Huddersfield and Leeds.


Double Olympic champion Usain Bolt has confirmed he will run in the London Anniversary Games 200m on 22 July.

The 29-year-old Jamaican, who holds the world 200m record with 19.19 seconds, will line up against Britain's European 200m champion Adam Gemili.
Britain's Zharnel Hughes, fifth in last year's World Championship 200m, also runs in the event, which serves as the London leg of the Diamond League.
Bolt holds the London Grand Prix record (19.76), set at Crystal Palace in 2008.
Find out about how to get into running with our special guide.
Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, 22, the second fastest Briton of all time with a personal best of 19.95, is also expected to compete.
It will be Bolt's eighth appearance at the London leg - he first appeared in the former Golden League in 2005, aged 18.
He has twice competed in the 100m under the floodlights on the Friday night of the London Anniversary Games, winning in both 2013 and 2015 with times of 9.85 and 9.87 respectively.
Bolt said: "The London Anniversary Games will be one of my last races before Rio and running in the 200m will hopefully set me up for a successful Olympic Games."
You can watch live coverage of the Anniversary Games on BBC Two, the BBC Sport website and app.


"Overwhelming, suffocating and a rollercoaster of emotions."

Those are some of the words Felicity McKee from Armagh uses to describe living with a personality disorder.
The 25-year-old social anthropology student at Queen's University received the dual diagnosis of an eating disorder and what is known as Borderline Personality Disorder five years ago.
She says that, while eating disorders are becoming better understood by the public and professionals, the stigma surrounding personality disorders remains a major issue.
Generally, people are given a diagnosis of a personality disorder if an enduring pattern of their inner experience and behaviour causes regular and long term problems in the way they cope with life, interact with others and respond emotionally.
While figures on how many people have a personality disorder are hard to obtain, a UK-wide psychiatric morbidity survey from 2000 estimated it affected 4.4% of the population - or one in 25.
Symptoms can include self harm, depression, eating disorders or other mental health disorders. It can have a profound impact on the sufferer, their family and community.
Borderline Personality Disorder is defined in a particular way - there are nine key symptoms and five are needed to make a diagnosis.
Felicity says on bad days she can feel "completely overwhelmed".
"I become a blubbering mess and I am difficult to rationalize with, even though logically I can see something is very, very tiny," she admits.
"It's like suffocating. You are asphyxiating basically on the emotions, choking on them, though you can't find the words for them. It's just so unbelievably difficult."
She says that, as a condition, it is badly misunderstood and there is a real fear of judgement.
"Few people feel like they are able to speak up about it, because there is such stigma associated with it and most of those, if not all of the stereotypes and stigma, are untrue.
"That prevents people from accessing treatment and feeling worthy of accessing treatment, for fear of what the reaction will be," she said.
Felicity's poor health means she spends a lot of time in hospital.
In fact this year she has been admitted 18 times for her eating disorder and, once, as a result of her border personality diagnosis.
According to Felicity it is important that as a result of her dual diagnosis medical teams communicate with each other.
Siobhan O'Neill, a professor of mental health sciences at Ulster University, says the stigma remains a problem.
"More and more people will disclose aspects of other mental illnesses, but not with personality disorders.
"This may be because of the definition - that it is fixed and deterministic.
"In fact, that's not the case and people with it can function at a very high level. But stigma remains around the word. The sense that there is something fundamentally wrong with the person's personality."
Felicity feels that her dual diagnosis, in itself, can be a problem and that she can fall between services.
She says more joined-up services are needed.
"I would like recognition of the fact that, while the eating disorder is there, it is also linked into the fact I have Borderline Personality Disorder," she said.


Motherwell are awaiting an explanation from the Scottish FA's head of referees about recent decisions that have gone against the club, says James McFadden.

Manager Mark McGhee was "horrified" to be sent to the stand during the 7-2 defeat by Aberdeen at Pittodrie.
And assistant boss McFadden said McGhee wanted to know why the fourth official John McKendrick dismissed him.
"I think he took offence to being told he was being sent off and not being given a reason," said McFadden.
McGhee was ordered off by referee Alan Muir after clashing with McKendrick during Wednesday's loss.
Speaking afterwards, McGhee said he was "absolutely disgusted and horrified by the attitude of the fourth official" and wanted clarity.
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Asked if he would be speaking to the SFA's head of referees, John Fleming, McGhee said: "John Fleming? I'll be speaking to a lawyer. I can only think there is an agenda."
Speaking on Friday, McFadden described McGhee as "a grown man and vastly experienced".
"And I think, when you feel as though there's something that's gone against you, you're not going to be happy about it," added McFadden.
"As far as I was concerned, there was no issue in terms of the manager being sent off. I don't know why he was sent off and we [Motherwell] weren't told why he was sent off."
McGhee, who has already been in trouble with the SFA this season, is facing potential further sanctions.
He has already served a two-match touchline ban, with one match suspended, after being found guilty of abusing a steward and officials during a match against Dundee this season.
The SFA's compliance officer will now look at his latest incident and another ban is likely to follow, but McFadden insists the club just want consistency.
"We are still waiting to speak to the head of referees about some of the recent red cards we have received," he said.
"We have initiated that and just want to iron out some of the issues that seem cloudy and hopefully take it from there."


High-flying Connacht recorded a 33-19 victory over Treviso in Galway on Friday night to go top of the Pro12.

Robbie Henshaw, Tom McCartney and Matt Healy scored second-half tries as Connacht won a fifth straight league game for the first time since 2002.
Three Craig Ronaldson penalties helped the home side lead 9-5 at the break with Jayden Hayward scoring the first of two tries for the visitors.
As Connacht chased a bonus point, Edoardo Gori scored a late Treviso try.
Two Ronaldson penalties put Connacht 6-0 ahead after 20 minutes but Treviso hit back with Hayward sprinting clear for the opening try after 26 minutes.
Ronaldson's third penalty gave Connacht a four-point interval lead before Henshaw, playing at full-back in his first Connacht appearance since the World Cup, went over in the corner two minutes after the restart.
Hayward scored a second Treviso try soon after but replacement hooker Tom McCartney rumbled over after a good Connacht line-out in the 51st minute.
Healy grabbed a third try with five minutes remaining and though Connacht chased a fourth-try bonus point in the closing minutes, they lost possession and Italy scrum-half Gori grabbed a consolation try for the visitors.
Connacht: Robbie Henshaw, Tiernan O'Halloran, Bundee Aki, Craig Ronaldson, Matt Healy, Jack Carty, John Cooney, Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Nathan White, Ultan Dillane, Andrew Browne, John Muldoon (capt), Nepia Fox-Matamua, Eoin McKeon.
Replacements: Tom McCartney, Finlay Bealham, 18. Rodney Ah You, Aly Muldowney, Eoghan Masterson, Kieran Marmion, AJ MacGinty, Darragh Leader.
Benetton Treviso: Jayden Hayward, Andrea Pratichetti, Tommaso Iannone, Enrico Bacchin, Simone Ragusi, Luke McLean, Alberto Lucchese, Braam Steyn, Alessandro Zanni (capt), Marco Barbini, Jeff Montauriol, Filo Paulo, Rupert Harden, Luca Bigi, Matteo Zanusso.
Replacements: Davide Giazzon, Matteo Muccignat, Simone Ferrari, Dean Budd, Marco Lazzaroni, Andrea De Marchi, Edoardo Gori, Sam Christie.
Referee: Ian Davies (WRU).


Questions remain about Liverpool's performances against lesser teams despite Sunday's win over Burnley, but I could tell from talking to Jurgen Klopp how important the result was to him.

