Chamber and committees

Information provided in any application for Freight Facilities Grant (FFG), including personal information, may be subject to publication or disclosure in accordance with legislation including the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs) and the Data Protection Act 1998.

Any company which wants to move freight by rail or water rather than by road and which is proposing to invest in new freight handling facilities in Scotland or re-invest in existing facilities in Scotland may apply for Freight Facilities Grant (FFG).

The amount of FFG that will be offered depends on the value of the environmental benefits of the project and the additional costs of moving freight by rail or water, determined by a financial appraisal of the project comparing the cost of the rail or water operation with the road alternative. Grants are limited to a maximum of 50% of the capital expenditure.

The key requirement for payment of grant is that Scottish Ministers must be satisfied that if the proposed facility is not provided, the freight, which would have used it, will in fact be carried by road. This means that there must be soundly based projections of the type and quantity of goods that would use the proposed facility and evidence that these goods are currently transported by road.

FFG is paid in the clear expectation that the freight facility will secure the removal of lorries from specific routes for a specific number of years. In return for FFG support, grant recipients must give a commitment to use the facility for a certain period and move a specified amount of freight through the facility.

Most facilities needed to handle or carry freight on rail or water are eligible under the criteria for FFG for example piers, rail sidings and handling equipment. Funding is limited to capital expenditure. Design and project management costs associated exclusively with the freight facility are also likely to be eligible.

Since the GB wide scheme was introduced in 1997, it has been reviewed on several occasions. These exercises were led by the Department for Transport on behalf of the UK Government with input from both the Scottish and Welsh Governments as well as stakeholders across the logistics sector. The last review was undertaken in 2018. The application criteria for the scheme remains unchanged since the scheme began.

In April 2023, the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer (CPO) announced an Independent Medicines Homecare Review in response to reports of failings in the standards of care provided across Scotland and the increasing demand for medicines homecare provision.

The CPO will be publishing the Homecare Medicines Review before the end of March. In terms of next steps, the CPO has met with NHS National Procurement to discuss what actions can be taken forward within their remit and what actions require further consideration through a task and finish group. The group will be established shortly and will be chaired by a Director of Pharmacy and a Director of Nursing. The Group will help to outline the next steps and timescales to delivery.

There are currently no plans for the Scottish Government to include new types of projects or industries within the criteria for the Freight Facilities Grant scheme.

The Freight Facilities Grant funding allocated in each year since 2021 was:

• 2021-22 - £1,350,000;
• 2022-23 - £1,400,000;
• 2023-24 - £1,400,000; and
• 2024-25 - £0.00.

The worrying of livestock by dogs is completely unacceptable and is something the Scottish Government takes very seriously and any dog attack is one too many.

We welcome the fact that in Scotland we have tough legislation in place to deal with livestock worrying. The Scottish Government supported Emma Harper’s member’s bill when it was introduced, to provide Police Scotland and the courts with greater powers to deal with those who allow their dogs to worry, attack or kill livestock in Scotland’s countryside. Under this law owners of dogs that attack or worry livestock can be fined up to £40,000 or face a prison sentence of up to 12 months.

Please find below the number of accused convicted based on the financial year of conviction in relation to the fines and custodial sentences handed down. Please note that The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2021 came into force on 5 November 2021. The 2021 Act amends the offence under the 1953 Act so all proceedings are still under the 1953 Act (as amended).

Table 1: Number of accused convicted with at least one protection of livestock from dogs crime, given a fine or imprisonment

The following table sets out the total number of premises currently contracted to receive connections through the R100 North contract by 2028, the number of premises connected as of 13 January 2025 and the number of premises yet to be connected as of the same date.

Openreach are also delivering a number of additional connections to premises that were not in the contracts, but have been connected as a result of nearby R100 contract build. This is known as overspill. The number of such connections delivered are also provided in the following table.

It should also be noted that our demand-led R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) remains available for those not expected to benefit from superfast broadband through R100 contract or commercial build plans.

The latest data, as provided on our address checker at www.scotlandsuperfast.com, shows that a total of 7,924 connections are expected to be delivered through the R100 North contract in 2025. This information is broken down by Local Authority in the following table.

Please note that these figures are subject to change, as connection plans can change, based on a number of factors such as adverse weather or issues with securing access to land or property, etc.

The following table sets out the total number of premises currently contracted to receive connections through the R100 North contract by 2028, the number of premises connected as of 13 January 2025 and the number of premises yet to be connected as of the same date.

Openreach are also delivering a number of additional connections to premises that were not in the contracts, but have been connected as a result of nearby R100 contract build. This is known as overspill. The number of such connections delivered are also provided in the following table.

It should also be noted that our demand-led R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) remains available for those not expected to benefit from superfast broadband through R100 contract or commercial build plans.

Scottish Enterprise confirmed there are 60 GlobalScots located in the UAE.

There are currently 4 events coming up within the year with one specific to GlobalScots. The 4 events that are planned for this year within UAE are:

• Gulfood - the world's largest annual food and hospitality show (17-21 February 2025);
• GlobalScot Middle East AGM (end of March 2025);
• Scotland Week, which will include an Energy Trade Mission, Scottish Food and Drink showcase and some Capital Investment and Science & Tech related activity (planned for April 2025);
• ADIPEC - Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (3-6 November 2025; focus on energy transition).