Chamber and committees

Information regarding ministerial engagements is available on the Scottish Government website and I would refer the member to the following pages:

https://www.gov.scot/collections/ministerial-engagements-travel-and-gifts/.

The minister with responsibility for energy met with South of Scotland Enterprise on the following occasions:

• The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the Chair and Chief Executive of South of Scotland Enterprise on 26 June 2024 to discuss South of Scotland Enterprise’s activity and relevant portfolio issues.
• The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the Chair of South of Scotland Enterprise on 8 July 2024 to discuss rural housing.
• The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the Chair and Chief Executive of South of Scotland Enterprise on 26 September 2024 to discuss South of Scotland Enterprise’s activity and relevant portfolio issues.
• The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the Chair of South of Scotland Enterprise on 19 September 2024 to discuss Public Service Reform.
• The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the Chair of South of Scotland Enterprise and a Director of Kight PowerHub BESS (Scotland) on 29 October 2024 to discuss Kight Powerhub’s work.
• The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the Business Response Team Leader and Digital Transformation Specialists team of Scottish Enterprise, and the Head of Enterprise and Business of South of Scotland Enterprise, on 31 October 2024 to discuss business resilience.
• The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work attended the South of Scotland Enterprise Natural Capital Roundtable on 4 December 2024 to discuss natural capital investment.

There have been two meetings between the minister with responsibility for energy and representatives of the Scottish National Investment Bank since 2024.

11 January 2024: Meeting between Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy and the Bank to discuss strategic priorities.

12 March 2024: Meeting between Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy and the Bank. Introductory meeting with Chair and Chief Executive of the Bank to discuss the Bank’s progress to date and ambitions for the future.

You can find information about Ministerial engagements on the Scottish Government website at the following link:

Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot

The Scottish minister with responsibility for energy has met Crown Estate Scotland twice since 2024.

• The Minister for Energy and the Environment met the Chair and Chief Executive of Crown Estate Scotland on 16 January 2024 to discuss Energy
• The Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy met the Chief Executive of Crown Estate Scotland on 20 November 2025 to discuss Offshore Wind

All ministerial engagements are published on The Scottish Government website at - www.gov.scot/collections/ministerial-engagements-travel-and-gifts/

An assessment into the rising costs of horticulture businesses has not been undertaken by the Scottish Government, however, the Horticultural Trades Association has recently published a briefing outlining the ‘Cost of Doing Business’ for the environmental horticulture sector across the UK as a whole. This can be found here: https://hta.org.uk/public-affairs-policy/briefings-consultations-and-reports/stakeholder-section/stakeholder-briefings. The Scottish Government recognises the current challenges outlined in this assessment, which environmental horticulture businesses are facing, the majority of which are family-run SMEs. That is why the Scottish Government continues to offer the Small Business Bonus Scheme to help address the rising costs that businesses are facing. In addition, Scottish Government backed schemes have helped businesses reduce energy costs through grants for energy efficient equipment and renewable technologies.

The Scottish Government has regular engagement with the environmental horticulture sector and recognises the important role of environmental horticulture in the development of green landscaping and infrastructure. Horticultural businesses and expertise are integral to the supply of trees and plants, and are well-placed to help address environmental challenges, as well as contribute to the Scottish population’s mental and physical health, through the creation of gardens and greenspaces. These benefits are set out in the Horticulture Trades Association’s Scottish Environmental Horticulture Manifesto, which the Scottish Government welcomed in autumn 2025. The Scottish Government looks forward to continued constructive work with the environmental horticulture sector to ensure that the shared ambitions for green growth and for a healthy and climate resilient nation are achieved.

The Scottish Government has not made any specific assessment of the impact of the non-domestic rates regime in Scotland on environmental horticulture businesses, however the Scottish Budget 2026-27 delivered a competitive rates package including decreasing the Basic, Intermediate and Higher Property Rates in 2026-27, delivering the lowest Basic Property Rate since 2018. The Budget also continues to support businesses and communities with a strong relief package worth over £870 million, including the Small Business Bonus Scheme, which remains the most generous of its kind in the UK. We estimate that over 100,000 properties will remain eligible for the Small Business Bonus Scheme in 2026-27.

Our enterprise agencies provide support to businesses, including horticulture businesses, through a range of mechanisms aimed at supporting business development, investment and growth. For example, Highlands and Islands Enterprise has provided support to Inverness-based root vegetable supplier NessGro to invest in advanced grading technology, software and production improvements. It has also provided advice to Nortenergy, a social enterprise which makes storm proof polytunnels to enable fruit and vegetables to be grown undercover in extreme climates. South of Scotland Enterprise has provided funding to a garden centre in its region to support energy efficiency measures.

Businesses may be able to access a combination of grant funding, specialist advisory support and investment assistance from Scottish Enterprise where projects have the potential to deliver measurable economic and environmental impact for Scotland. Businesses can also access support provided by their local authority or Business Gateway.

The Find Business Support website at https://findbusinesssupport.gov.scot/ gives businesses an overview of all funding and services offered by public sector organisations across Scotland.

Scottish Government’s expectations regarding Caledonian Sleeper performance are set out in https://www.sleeper.scot/media/rerpktgb/caledonian-sleeper-grant-agreement-current.pdf.

In addition, Caledonian Sleeper agrees its business plans annually with Scottish Rail Holdings (SRH), who manages and oversees Caledonian Sleeper services on behalf of Scottish Ministers and is required to hold Caledonian Sleeper to account for meeting its agreed targets. The Member may wish to contact SRH for this information.

Caledonian Sleeper Limited (CSL) is responsible for the assessment of rolling stock on its services, with oversight from Scottish Rail Holdings (SRH). The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is responsible as the safety regulator for ensuring that the rolling stock is maintained in line with the safety management system. The Member may wish to contact these organisations directly regarding this matter. The Scottish Government does not hold the information centrally.

Caledonian Sleeper and Transport Focus, the independent passenger watchdog, publish statistical information on passenger satisfaction. Recent survey results can be accessed here: Caledonian Sleeper_GSS_Dashboard_2027_RP03https://www.sleeper.scot/about/our-performance/#3; and https://www.transportfocus.org.uk/publication/caledonian-sleeper-guest-satisfaction-survey-25/.

Previous results of surveys undertaken by Transport Focus can be found in the ‘Publications’ section of its website: https://www.transportfocus.org.uk/publications/?hba_otd_searchable_posts%5BrefinementList%5D%5Bpost_year%5D%5B0%5D=2022.