I was at Anfield for Match of the Day 2 and the Reds manager came to speak to us on the show after the game.
He called it an "ugly win". He was exactly right and he was also correct that it was a very good sign.
I could tell from Klopp's entire demeanour that he saw it as a massive result in his side's season, and it was fascinating to talk to him about how he thought his side played.
When he answers your questions, he gives you everything. He kind of looks at you as if to say 'well you have watched the game anyway, so I am not going to come out with any rubbish'.
I think that is why football fans like to listen to him - I do. He does not just talk openly, he is convincing when he explains things too.
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I said before Sunday's game that I thought it held huge significance for Liverpool's bid to finish in the top four, even more so than last week's win over Arsenal.
Klopp's side started 2017 so badly and suffered some poor defeats against teams from the bottom half of the table. It was vital that did not happen again.
Going back further, we saw in August when the Reds lost at Turf Moor how they struggle to break down teams even when they dominate possession.
I was expecting this game to follow a similar pattern, but Burnley did far more than just defend in numbers.
This game was completely different to what happened at Turf Moor because this time Burnley caused Liverpool lots of problems too, especially in the first half and not just on the break.
When the Clarets were on the ball they looked more dangerous and that was in terms of territory, because they saw more of the ball than Liverpool in the right areas.
It looked like they targeted the little corridor between Liverpool's left-sided centre-half Ragnar Klavan and their left-back James Milner, and it seriously worked.
It unhinged Liverpool for the first 20 to 25 minutes and, even after that, the Reds did not impose themselves on the game or get their short passing going.
Burnley were playing with two centre-forwards to stop Liverpool building from the back. It meant they were playing more long balls instead, and Michael Keane and Ben Mee can deal with those all day.
The home crowd were getting frustrated because Burnley's gameplan was working. When Georginio Wijnaldum equalised in first-half injury-time, it was with Liverpool's first shot on target.
There was no dramatic difference in Liverpool's play in the second half either - yes, they were better, but that wasn't difficult.
Any improvement was minimal - they just found a way to pinch the win despite a poor performance. They had to, really.
Divock Origi started up front, which is his best position, but he had a bad day and Klopp did not have many attacking alternatives on the bench - just youngsters in Ben Woodburn and Harry Wilson.
Klopp gets criticised for not having a 'Plan B' but part of that is down to a lack of options. At 1-1 he brought on Woodburn for Philippe Coutinho, which shows he is not afraid to change things if they are not working.
Coutinho is Liverpool's best player when he is on form but he was another one having an off day so Klopp gave a kid a chance.
That shows how limited Liverpool's squad is, when you compare it to the rest of the top six. On Wednesday night, for example, Manchester City brought on David Silva in the second half to try to change the game in their draw against Stoke.
Yes, Emre Can scored from long range seconds after Woodburn came on but that does not hide the fact that the Liverpool bench on Sunday was short of the experience they need.
Beforehand I saw this game as the launchpad for the rest of Liverpool's season. The result still means it might be.
That is the big positive, but the worry would be that they have still not shown that they are capable of rolling any of the lower teams over.
Their next game, away at Manchester City next Sunday, is obviously important as well.
But it is against another top team, and we know what they are like against those sides - they have not lost against anyone else in the top six all season.
Mark Lawrenson was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.


A retired teacher accused of sex offences against three girls in the 1970s and 80s has gone on trial.

Christopher Metcalfe, 70, from Blidworth, Nottinghamshire, was a rural studies teacher at a former children's home at Skegby Hall, near Mansfield.
Derby Crown Court was told he raped a girl aged 15 or 16 in his front room at his home in Kirkby-in-Ashfield.
Mr Metcalfe denies five separate sex offences. The trial is expected to last two weeks.
The jury was told as a newly qualified teacher in the late 1970s, he sexually touched a nine-year-old girl during "story-time" and again after a swimming lesson.
She said it felt "painful" and "uncomfortable".
Mr Metcalfe is also charged with indecently assaulting another girl at around the same time, when she was aged nine or 10.
The third girl, who was in care at Skegby Hall in the 1980s, said after he raped her in his front room he said he would "get her" if she told anyone.
Prosecuting, Sarah Knight said: "Christopher Metcalfe took advantage of his position of trust and authority.
"The women hadn't colluded, they don't know each other, and their complaints are quite separate."
She described them as "courageous".
The trial continues.


Ex-Rangers boss Mark Warburton says things "won't happen overnight" as the club look to narrow the gap on Celtic.

The Ibrox club are 35 points adrift of the already-crowned Scottish champions and 12 points behind second-placed Aberdeen with seven games left.
Warburton left Ibrox in controversial circumstances on 10 February, with Pedro Caixinha taking over on 11 March.
"You have to have strong foundations. There is no quick fix," Warburton told BBC Sport.
"You can't go and buy a £10m striker and hope it works. You have to recognise there is a job at hand and it won't happen overnight."
Warburton was appointed manager of English Championship side Nottingham Forest last month, with his former Rangers assistant David Weir alongside him and the Glasgow's club's former head of recruitment, Frank McParland, installed as Forest's director of football.
Rangers announced late on Friday, 10 February, that they had accepted the trio's resignations, with Warburton later releasing a statement via the League Managers Association (LMA) saying "that at no stage did we resign from our positions at Rangers".
The 54-year-old Londoner refused to elaborate on the manner of his departure, with Rangers chairman Dave King saying the trio had come to an agreement to leave via their joint representative.
"These things happen but it is part and parcel of life I guess - it is never boring in football, is it?" Warburton said.
"The fact is we have kept our counsel. What happened, happened on that evening. The LMA produced a statement on our behalf which was hopefully well received, and we have kept our counsel ever since.
"I think the wise thing to do now is maintain counsel, maintain exactly the same stance. There is a legal process under way.  We will just keep quiet and see how it develops."
Warburton stressed he had learned "many good things, some different things" from his 20 months as Rangers manager, which he regards as a "tremendous honour" and a "great experience".
"I will never be derogatory about Rangers Football Club, far from it," he added.  "We had the promotion [from the Championship], which was non-negotiable, to use the club's term.
"We had the Petrofac Training Cup [Scottish Challenge Cup] success at Hampden; we had the Scottish Cup final [a 3-2 defeat by Hibernian].
"It always hurts to lose a cup final but it was a great occasion and we had some good successes along the way - the semi-final against Celtic [won on penalties] will always go down in the memory.
"When we left, I think we were one point off second place, and second for the bulk of it, and in good shape.  So I think we have to say from our perspective, it was a successful time.  We enjoyed it and we just wish the club well going forward.
"The rivalry is intense up there. You have a band of Rangers fans who have been brought up on domestic and European success.
"Quite understandably the expectation is so high at such a fantastic club, but you have to be realistic. Celtic have had Champions League football for the past few years, they have built the club, they have a sound financial base and it will take time."
You can watch the interview with Mark Warburton on Football Focus on BBC One, Saturday 8 April at midday.


Do you know your Triassic from your Jurassic and your Triceratops from your Tyrannosaurus?

Take our quiz to find out how heavily you can dino-score.


More than half of councils in England are unsure if their areas will have enough capacity to increase working families' free childcare, a study says.

From September, three- and four-year-olds in England will be entitled to 30 free hours of care per week in term time - up from the current 15 hours.
But a poll of local authorities by the Family and Childcare Trust found uncertainty about impact of the policy.
There were concerns the change may lead to higher fees for additional care.
The survey was sent to all 152 local authorities in England, and 112 of them responded.
Of the 112, over half (54%)  said they did not know if they would have enough childcare available for eligible pre-schoolers  using the 30 hours.
A third (33%) said that there would be sufficient places, while a further 13% said there would not be enough.
More than two-thirds (67%) said they thought some childcare providers in their area would not offer the entitlement to 30 free hours of care.
The poll also asked if councils thought the new policy would lead to a reduction of quality in early years education.
Two-thirds (66%) reported that it would make no difference, 32% were unsure and 2% felt quality would be affected.
The survey also addressed the issue of cost and whether the new entitlement would lead to increased costs outside of the free hours available.
More than half (56%) did not know if there would be increased costs for three- and four-year-olds, while 63% were unsure if it would lead to higher costs for children aged two and under.
More than a third (37%) said it would increase costs for three- and four-year-olds, and 23% said it would do so for younger children.
The report says: "There was a lack of certainty about the availability of the 30-hour offer for eligible families.
"A clear majority of local authorities expect some settings not to offer the 30 hour entitlement - presumably because it would not make financial sense for them to do so.
"Until the policy has been introduced in full, it is difficult to predict how many settings this will apply to: it is likely that the pattern will vary in different parts of the country based on the comparative price paid for funded and non-funded places, and settings' ability to attract parents without offering the free entitlement.
"Despite this uncertainty, the majority of respondents believe that the 30 hour entitlement will enable more families to access childcare which meets their needs."
The report comes days after a study by the Institute of Economic Affairs recommended the 30-hour entitlement be scrapped in favour of a scheme for disadvantaged children.
Ellen Broome, deputy chief executive of the trust, said: "While working parents are pleased to receive more hours of free childcare, they are not willing to cut corners on childcare quality.
"As this policy rolls out, the government must make sure that all families are able to access the high quality, affordable childcare that they need."
A Department for Education spokeswoman said helping families with high quality, affordable childcare was at the heart of the government's agenda.
"A number of areas are already delivering our 30-hour childcare offer, which almost 5,000 parents are benefiting from, and just recently we announced Â£50m to create nearly 9,000 new places.
"When the scheme is rolled out nationally, around 390,000 working families will be eligible, and, in many cases, these children are already in existing childcare places, which they will simply get for free when our offer goes live from September."
Cllr Richard Watts, chair of the Local Government Association's Children and Young People Board, said councils were concerned that the government's proposed increase in funding would not be enough to secure provision for everyone who wanted it.
"Government must use the learning from local areas that have been piloting the offer to ensure that there is no reduction in the quality of early education and care provided.
"When the offer is rolled out across the country, councils will need to have both adequate funding and sufficient local flexibility to work with their providers to ensure that all families have access to high quality care that meets their needs."
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Manchester United target Zlatan Ibrahimovic has ruled out a return to Malmo, insisting he is too good to play league football in Sweden.

