As a part of the Carbon Contracts pilot, Scottish Government intends to spend up to a total of £1m in capital.

The capital costs associated with Carbon Contracts will be paid for from the Environment and Forestry Directorate’s budget. It will not impact upon the Peatland Action budget in this financial year.

Both NorthLink Ferries and CalMac Ferries offer concessionary fares for disabled passengers who hold a National Entitlement Card or equivalent. Disabled passengers living in the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport region are eligible for discounted ferry travel if they live on an island or peninsula and hold a Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Ferry Card. Any local authority ferry services with fares for disabled passengers are set independently from Scottish Government concessionary fares.

Additionally, all eligible island residents living in Orkney, Shetland, North Ayrshire, Highland, Argyll and Bute and Eilean Siar council areas receive 4 free single ferry journeys per year to or from the mainland, as part of the Scottish Government’s ferries concessionary voucher scheme.

All concessionary fares for disabled passengers are listed on the corresponding local authority, CalMac or NorthLink websites. The Scottish Government concessionary fares are listed on the Transport Scotland website.

We have already implemented a substantial element of what is being asked, for those aged under 22, and this was announced at the time with extensive media coverage and announced to Parliament. These measures have been developed after careful consideration from the Island Connectivity Plan and Fairs Fare Review consultation. There are no immediate plans to extend these very positive measures which will help young people and their families facing cost of living pressures.

Northern Isles:

Extension of free ferry vouchers for 19-21 implemented from 23 June 2025

CHFS - Western Isles:

Under 22 free inter island ferry fares implemented from 1 April 2025

Extension of free ferry vouchers for 19-21 implemented from 23 June 2025

Other CHFS routes:

Extension of free ferry vouchers for 19-21 implemented from 23 June 2025

The Island Connectivity and Vessel and Ports Plan outlines our investment in new vessels and port and harbour projects that have been delivered within Phase 1 period of 2021-2026 reference to pages 11, 12 and 22 of the VPP.

Whilst we would have liked to have made more progress given the long lead-times for vessel and port projects, it was always known that a number of these projects would require further funding for construction beyond the five-year period of the IIP.

Guidance on the criteria for use in determining which projects will be awarded a Carbon Contract as part of the Carbon Contract pilot will be published on the NatureScot website in July.

Applications will be assessed by NatureScot and will align with processes for the 2026-2027 Peatland Action funding round.

External consultancy services will not be utilised for this process.

Small farms and crofts are vital for delivering on the Vision for Agriculture and the plans and audits that make up the Whole Farm Plan will provide value to all businesses, regardless of scale.

In this first year, we only expect farmers and crofters to undertake two of the up to five relevant requirements. Further, to avoid duplication we welcome equivalences such as the QMS animal health and welfare plan that so many of our producers already have. Guidance was co-developed with industry on the range of free online tools that are available and the more direct support that is offered through our Preparing for Sustainable Farming scheme.

The plans and audits that make up the Whole Farm Plan are suitable for every farmer and crofter in Scotland, regardless of geographical location or size. They will encourage farmers and crofters to review their business practices and help identify areas for improvement in terms of resource efficiency. This may result in increased productivity and/or profitability. Additionally, if a business decides to implement changes to deliver these improvements, the plan and audits will give them the opportunity to assess the effectiveness of these improvements.

Supply chains are asking more of our producers and expecting produce with positive impact for nature and climate. It is right that we effectively support our farmers and crofters on this journey.

The requirements for the Whole Farm Plan apply to all claimants of BPS and do not specifically identify islands. However, extensive stakeholder engagement has been carried out to ensure that the Whole Farm Plan requirements are proportionate for crofting businesses and small farms. The Scottish Crofting Federation were content that the requirement for two plans in audits in 2025 was achievable by their members, particularly as there are no financial implications in 2025 if businesses do not achieve this.

Additionally, The Scottish Crofting Federation were part of The Whole Farm Plan Steering Group, which was established by the Cabinet Secretary.

I welcome this contribution from Katrina Coutts. We will continue to work with our partners in the industry to ensure their insight and expertise informs as to how we will best deliver our Vision.

I would note that our approach of co-development, of listening to the needs of our crofters in particular, is why we have prioritised their asks in our capital grant scheme and we have recently announced a derogation for small herds in the Suckler Beef Scheme.

Since its establishment in 2022, the Scottish Government has allocated Just Transition Fund support to the North East and Moray as follows:

• 2022 - 2023: £10 million
• 2023 - 2024: £50 million
• 2024 - 2025: £12.172 million
• 2025 - 2026: £15.9 million

With a view to assessing the value for public money and the impact of our investment to date, we commissioned an independent evaluation of the impact of the fund in its first two years of operation. The report, which will be published shortly, emphasised the enabling role of the Fund in delivering a just transition to net zero in region.

Its findings indicate the Fund has created and safeguarded at least 230 jobs, opened up more than 750 training places via skills-focused projects and, attracted over £30 million in private investment and £4.7m in public and third sector investment from £43 million of initial JTF investment.

These are the initial impacts of the Fund and we are confident that job numbers, investment leverage and other key outputs will increase as projects continue.

Since its inception in 2022, the Scottish Government has allocated Just Transition Fund support to the North East and Moray as follows:

• 2022 - 2023: £10 million
• 2023 - 2024: £50 million
• 2024 - 2025: £12.172 million
• 2025 - 2026: £15.9 million