Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 1316 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-34470

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 27 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many signs located along the (a) A82, (b) A828, (c) A83, (d) A835, (e) A85, (f) A86, (g) A87, (h) A887, (i) A889, (j) A9, (k) A95, (l) A96 and (m) A99 that were categorised as having a Category 1 defect did not receive a temporary or permanent repair by 6.00 am on the day following identification, in each year since 2021.

Transport Scotland’s Operating Companies are required to either repair or make safe Category 1 sign defects within 24 hours of detection. The following table provides the number of Category 1 sign related defects that were not recorded as either repaired or made safe within 24 hours.

	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
A82	0	3	3	1	0
A828	1	1	0	0	0
A83	0	1	0	3	2
A835	0	1	0	0	0
A85	1	2	0	0	0
A86	0	0	0	0	1
A87	0	2	1	0	0
A887	0	0	0	0	0
A889	0	0	0	0	0
A9	1	6	2	0	0
A95	0	1	2	0	0
A96	1	2	0	1	0
A99	0	1	1	0	0

Question reference: S6W-34430

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 27 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how the Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) contributes to its efforts to reduce road freight traffic, and what impact this has had on (a) road congestion and (b) air quality.

Question reference: S6W-34412

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 27 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the long-term efficacy of projects funded through the Freight Facilities Grant (FFG).

Traffic monitoring is undertaken after a facility funded under the grant scheme becomes operational.

Transport Scotland requires applicants to provide a return of traffic passing through the grant-aided facility. Transport Scotland will require verified tonnages reports from the applicant, in cases where the applicant is required to provide evidence to corroborate the traffic the documentation required will be agreed prior to the award of grant.

Monitoring will cover an agreed period of time to allow the required environmental benefits from the grant to be accrued by the applicant.

Question reference: S6W-34420

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 27 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) funding has been allocated to projects that aim to improve rail freight infrastructure, and how this compares to funding for road and maritime projects.

A total of £70,443,984 has been allocated through the Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) since its introduction in 1997. Of this the spend on rail projects was £44,708,510, or 63% of the FFG budget. The spend on water projects was £25,735,474 which equates to 37% of the budget.

During the period 2022-23 to 2024-25, the Scottish Government invested over £2.8 billion on trunk road safety, adaptations, maintenance and improvement. The Scottish Parliament agreed in principle on 6 February 2025 to invest nearly £1.1 billion to ensure the trunk road network is well maintained and enhanced, and progress major road projects, including duelling the A9 and improving the A83.

Ports in Scotland are mostly independent statutory bodies – each governed by their own local legislation – and are deemed commercial entities. Therefore, the Scottish Government has no say in the day-to-day running of their business, nor can it dictate business decisions made by a company on how to best utilise its resources. This remains the responsibility of the port authority.

There are no Scottish Government funding options specifically for the commercial maritime sector. However, as commercial businesses, Scottish Enterprise can provide advice about what options could be available for private / public co-investment to develop port infrastructure. The Scottish Government and its agencies have supported a number of maritime proposals across Scotland, including large scale developments at Aberdeen and Stornoway, and through the Green Freeport initiatives at Inverness, Cromarty Firth and Forth Ports.

Question reference: S6O-04386

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the ways in which local authorities engage with stakeholders regarding the implementation of the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024.

Question reference: S6W-34413

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 26 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how the Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) scheme has supported the growth of Scotland’s ports and logistics infrastructure, and what improvements have been made to port facilities as a result of this funding.

Question reference: S6W-34410

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 25 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to expand the Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) programme to include new types of projects or industries, and, if so, what these new areas of focus would be.

Question reference: S6W-34404

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 25 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the total amount of funding allocated for the Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) has been in each year since 2021.

Question reference: S6W-34409

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 25 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria is used to assess applications for the Freight Facilities Grant (FFG), and how often these criteria have been updated or revised.

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.

Question reference: S6W-34408

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 25 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many jobs have been created or supported by projects funded through the Freight Facilities Grant (FFG), and what sectors have seen the most job growth as a result.