The 34-year-old Sweden striker, a free agent after his Paris St-Germain contract expired, has been linked with United and a move to China.
He told the media on Wednesday he would reveal his next club once he got "tired" of reading all the speculation.
Ibrahimovic played for Malmo, his first club, from 1996 to 2004.
He went on to play for Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona and AC Milan before joining PSG in 2012.
Responding to the transfer rumours, Ibrahimovic told reporters: "I want you to still write a lot of stories, so I get excited when I see them, because I want to see who is making up the best story.
"When I'm tired of it, I'll let you know where I will go."
Ibrahimovic is currently with the Sweden squad for Euro 2016, which is being held in France and starts on 10 June.


Kent chief executive Jamie Clifford says they "will not struggle" to find a new head coach to replace Jimmy Adams.

Former West Indies captain Adams, 48, left the Canterbury club this week after spending five years in charge.
"The moment the news went out there were a number of people in touch very quickly to express their interest," Clifford told BBC Radio Kent.
"I don't think we will lack for a strong candidate. There is a lot of interest already."
Kent finished second in Division Two of the County Championship this year, missing out on promotion to Essex, but Clifford believes the club are "an exciting proposition" for prospective coaches.
"We underestimate the profile of county cricket across the globe," he said. "It still has a high profile and coaches aspire to come here.
"We have not launched a job description or details of the role yet as we need to take stock and understand what we want next.
"We were thorough when we appointed Jimmy and I expect the process to be similar this time.
"Hopefully by early next year we will be in a position to make an announcement and have someone start."
Meanwhile, Clifford is still waiting for a response from the England and Wales Cricket Board after Kent called for arbitration with the governing body and Hampshire over the composition of Division One next year.
The south coast county were given a reprieve from relegation after Durham were demoted for financial reasons - but Kent believe they should have been promoted instead.
"We've made our point and asked the ECB a few questions," Clifford said.
"I can't believe it will take long for them to offer a response. When we have that response we'll see where we go next.
"We would have liked to have been consulted before a decision was announced.
"I think counties must have a voice on all matters in relation to the running of the game and speak up for what they believe in. Our moves in this regard are consistent with that."


A Fermanagh GP who dishonestly exploited and took advantage of a vulnerable elderly patient, when she failed to repay a £10,000 loan, has been struck off the medical register.

Michelle Mellotte, 61, took the money from Michael McGrory in February 2010, saying it would be repaid that summer.
But, it was only returned following the start of a police investigation.
Ms Mellotte knew her patient was suffering from Alzheimer's when she asked him for the loan.
She went to his home to "ask him for a favour" and he agreed to sign a cheque for £10,000 with an endorsement that it would be paid back in the summer of 2010.
In April, Ms Mellotte admitted fraud by abuse of her role and was given a suspended prison sentence and was suspended from the medical register.
Last week, the ruling was endorsed following a hearing by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in St James's Buildings in Manchester.
The tribunal noted that Ms Mellotte, who did not attend the hearing, did not oppose the GMC's case against he.
In written submissions, the former doctor's legal team stated she accepted the "appropriate sanction" was erasure.
Summarising the case against her, the tribunal chairman, Sean Ell, said: "The tribunal has determined that Dr Mellotte has put patients at unwarranted risk of harm, she has brought the profession into disrepute, she has breached fundamental tenets of the profession and her integrity cannot be relied upon."
She will no longer be able to practice as a doctor in the UK.


John Kerry has urged Syria's opposition to attend an international meeting in Rome this Thursday, on his first trip abroad as US Secretary of State.

Speaking in London, Mr Kerry said he understood Syrians wanted results from the summit and promised it would not just be a talking shop.
He has held talks with PM David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague.
Syria's opposition has said it will not attend the Rome talks because of "the world's silence" over Syrian violence.
After his talks in London Mr Kerry had a telephone discussion with Syrian Opposition Council President Moaz Al-Khatib, encouraging him to attend the Rome talks, but no more details of the conversation were released.
Mr Hague said the UK was preparing to "significantly increase" its support for Syria's opposition.
Mr Kerry, who succeeded Hillary Clinton, is on an 11-day tour of Europe and the Middle East, and will meet Syrian opposition members and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Berlin on Tuesday.
By Suzanne KianpourBBC News, travelling with Kerry
John Kerry, less than a month into his new job as America's top diplomat, has already hit the ground running. At the Foreign Office on Monday, he sent a message to the Syrian opposition from his podium in a room full of US and UK media - citing his new role as a "ripe" moment to move forward.
"We understand the Syrian people want to see results and I would say to [Syrian Opposition Council President Moaz] al-Khatib, so do we," he said. The state department said later that Mr Kerry called Mr Khatib directly. Shortly after, a report dropped that Mr Khatib had told the Italian government the boycott was over and he had persuaded his partners to attend.
"The Assad regime has rained down rockets on the people of Aleppo" in the last few days, said Mr Kerry, as he condemned the "indiscriminate killing of civilians".
He said such attacks were further evidence that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should go.
Mr Hague said 70,000 people had been killed and he was "frustrated" at the lack of an international political solution, despite efforts at the UN.
Earlier, the Syrian foreign minister said his government was ready for talks with its opponents, even armed rebels.
Mr Kerry said the US would continue with its policy of not taking a position on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.
Argentina claims the territory - which it calls the Malvinas - and says it will not recognise a forthcoming referendum organised by the islanders on how they want to be governed.
Mr Kerry said he would not comment on the referendum.
"The United States recognises de facto UK administration of the islands, but takes no position on the question of party's sovereignty claims thereto," he said.  "And we support co-operation between UK and Argentina on practical matters and we continue to urge a peaceful resolution of that critical issue."
A Downing Street spokesman said Mr Cameron and Mr Kerry "reiterated their shared determination to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran" and discussed "the challenges posed by fragile states around the world".
The top US diplomat said Britain and the US remained implacably opposed to the prospect of Tehran obtaining nuclear weapons, saying an Iran with a nuclear weapon was "simply unacceptable".
"The window for a diplomatic solution simply cannot by definition remain open forever," he told a news conference. "But it is open today.
"There is still time but there is only time if Iran makes the decision to come to the table and negotiate in good faith. We are prepared to negotiate in good faith, in mutual respect in an effort to avoid whatever terrible consequences could follow failure.
"The choice really is in the hands of the Iranians. And we hope they will make the right choice," said Mr Kerry.
The prime minister's spokesman said Mr Kerry did not ask about Britain's possible future exit from the European Union but he and Mr Cameron did discuss a free-trade agreement between the US and the EU and the possibility of making progress at the next G8 summit in Northern Ireland in June.
In all, Mr Kerry will visit nine countries, stopping off in Paris, Berlin, Rome, Ankara, Cairo, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Doha.
The British government is pleased that Mr Kerry made London his initial port of call on his first official trip abroad, says BBC diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall.
His itinerary stands in marked contrast to his predecessor, Hillary Clinton, who rather pointedly went to Asia first, our correspondent says.
Though the Middle East peace process will be on the agenda when he visits Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Mr Kerry will not visit Israel or the Palestinian Territories.
However, our correspondent says Mr Hague would like to see a renewed effort from the US to engage the different parties in the peace process and is hopeful that Mr Kerry's visit will herald a new enthusiasm.
Mr Kerry, former Massachusetts senator and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, has spent almost three decades in the US Senate as a member of the Foreign Relations Committee.


President Barack Obama has admitted that his failure to pass "common sense gun safety laws" in the US is the greatest frustration of his presidency.

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Obama said it was "distressing" not to have made progress on the issue "even in the face of repeated mass killings".
He vowed to keep trying, but the BBC's North America editor Jon Sopel said the president did not sound very confident.
However, Mr Obama said race relations had improved during his presidency.
Hours after the interview, a gunman opened fire at a cinema in the US state of Louisiana, killing two people and injuring several others before shooting himself.
In a wide-ranging interview, President Obama also said:
Read the full transcript of his interview
Mr Obama lands in Kenya later on Friday for his first visit since becoming president.
But with just 18 months left in power, he said gun control was the area where he has been "most frustrated and most stymied" since coming to power in 2009.
"If you look at the number of Americans killed since 9/11 by terrorism, it's less than 100. If you look at the number that have been killed by gun violence, it's in the tens of thousands," Mr Obama said.
"For us not to be able to resolve that issue has been something that is distressing," he added.
Mr Obama has pushed for stricter gun control throughout his presidency but has been unable to secure any significant changes to the laws.
After nine African-American churchgoers were killed in South Carolina in June, he admitted "politics in this town" meant there were few options available.
Nine months ago, the president seemed like a spent force, after taking a beating in the midterm elections, during which members of his own party were reluctant to campaign on his record.
But the man sat before me today was relaxed and confident, buoyed by a string of "wins" on healthcare, Cuba and Iran, after bitter and ongoing battles with his many critics.
The only body swerve the president performed was when I asked him  how many minds he had changed on the Iran nuclear deal after an intense sell aimed at Gulf allies and members of US Congress who remain implacably opposed.
There was a momentary flicker across the president's face as if to say "You think you got me?" before his smile returned and he proceeded to talk about how Congress would come round.
But notably, he did not give a direct answer to that question, which leaves me with the impression that he has persuaded precisely zero.
Five things we learned from Obama interview
The presidential body swerve
On race relations, Mr Obama said recent concerns around policing and mass incarcerations were "legitimate and deserve intense attention" but insisted progress had been made.
Children growing up during the eight years of his presidency "will have a different view of race relations in this country and what's possible," he said.
"There are going to be tensions that arise. But if you look at my daughters' generation, they have an attitude about race that's entirely different than even my generation."
Talking about how he was feeling after his recent successes, he said "every president, every leader has strengths and weaknesses".
"One of my strengths is I have a pretty even temperament.  I don't get too high when it's high and I don't get too low when it's low," he said.
Mr Obama was speaking to the BBC at the White House before departing for Kenya.
His father was Kenyan and the president is expected to meet relatives in Nairobi.
Mr Obama has faced criticism in the country after the US legalised gay marriage. However, in his interview, the president said he would not fall silent on the issue.
"I am not a fan of discrimination and bullying of anybody on the basis of race, on the basis of religion, on the basis of sexual orientation or gender," he said.
The president also admitted that some African governments, including Kenya's, needed to improve their records on human rights and democracy. However, he defended his decision to engage with and visit those governments.
"Well, they're not ideal institutions.  But what we found is, is that when we combined blunt talk with engagement, that gives us the best opportunity to influence and open up space for civil society."
Mr Obama will become the first US president to address the African Union when he travels on to Ethiopia on Sunday.


Mental health projects across Wales are to benefit from £3m of funding from the Welsh government.

The money will go to third sector and voluntary organisations running projects to complement those provided by the Welsh NHS and other public sector partners.
Diverse Cymru, Gofal, Hafal, Mind Aberystwyth, Mind Cymru and Sight Cymru are among those to benefit.
The grants will be made available on a three-year basis until March 2018.
The Alzheimer's Society, Bipolar UK, Cruse Bereavement Care, Mental Health Foundation, Samaritans and SPICE Innovations will also get funding.


A new smartcard is to be introduced to make buying bus and train tickets quicker and easier in Northern Ireland.

Infrastructure Minister Chris Hazzard said the Â£45m investment project would deliver a modernised ticketing system which would "transform travel" and lead to more people using public transport.
Almost 300 new ticketing machines will be installed at bus stops and train halts.
The scheme is expected to be put in place in 2018.
Mr Hazzard said the new programme for government envisages increasing the number of people using public transport.
"A high quality public transport infrastructure is fundamental to encouraging people to use our buses and trains," said Mr Hazzard.
This innovative ticketing system will deliver long term benefits and transform how we access public transport across the region," he said.
"The current ticketing system was introduced 15 years ago and serves around 80 million passenger journeys every year.
"This programme will deliver a modern, efficient and convenient ticketing system that will benefit passengers and lead to greater efficiencies. It will improve the passenger experience."
The minister added it was expected the scheme would begin to be implemented in 2018 with the new Bus Rapid Transit System.
"In 2019 we plan to introduce contactless payments for Metro and Ulsterbus services and customers will enjoy further technology enhancements as we phase in this new era in Translink ticketing which will attract more people to use the bus and train as travel options," he said.


Iraqi Shia militia, who helped recapture Tikrit from Islamic State (IS), are being pulled out of the city amid reports of violence and looting.

The militia made up the vast majority of pro-government forces that retook the city over the past week.
But people in Tikrit say the city's liberators have since stolen cars and ransacked government buildings.
Tikrit was captured by Islamic State in June last year in what was an important strategic victory for the group.
The city was ravaged by the fighting that followed and now sits largely empty.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered the arrest of anyone caught looting, but reports suggest the actions of the pro-government paramilitaries have gone beyond theft.
A correspondent for Reuters reported seeing an Islamic State fighter surrounded by a mob and stabbed to death, as well as the corpse of another being dragged by a car.
Ahmed al-Kraim, head of the city's Salahuddin Province council, told the news agency that mobs had burned down "hundreds of houses".
Government officials have attempted to distance the army from the reports, blaming the violence and looting on local Sunni tribal fighters.
Ahmed Salim Noreldin, an Iraqi soldier, told the BBC that IS militants had booby-trapped the streets with IEDs as they retreated, leaving the doors of homes and shops open on their way.
Mahmoud Al-Sadi, a captain in Iraq's federal police command, said that soldiers were attempting to defuse the bombs to allow residents to return.
Iraqi army officials say Tikrit is now completely free of IS. "The nearest IS position is 45km (27 miles) away," said Captain Al-Sadi. "There are no resistance pockets inside Tikrit."
The offensive launched on 2 March to take back Tikrit involved some 30,000 fighters, two-thirds of them from the Popular Mobilisation (Hasid Shaabi) - a force comprising dozens of Iranian-backed Shia militia.
The operation was initially co-ordinated by Iranian military advisers led by Gen Qasem Soleimani.
Before the government assault on the city, fears had been voiced of the risk of sectarian reprisals by the Shia militia in the predominantly Sunni area.
Militia leaders had vowed to seek revenge for the massacre of at least 700 soldiers, mostly Shia, at Camp Speicher near Tikrit in June 2014.
The Iraqi army is now expected to its attention to Mosul, 225km north along the Tigris river.
IS's most significant stronghold in Iraq, Mosul presents a far greater challenge than Tikrit for the US-led air coalition and Iraqi ground forces.


There was a time when to work out what was happening in Moscow you needed to read between the lines in Pravda, or look at the line-up of Soviet officials at a Red Square parade and study who was standing next to whom.

The art of Kremlinology has moved on since then. And I'm proud to say I've come up with my own 21st Century method for keeping up to date with the current thinking in the corridors of Russian power: it involves walking to the train station opposite the BBC Moscow office, going up to the souvenir stand and looking at the fridge magnets on sale.
You can tell a lot from Russian fridge magnets. This week's selection includes several different "Vladimir Putin in military camouflage" magnets, complete with patriotic slogans, like: "Together we are a force to be reckoned with!" and "We will always look out for our guys!"
Kremlin policy in a nutshell.
One fridge magnet in particular caught my eye. It looks just like a $100 bill but, in place of the American founding father Benjamin Franklin, there is a portrait of Vladimir Putin.
I know. It's only a fridge magnet. But it encapsulates the whole Putin-Trump/Russia-America saga. After six months of Donald Trump in the White House, Russians are beginning to feel that their country enjoys considerable influence over America.
And who could blame them for thinking that? Particularly in light of allegations of the Kremlin hacking a US election and putting a Russian puppet in the White House, and with all the rumours of Russian lawyers, Russian lobbyists and Russian oligarchs conspiring with the Trump team and the Trump family.
It will be up to official investigations to establish whether there was, indeed, collusion. But even the suggestion that there may have been has got the whole world talking about the power of Putin's Russia and the weakness of Trump's America.
There are times when Vladimir Putin seems to be basking in the infamy of running a cyber superpower.
There is just one problem for President Putin. It's the problem of all fridge magnets, really. They look so pretty when you buy them in the shop. But they don't stick to every fridge.
When it began, Donald Trump's presidency looked very pretty to Moscow. The Russians expected that America's new leader would herald a new era in US-Russian cooperation.
At the time, a news anchor on Russian State TV described Trump as "an Alpha male... a real man." The day after America's presidential election, one Russian state official told me that she had celebrated Trump's victory with a cigar and a bottle of champagne.
But, after six months of President Trump, US sanctions against Russia remain in place.
The two Russian diplomatic compounds, closed by President Obama last December, remain shut. And the idea of a "Grand Deal" with America, much hoped for here at the start of the Trump presidency, has disappeared from the pages of the Russian dailies.
Moscow is not blaming Donald Trump directly for this. One Russian newspaper, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, explained recently that, in the current atmosphere, "Trump doesn't have the slightest possibility to improve Russian-US relations, since any step, any glance even in the direction of Russia is met with suspicion back home and even viewed as treason."
A few days ago I was chatting to a Russian senator. He complained that the intense pressure President Trump was facing over the Russia question was complicating US-Russian diplomacy.
"Trump is like a prisoner," he told me, "And how can you talk to a prisoner?"
But Russia and America are talking. Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have now met, on the sidelines of the G20 summit. And, although progress is slower than Moscow would like, there is cautious talk of cooperation: in Syria, for example, and in the area of cyber security.
Mr Trump continues to argue there is nothing wrong in seeking a closer relationship with Russia. He insists it is in America's interest to do so.
And, while America's president and America's Western allies often appear poles apart on a variety of issues, Donald Trump seems drawn like a magnet to Vladimir Putin.
Indeed, he has openly praised the Kremlin leader. Yet Russia is casting a shadow over the US administration. For Donald Trump, could this prove to be a fatal attraction?


Sixty cars were damaged in Sunderland by a vandal who used a key to scratch them, police have said.

The vehicles were parked on Southend Road, Grindon Lane and Gleneagles Road in the Springwell and Grindon areas of the city early on Sunday.
Damage to one car was captured on CCTV by its owner. It showed a male suspect, of medium build, wearing a "biscuit-coloured" hoodie.
Police have appealed for witnesses and mounted extra patrols in the area.


Neighbours have described their struggle to save the life of a 98-year-old woman as fire engulfed her home in East Sussex.

The woman, who lived alone, was found dead inside the property in Broyle Lane, Ringmer, by fire crews called to the scene just before 05:00 on Friday.
Paddy Graffin said neighbours were unable to get into the detached house.
"Because of the heat and the flames and the smoke you couldn't do anything and we had to come away," he said.
"There was nothing else we could do. We just stood and waited for the fire brigade to turn up. We are all devastated."
Neighbour Anita Batchelor said she was appalled.
"It was all so tragic that it had to happen to somebody in her physical condition when she was completely incapacitated to take any action," she said.
Neighbours had previously helped care for the housebound woman who they said had lived in the property for decades.
She used to run a sweetshop and newsagent's there, they said.
Sussex Police said the woman's family have been informed of her death and the coroner has been informed.
The cause of the fire is being investigated and is being treated as unexplained.


UKIP has won its first Scottish seat in the European election, it has been confirmed, while the SNP took the largest share of the vote.

The SNP and Labour each won two of Scotland's six MEP seats, with one each for the Conservatives and UKIP.
The Liberal Democrats, who came sixth, lost their only European Parliament seat.
The final result was delayed until 12:30 to allow for counting in the Western Isles.
The 31 other local authorities had declared overnight, but the island authority does not count votes on a Sunday.
The result saw the SNP's Ian Hudghton and Alyn Smith elected as MEPs, along with Labour's David Martin and Catherine Stihler, Ian Duncan of the Conservatives and David Coburn of UKIP.
UKIP - which won 27% of the votes in England - picked up 10.4% north of the border, enough to send lead candidate Mr Coburn to the European Parliament.
Mr Coburn told BBC Radio Scotland that UKIP had "done extremely well in Scotland" and was "certainly not a party of protest".
He added: "We are basically going to give something different. It is not going to be the same arguments you get from all the tired old parties. All of the Scottish parties agree with each other, more or less, it is a left-wing agenda and now we are going to see something different
"We are going to see a libertarian agenda which I will be pushing as hard as possible".
Mr Coburn said his aim as an MEP was to keep "Scottish business and Scottish people aware of some of the crazy things going on in Europe that will affect their businesses and their jobs".
When challenged by presenter Gary Robertson to name some specific examples, Mr Coburn replied: "Off the top of my head I can't think but there's so many of them".
By Brian TaylorPolitical editor, Scotland
Was it a tactical error by the SNP to target UKIP in the final days of campaigning?
Yes, say Labour and others. No, say SNP strategists. They needed to energise their vote and prevent Labour from overhauling the SNP. UKIP provided the conduit.
Does it tell us very much about the referendum? Not really. That will be fought on different terms, with different tactics, different issues - and a much bigger turnout.
The complicated proportional voting system meant that the SNP had to extend its share of the vote beyond one-third of the total in Scotland if it had any chance of keeping UKIP out.
But Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond's party fell just short with 389,503 votes - a 28.9% share.
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who is also the deputy leader of the SNP, admitted she was "disappointed" by the election of a UKIP MEP in Scotland.
But she added: "Our winning share of the vote in Scotland is higher than UKIP's winning share in England, it is higher than Labour's winning share in Wales, and I believe it is higher than the DUP's winning share in Northern Ireland.
"So this is a pretty spectacular success for the SNP. We are seven years into government and yet we are comfortably winning an election and maintaining the share of the vote we got five years ago. That is a big vote of confidence".
The Green Party had also hoped to pick up its first seat and block UKIP, but ended with 108,305 votes (8%).
Green co-leader Patrick Harvie, said: "We have strengthened our position as the torch-bearer for radical ideas in Scottish politics, and are in the process of replacing the Liberal Democrats as Scotland's fourth major party."
Labour saw its vote increase by five points to 25.9% with 348,219 votes, keeping its two MEPs, while the Conservatives held on to their single seat with 231,330 votes (17.2%).
Re-elected Labour MEP David Martin accused Mr Salmond of allowing UKIP in by polarising the debate in Scotland.
He said: "I'd like to suggest to David Coburn that the first thing he does when he sits down and recovers from the campaign is write a letter to Alex Salmond because there is no doubt in my mind that Alex Salmond's decision to polarise the campaign, the Scottish debate, between two extremes is why David Coburn is with us today as a member of the European Parliament".
Tory MEP Ian Duncan, who takes over from the retired Struan Stevenson, said his party's vote was the highest it had been for 25 years.
He said: "We've bucked the national trend and it is a reminder that we have much to offer the people of Scotland.
"People are concerned about Europe and they want change. They want change to make Europe work for them, not against them, and I believe we have harnessed that concern and that feeling in a very simple way.
The Liberal Democrats won just 95,319 votes (7.1%) and lost their only MEP in Scotland while being beaten to sixth place behind the Greens.
Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie said: "We continue to pay the price for being in coalition and for the decisions we have taken in government. I get that.
"In this election, we put forward a positive case which was unashamedly pro European. Despite our defeat I am proud of that."
Turnout in Scotland was 33.5% - which was an improvement on 2009 when only about 28.5% of the electorate voted.
Across Scotland, turnout peaked at 43.1% in East Renfrewshire and 41.6% in Edinburgh. It was lowest in North Lanarkshire at 28.1%.


The European Commission has fined 11 airlines almost 800m euros (£690m) for fixing the price of air cargo between 1999 and 2006.

Had the Commission not intervened the "deplorable" cartel "would have continued",  said EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia.
The illegal cartel had harmed both companies and consumers, he said.
British Airways was fined 104m euros, Air France-KLM 340m euros and Cargolux Airlines 79.9m euros.
The fines follow lengthy investigations by regulators in Europe, the US and Asia, dating back to 2006.
The EU said that the airlines "co-ordinated their action on surcharges for fuel and security without discounts", between early 1999 and 2006.
"The carriers contacted each other so as to ensure that worldwide air freight carriers imposed a flat rate surcharge per kg for all shipments."
The Commission imposed the biggest fine - 340m euros - on Air France-KLM, which was formed from a merger in 2004 and which now owns Martinair, which was also fined.
"It is deplorable that so many major airlines coordinated their pricing to the detriment of European businesses and European consumers," said Mr Almunia.
"With today's decision the Commission is sending a clear message that it will not tolerate cartel behaviour."
BA said it had already made a £350m provision for any possible fines over the cargo price fixing.
A BA spokesman said the airline's fine fell "within the provision made by the company in its 2006/7 report and accounts".
The German carrier Lufthansa escaped a fine because it alerted the regulatory authorities to the cartel.
The maximum fine the Commission could have imposed on any single carrier was 10% of their 2009 turnover.
The US Department of Justice has already charged 18 airlines and several executives in its investigation of the cargo cartel and imposed more than $1.6bn (£997m) in fines.
The Commission's decision will have an impact on several pending legal actions by European companies against some of the airlines.
A group of firms, led by the Swedish telecoms group Ericsson and Dutch electronics giant Philips, are suing Air France-KLM and its Martinair subsidiary for 400m euros.


Environmentalists say one of Europe's most important wetland areas is under threat as Spain and Catalonia argue about the future of the Ebro river.

Campaigners say Spanish government plans to restrict water flow could destroy the fragile landscape.
They are worried that ultimately these waters could be transferred to other, drier regions of Spain.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Amposta in Catalonia on Sunday to protest against the plans.
Running for 930km (578 miles) the Ebro is the third longest river flowing into the Mediterranean.
Its journey begins in Asturias on the north coast of Spain but it flows through nine autonomous communities before joining the sea in a Catalan delta that stretches over 32,000 hectares (79,000 acres).
The delta is a national park and it is recognised internationally as being a critical resource for birds and wildlife. In addition the rich waters help produce huge amounts of foodstuffs including rice, fruit and vegetables.
The most important element in the preservation of the delta, which faces huge challenges from human development and the sea, is the flow of water and sediment from the river. The sediments protect the integrity of the wetlands and guard against the ingress of saline water.
But development, irrigation and dams along the length of the river have cut the sediments by 90%.
"The most important problem is the lack of large floods," said Dr Carles Ibanez, who studies aquatic ecosystems at IRTA, the Catalan government's research institute.
"In the past this was the way to bring sediment especially sand to the mouth of the delta  but this is not happening anymore not just because of regulation but because of dams. We are looking for an environmental river flow that should include these floods in a controlled way."
The Spanish government has been trying for decades to put in place a plan to regulate the river and put the rights to use the waters on a firm legal footing. In January it finally agreed on what is termed the Ebro River Basin Management Plan.
But the approach has drawn huge criticism from local campaigners who believe they have prioritised the interests of farmers and developers over the environment.
"Under EU law you have to set the minimum environmental flow to conserve the river and the delta and then you can start to talk about any excess water and what to do with it," said Brian Cutts, who lives in the region and is a long time member of PDE (Plataforma en Defensa de l'Ebre).
"But Spain has always gone about it the opposite way - They write down the amount of water they need for the nuclear power station upriver, and for irrigation and whatever is left would be the environmental flow that the river would have."
But the Spanish ministry of agriculture rejected the idea that the plan would be bad for the river or the region.
"The Spanish rivers will have better storage conditions, contributing to the protection of ecosystems and improve the quality of life of citizens," they said in a statement about the plan.
As well as the threat posed by dams and irrigation, campaigners are also worried that the government intends to transfer water out of the river and send it to more arid parts of the country.
This plan was also tried in the early 2000s but collapsed in the face of public and EU opposition. The government is set to put in place a national hydrological plan this year but this time round, campaigners believe the authorities will attempt the same outcome but by different means.
"They will award water concessions to different groups of irrigation farmers, who may not be able to pay for the water they have been conceded," said Brian Cutts.
"They may then be able to sell it via water banks to other users in other parts of Spain."
One key change in the dispute has been the rise of Catalan nationalism. When the transfer plan was first mooted at the turn of the century the Catalan government did not object. Now it is being seen as the frontline in the battle to win power back from Madrid.
The turnout at the weekend protest in Amposta was designed to impress on the national government that people in the region see the future of the Ebro and the delta as a huge political issue. They were also hoping to impress a visiting delegation of European parliamentarians that the EU should intervene.
"It's become a big symbol of the Catalan Spain conflict, a lot of people seeing it as the red line," said Brian Cutts.
"The last thing the Catalan people are going to accept at this moment is Spain saying what they can do with the river Ebro and Spain diverting the river to other parts of the country.
"It's like Spain doesn't care and is willing to see the end of one the most important national areas that we have here."
Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc and on Facebook.


The governor of Missouri has issued a stay of execution for a death row inmate and appointed a panel to investigate his conviction.

The order came only hours before Marcellus Williams, 48, was due to be put to death for the 1998 murder of Felicia Gayle, a newspaper reporter.
"A sentence of death is the ultimate, permanent punishment," Governor Eric Greitens said in a statement.
Lawyers for Williams say someone else's DNA is on the murder weapon.
"To carry out the death penalty, the people of Missouri must have confidence in the judgment of guilt," wrote Governor Greitens.
"In light of new information, I am appointing a Board of Inquiry in this case," the governor wrote only hours before the lethal injection execution was due.
Lawyers for the state argue that despite Williams's DNA not being present on the weapon, other witnesses' testimonies are still sufficient evidence to convict him.
The Missouri Attorney General's office has said that "based on the other, non-DNA, evidence in this case, our office is confident in Marcellus Williams' guilt and plans to move forward".
Gayle was brutally murdered in her own home, where she was stabbed 43 times with a butcher's knife, court records show.
Williams' lawyers, in a briefing presented to the US Supreme Court on Monday night, argue that DNA found on the knife used to kill Gayle belongs to another man.
The execution decision is still ultimately up to the governor, who will make his determination after the five-person panel's work is completed.


Nigerian author Ben Okri's The Age of Magic has scooped the Bad Sex in Fiction award.

His novel includes: "He lavished on her body indirect touches and bitter-sweet sensations flooded her brain."
The 55-year-old beat fellow authors including the Man Booker Prize winner Richard Flanagan.
The award, in its 22nd year, highlights "crude, badly written or perfunctory use of sexual description" in modern books.
Previous winners of prize, established by The Literary Review in 1993, include Melvyn Bragg, Norman Mailer and AA Gill.
Last year the prize was won by Manil Suri for The City of Devi.
Okri's Age of Magic follows a team of eight documentary makers travelling from Paris to Basel, who end up in a Swiss hotel by a lake in the shadow of a looming mountain.
Judges were impressed by an erotic scene involving Lao, the documentary's presenter, and his girlfriend, Mistletoe.
"When his hand brushed her nipple it tripped a switch and she came alight. He touched her belly and his hand seemed to burn through her.
"He lavished on her body indirect touches and bitter-sweet sensations flooded her brain," it reads.
The author, who was unable to collect his award, said in a statement: "A writer writes what they write and that's all there is to it."
Okri's publisher, Head of Zeus, who were at the London ceremony to accept the award on his behalf, said that winning was "fun but a bit undignified, just like sex, assuming you do it properly".
Okri, who won the Booker Prize in 1991 for The Famished Road, overcame a strong shortlist.
It included Richard Flanagan for the Deep North, which includes the line: "He kissed the slight, rose-coloured trench that remained from her knicker elastic, running around her belly like the equator line circling the world."
Eric Reinhardt's The Victoria System also made the shortlist with the highly-charged phrase: "It was as if I were drinking in life itself."


Plaid Cymru, which sees itself as a left-wing party aiming to increase economic prosperity and social justice in Wales with independence as a long-term aim, will be hoping to add to its three MPs in Westminster.

The Party of Wales was established in 1925, but it had to wait until 1966 for its first electoral breakthrough, when party president Gwynfor Evans won Carmarthen in a by-election.
But Plaid Cymru struggled to build substantially on that success and has never won more than four seats at Westminster.
Its electoral fortunes improved after the narrow vote in favour of devolution in the 1997 referendum which led to the creation of the National Assembly for Wales.
Although it once served in a governing coalition with Labour in Wales, it currently sits in opposition with 11 AMs.
Plaid Cymru contested the 2015 general election at a time when its sister party, the SNP, was enjoying unprecedented power - something Plaid aspires to replicate in Wales.
Plaid currently has three MPs. A consistent performance in the 2015 election meant it retained the same three seats it won in the 2010 general election.
As of July 2016, Plaid had 8,273 members.
Leanne Wood: she's the first female leader in the party's history and her election was seen as a sign of Plaid's desire to build new support in urban and industrial parts of Wales.
Under Wood, who is learning to speak Welsh, Plaid's emphasis has not heavily been on independence after opinion polls suggested only modest support for it.
As such, much of Plaid's campaign in 2015 focused on alternatives to austerity and a call for Wales to get the same level of spending on devolved services per head as Scotland.
There was speculation after the 8 June general election was called that Wood would stand in the Rhondda, but days later she ruled herself out.
In this campaign, Wood has attacked Labour over its divisions and will be hoping to attract pro-EU voters.
Other key players are Adam Price, a former MP and sitting AM who is co-ordinating the party's general election campaign.
Meanwhile, Ynys Mon AM Rhun ap Iorwerth is the party's director of communications. Both he and Mr Price have been tipped as future leaders of Plaid.
Hywel Williams, Plaid Cymru candidate in Arfon, is the party's leader in Westminster. Gareth Clubb is the party's chief executive.
"If the dark clouds of Tory rule lurk on the horizon, then Plaid Cymru is the ray of hope."
"We want to ensure that Britain is a more secure and united nation - that means acting against the extremists who want to divide us but it also means standing up to the separatists who want to break up this precious union of nations," Theresa May, prime minister.
Plaid will be hoping to hang on to their existing three seats, and is focused on a further six where the party thinks it can perform well.
The party is hoping to take the Labour-held seats of Ynys Mon, Rhondda, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Llanelli - as well as the Liberal Democrat-held seat of Ceredigion.
Plaid's best hope is Ynys Mon - the Isle of Anglesey, where former Ieuan Wyn Jones will be standing. In 2015 Plaid fell just short of gaining the seat from Labour by 229 votes.
Seats that could shape Wales' general election
Wood wants to send the "largest number of Plaid MPs possible" to Westminster, and if she falls short, she says she's will not resign.
"I've got a long-term project. It's building quite well and I want to see it through," she says.
Leanne Wood argues that only her party can protect Wales against what could be a dominant Conservative government, citing what she says is falling support for Labour. In the 2017 local elections Plaid gained 33 seats, while Labour lost 107, although it remained the biggest party in Wales.
Plaid Cymru, which campaigned to stay in the EU, says it accepts that the people of Wales voted to leave, but says single market membership should be preserved to protect Welsh jobs.
As in England, the majority (52.5%) of voters in Wales voted to leave the European Union.
In January, Wood and the Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones jointly published a white paper setting out Wales' plans for Brexit.
At its heart were proposals for "continued participation in the single market" as well as a "balanced approach to immigration linking migration to jobs".
Other demands included "a fundamentally different constitutional relationship between the devolved governments and the UK government" as well as "proper considerations of a transitional agreement."
Plaid Cymru election manifesto 2017
Plaid Cymru manifesto at-a-glance
Guide to the parties: Conservatives
Guide to the parties: Labour
Guide to the parties: Liberal Democrats
Guide to the parties: UK Independence Party
Guide to the parties: Green Party
Guide to the parties: Scottish National Party


Police are appealing for witnesses after a quantity of perfume was stolen from a shop in Hawick.

Men's and women's fragrances were taken from Superdrug in the town's High Street following a break-in.
It triggered an alarm at the shop at about 01:30.
Det Con James Harrison said: "If members of public are approached by anyone trying to sell these stolen items, do not accept them and get in touch with the police."


As Stuart Manley puts his clubs into the boot of the luxury car that every golfer is given when competing at the Open, there will be much to ponder.

First the positives: This was his debut at the Open and on day one he proved that he has a golf game to compete with the world's best.
His eagle-birdie finish will last long in the memory bank and, for a short spell at least, it was his name which everyone was looking at on top of the famous yellow scoreboards.
Finishing nine over par and missing the cut will certainly feel raw now but, when he reflects on his experience back home in Mountain Ash, there will be much that he can take from his performance.
So what will Manley have taken from playing in the Open? Put simply, golf can sometimes chew you up and spit you out.
Around the turn of his second round he dropped eight shots in five holes. You cannot do that in a major.
What sets apart the best from the runners and riders is their ability to hold their game together when it has the chance of running away from them.
Take Rory McIlroy's front nine on day one - he had a shocker, but pulled himself together and went low on the back nine to get back into the mix.
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Perhaps it was all too much for Manley.
He admitted after completing his opening round that it had taken its toll on him.
Suffering from a touch of flu, he was drained. Eighteen holes around the tough links of Royal Birkdale does that to you.
But throw in the fact that it is your debut at the Open and the world's media is waiting to speak to you at the end, it is little surprise that he felt the way he did.
Manley in many ways has been a yo-yo man on the European Tour. He has made no fewer than 13 trips to the qualifying school, having won and then lost his playing rights.
He got into the 146th Open by coming second in the Joburg Open, having  entered that event when he was ranked 958th in the world.
But there has always been glimmers of hope and a sparkle of talent from Manley, from his Walker Cup appearance in 2003 to here at the Open 14 years on.
Manley had to wait until he was 38 to experience a Claret Jug journey and the taste will surely leave him wanting more.


Confectionery giant Nestle has failed to convince European judges that it has the right to trademark the shape of its four-finger KitKat bar in the UK.

The European Court of Justice said that the company had to demonstrate the public relied on the shape alone to identify the snack.
The judges concluded this was difficult to prove if goods also showed a brand name such as KitKat.
Rival Cadbury has battled to prevent Nestle obtaining the trademark.
Both Nestle and Cadbury said they were "pleased" with the ruling.
The case will now return to the UK High Court for a final decision.
Nestle claimed that in the 80 years since the chocolate bar was introduced, the four fingers have become almost completely associated with KitKats.
In June, a senior European court lawyer, the advocate-general, disagreed saying such a trademark did not comply with European law.
Nestle has not sought to trademark the two-fingered bar.
Sally Britton, intellectual property lawyer at Mishcon de Reya, said that Nestle was likely to continue arguing its case, "even if, as now appears likely, the English court decides that the KitKat shape should not be registered as a trade mark".
She said Nestle had experience of trying to register difficult marks.
It took more than 40 years for it to register the slogan "Have a Break" as a trade mark, finally succeeding in 2006, she added.
Chocolate wars
Wednesday's ruling is the latest development in a more than 10-year legal battle between Nestle and Cadbury, which started when Cadbury tried to trademark the purple colour it uses on its Cadbury chocolate wrappers.
Nestle objected and finally had the original decision allowing Cadbury to trademark the colour overturned in 2013.
Now it would appear Cadbury, which is owned by US company Mondelez International, has scored a significant but not final victory in the continuing chocolate war.
It has always argued the shape alone was not distinctive enough for consumers to associate it with the rival snack.
A bar called the Kvikk Lunsj, meaning "quick lunch", launched in Norway in 1937 is available in some UK shops, and although less well known, looks similar to the four-finger KitKat.
A ruling in favour of Nestle would stop other confectionery producers making chocolate bars of the same shape or size.


Police are following one remaining line of inquiry into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, Scotland Yard boss Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe has said.

The UK-based investigation into her disappearance could finish in the next few months, he told LBC radio.
Madeleine, of Rothley, Leicestershire, was three years old went she missing from her family's Portuguese holiday apartment on 3 May 2007.
Despite a high-profile hunt, no trace of her has ever been found.
The remaining line of inquiry is centred around a letter asking for assistance sent from UK investigators to the Portuguese Public Prosecution Service in July 2015.
In October last year, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that the number of UK officers investigating the case had now dropped from 29 to four, as the majority of work on the case had been completed.
Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, said then that they fully understood the decision.
Clickable map and timeline
Sir Bernard said: "There's been a lot of investigation time spent on this terrible case.
"It's a child who went missing, everybody wants to know if she is alive and if she is where is she, and sadly if she's dead then we need to give some comfort to the family.
"It's needed us to carry out an investigation together with the Portuguese and other countries have been involved.
"There is a line of inquiry that remains to be concluded and it's expected that in the coming months that will happen."
He said that line of inquiry was agreed to be "worthwhile pursuing" but once that had concluded, the probe, called Operation Grange, would likely end.
But he added: "If somebody comes forward and gives us good evidence we will follow it. We always say that a missing child inquiry is never closed."
1,338
statements taken
1,027
exhibits collected
60 persons of interest investigated
8,685 potential sightings considered
560 lines of inquiry identified
30 requests made to other countries asking for work to be carried out
The Home Office requested a review of the case in May 2011. Operation Grange, which has been supporting the Portuguese police's investigation, became a full investigation in July 2012.
The Met said in October that officers had finished bringing together and investigating the information held by Portuguese police, the UK investigation and private investigators working on behalf of the McCann family.
The inquiry took 1,338 statements and collected 1,027 exhibits but has not yet reached a conclusion.
Officers investigated more than 60 persons of interest. A total of 650 sex offenders were considered as well as reports of 8,685 potential sightings of Madeleine around the world.
Having reviewed all of the documents, "7,154 actions were raised and 560 lines of inquiry identified", the Met said.
More than 30 requests were made to "countries across the world asking for work to be undertaken on behalf of the Met".


Great Britain's George Peasgood and Andy Lewis won gold medals at the ITU World Paratriathlon Event in Australia.

Peasgood, 20, won his first men's world PT4 event, finishing the near-25km course in one hour, two minutes and 33 seconds in Penrith.
Lewis, 33, beat Australia's Brant Garvey by more than three minutes to take the PT2 title.
Joe Townsend, 28, won silver in the men's PT1 event, and Clare Cunningham, 38, was second in the women's PT4 race.
The course consisted of a 750m swim, a 19.8km bike ride and a 5km run.
"I'm over the moon with today's result. Thank you Penrith for a cracking World Paratriathlon event," said Peasgood.
Lewis was pleased with the win that increases his chances of going to the Rio Paralympics in September. He wrote: "Gold in Penrith but the road to Rio is far from over.
"I may have won this battle but I need to prepare to win the war. Onwards and upwards."


England's Paul Casey and Masters champion Sergio Garcia are one shot off the lead after the second round of the Dean & Deluca Invitational in Texas.

Both players shot four-under-par 66s, with Spaniard Garcia carding six birdies, to end the day on five under.
New Zealand's Danny Lee had a six-under 64 - the lowest round of the tournament - to share the lead with Americans Webb Simpson, Kevin Kisner and Scott Piercy.
Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell is four under after a level-par 70.
Defending champion Jordan Spieth dropped shots on three of his first five holes but recovered to shoot a two-under 68 and end the day four shots off the lead.


It wasn't quite five days in May, but at last Theresa May can say she can confidently form a government.

The sober faced DUP trio came out of the famous black door just before noon. They have plenty, however, to be happy about.
Their negotiations have secured an extra Â£1bn for Northern Ireland over two years - roughly Â£800 for every voter in the province. They have forced the Tories to give up some of their more controversial manifesto commitments.
They'll have a "coordination committee" - a frequent direct line to the top of the Tory party, all with the chance of going back for more in two years - who knows what will have happened by then.
The Tories now face a bumpy day of criticism, about how the DUP have been bought off - Â£100m for each of their ten votes in Parliament. The other devolved nations will cry foul.
Some Tories too are deeply uncomfortable about the association with the DUP brand of unionism. And if the cuts are to be eased in Northern Ireland, what about other parts of the country?
But the money that's been found down the back of the Number 10 sofa for Northern Ireland may be worth it for Theresa May as the price of holding power, for now. She now has her majority, whatever the cost, and a dividend could be the conclusion of a deal to get power sharing at Stormont up and running too.


Maternity units in north Wales have previously been forced to temporarily shut over safety fears for mothers and babies, a health board boss has said.

Betsi Cadwaladr's Simon Dean said it was due to "extreme difficulties" in recruiting doctors.
He said it was a daily challenge to fill rotas.
On Tuesday, the board will discuss downgrading units at either Glan Clwyd, Ysbyty Gwynedd or Wrexham Maelor hospitals.
The health board favours making the doctor-led unit at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire, a midwife-led unit. Mothers needing more complicated care will be transferred to Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor.
Critics of the controversial proposal have claimed some expectant mothers would be at greater risk from having to travel further.
The Betsi Cadwaladr board initially argued it did not have time to hold a public consultation on its decision because the changes had to be implemented urgently.
However, campaigners challenged the decision in court and managers backed down.
The consultation document which will be discussed on Tuesday also includes a proposal to maintain services as they are, but Mr Dean told BBC Radio Wales' Sunday Supplement programme that would not be safe.
"Clearly if we thought things were safe as they were - we wouldn't be entering into consultation," he said.
He said it was important to "recognise the warning signs that things are much more difficult before a tragic event happens. We're trying to manage risks in anticipatory way - looking at the things that could go wrong".
If the decision is given the go ahead, the public will be invited to have its say.
Mr Dean took over as interim chief executive after its previous boss stepped aside following the health minister's decision to put the board into "special measures" following a series of scandals.
He said his priority has been to "rebuild the trust and confidence of the public and staff" and "create the conditions which staff could succeed".


A 19-year-old Canadian became the first person to be arrested in relation to the Heartbleed security breach.

Stephen Arthuro Solis-Reyes from London, Ontario was accused of hacking into the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA)'s website last Friday by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The RCMP say Mr Solis-Reyes then stole 900 social insurance numbers.
In a separate development, UK parenting site Mumsnet has provided fresh details about how it fell victim to the bug.
The site has published a post explaining how a hacker hijacked several accounts last week - including one belonging to Mumsnet's founder Justine Roberts - after exploiting the cryptology flaw to expose the owners' credentials.
"I hope the actions of hijacking Justine's account help draw attention to how big a deal this is," the hacker wrote on the social network.
"I suspect a lot of people would not have taken it seriously otherwise. Be thankful that the person who got access to the server information was kind enough to let you all know (and at least try and be funny with it) instead of simply sitting on the information."
The Heartbleed bug was made public a week ago by Google and Codenomicon, a small Finnish security firm, which independently identified the problem.
The bug exploits a flaw in OpenSSL - a cryptographic software library used by services to keep data transmissions private.
Canada's tax agency was one of the first major organisations to cut services as a result the security flaw.
However, the action came too late.
"It is believed that [Mr] Solis-Reyes was able to extract private information held by CRA by exploiting the vulnerability known as the Heartbleed bug," the RCMP said in a statement.
The RCMP, which has been investigating the breach for four days, charged Mr Solis-Reyes with "unauthorized use of a computer" and "mischief in relation to data".
He is expected to appear in court on 17 July 2014.
Security experts warn that more attacks could be revealed soon, as firms and governments work to determine whether or not their systems are vulnerable.


Presidential hopeful Donald Trump has said the newly elected mayor of London would be an "exception" to his proposed ban on Muslims travelling to the US.

Because of his faith, Sadiq Khan had expressed concern that he would not be able to visit the US if Mr Trump were elected.
Mr Trump proposed a ban on Muslims entering the US after attacks in Paris killed 130 people last year.
"There will always be exceptions," the Republican businessman said.
The temporary ban has been widely criticised in the US and abroad but Mr Trump has stood by the proposal, saying it is needed to ensure US security.
Mr Trump said he was "happy" that Mr Khan would be leading London.
"If he does a good job and frankly if he does a great job, that would be a terrific thing," he added.
Mr Khan - the son of Pakistani immigrants - is London's first Muslim mayor, after beating Conservative rival Zac Goldsmith for the Labour Party by 1,310,143 votes to 994,614.
"I want to go to America to meet with and engage with American mayors," Mr Khan told Time magazine. "If Donald Trump becomes the president I'll be stopped from going there by virtue of my faith."
He added that he was "confident that Donald Trump's approach to politics" would not prevail in America.


Jesse Bromwich and Kevin Proctor will not be selected for the 2017 World Cup, after allegations they took cocaine, say New Zealand Rugby League.

Bromwich stood down as national captain after it was alleged in court he and Proctor bought the drug following Friday's defeat by Australia.
The World Cup runs from 27 October to 2 December.
"I can't express my disappointment enough in their actions," said New Zealand coach David Kidwell.
"We have values to uphold. They have broken my trust, their team-mates' trust and the trust of the New Zealand public.
"No-one is bigger than the team."
The decision to exclude the pair from the tournament, which will be held in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, was taken after NZRL management and senior players met to discuss possible sanctions.
Melbourne Storm prop Bromwich, 28, has also been suspended for two games by his club and ordered to have counselling and treatment courses.
Proctor, also 28, has stepped down as co-captain of Gold Coast Titans and will appear before a club board this week and will not play until a "final decision" has been reached.
The allegations against the pair emerged in a court case which heard that a local man was captured on CCTV preparing a white powder on his phone.
He then handed it to Bromwich and Proctor, who were said to have rolled up bank notes and taken the substance.
While both players were named in court, neither has been charged with an offence.


Turkey's military has denied that it mistakenly told Russian warplanes to bomb a building in Syria on Thursday, killing three Turkish soldiers.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the pilots were "guided by co-ordinates" from "Turkish partners".
"There should not have been Turkish troops at those co-ordinates," he said.
But the Turkish military insisted the troops had been at the building for 10 days and that Russia had been advised of their position on Wednesday.
The two countries, which support opposing sides in Syria's almost six-year civil war, are working together to drive the Islamic State group from its last stronghold in Aleppo province.
Turkish-backed rebel fighters have been besieging al-Bab from the north since December, while Russian-backed government forces are advancing from the south.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was quick to call his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to offer condolences after Thursday's air strike, which also wounded 11 Turkish soldiers.
On Friday morning, Mr Putin's spokesman told reporters in Moscow that the causes of the incident were "clear".
"Unfortunately, when carrying out strikes against terrorists, our military were guided by co-ordinates that had been handed over by Turkish partners," Mr Peskov said.
Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister, Numan Kurtulmus, meanwhile said the air strike was still being investigated.
"According to initial information we received, it is a total accident," he was quoted as saying by the state-run Anadolu news agency. "But how it happened and how the co-ordination was miscalculated will be clarified."
The Turkish military subsequently issued its statement challenging Mr Peskov's account and stressing that the soldiers' position had been communicated the previous day to both officers at Russia's Hmeymim airbase in Syria and the Russian military attache in Ankara.
The air strike came as rebel fighters clashed with pro-government forces near al-Bab for the first time since coming within firing distance of each other.
Russia had to intervene to prevent further fighting at a village south-west of the town again on Friday, according to the Reuters news agency.
Both sides view al-Bab as a prize, and it is not clear whether they intend to fight for control of it.
The rebels have already entered the town's western outskirts, but pro-government sources told the New York Times on Wednesday that Russia and Turkey had agreed last month that government forces would enter the city, giving them access to a key water facility that supplies the city of Aleppo.
Meanwhile, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that at least 38 civilians in al-Bab had been killed by air strikes and artillery fire by Turkish-led forces in the past three days.


Mad Men star Jon Hamm recently completed treatment for alcohol addiction, according to his spokesman.

The 43-year-old's publicist Annett Wolf said in a statement on Tuesday that he had the support of his long-time partner, the actress and filmmaker Jennifer Westfeldt.
The couple are asking for privacy and sensitivity over his stint in rehab.
The disclosure comes ahead of the final season of the 1960s advertising agency drama Mad Men.
The final seven episodes of the seventh series begin on Sky Atlantic on 9 April.
Hamm plays Don Draper, a troubled advertising executive in New York with a dark past.
He's been nominated for numerous Emmy Awards but has never won one.
Last year Hamm told Newsbeat that he was the only one left filming the final scenes of Mad Men and that "it was emotional".
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