Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is aware of three economic impact assessments undertaken for the 7stanes mountain bike network in 2004, 2007 and 2012. Those studies found that the network generated significant economic benefits for the South of Scotland, including Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders.

The most recent assessment, undertaken in 2012, estimated that the 7stanes network generated approximately £11 million of net additional visitor expenditure across the South of Scotland and helped attract almost 400,000 visits annually, with around 82% of visitors originating from outside the region.

The studies also found that the network supported local businesses, increased overnight stays and contributed to employment in rural communities.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken a more recent economic impact assessment of the 7stanes network.

The Scottish Government committed to begin engagement on the Rural Renewal Bill within our first 100 Days, commencing on 18 June as the First Minister announced at the Royal Highland Show. Over the summer we have engaged with people, communities and organisations across rural Scotland to understand priorities and experiences.

Consultation will continue to take place throughout the Bill process. The Government’s future legislative programme will be announced as part of the Programme for Government.

The Scottish Government supports a range of initiatives to improve health and wellbeing among people working in agriculture and other land-based industries. This includes funding for RSABI, which provides practical, financial and emotional support to Scotland’s agricultural community, and funding for Farmstrong, which promotes physical and mental wellbeing to those working in farming and crofting.

Mental Health is vital to rural wellbeing and prosperity, and factors impacting rural wellbeing are many and varied. That is why the Scottish Government funds the National Rural Mental Health Forum, responds agilely to ensure lived experience of mental wellbeing in our rural communities and businesses is understood and feeds into developing policy.

RSABI, Farmstrong and the National Rural Mental Health Forum operate across Scotland, including in rural areas such as Dumfries and Galloway, helping ensure that support to improve health outcomes is available to men working in agriculture.

Scottish Forestry has a network of active Mental Health First Aiders to help reduce the stigma of mental health, offer initial support and signpost to appropriate help. Scottish Forestry has offered (summer/autumn 2026) all staff the opportunity for a well-being health screening with an external provider. There has been cross forestry sector support for the Royal Forestry Society’s Breaking Points survey and subsequent animations created (“Every Interaction Matters” and “Healthy Trees Need Healthy People”) to enable conversations around mental health. We Listened: Public perception of forestry is harming mental health - Royal Forestry Society.

The Scottish Government does not intend to conduct any public awareness campaigns on illegal puppy trading at this time. However, the Scottish Government sits on the Pet Trade Taskforce (PTT); a multi-agency group established to tackle a number of animal-related illegal activities, including the unlicensed puppy trade. Part of the work of the PTT is raising awareness of the unlicensed trade and the suffering associated with it and educating the public about how to buy a puppy safely.

The Scottish Government does not have any immediate plans to review the impact of the Welfare of Dogs Act on illegal puppy smuggling.

However Scottish Government officials are part of the Pet Trade Taskforce; a multi-agency group established to tackle a number of animal-related illegal activities, including the unlicensed puppy trade. This group is involved in educating the public about how to buy a puppy safely which is a key aspect of the 2025 Act and the associated guidance produced by the Scottish Government.

Licence conditions applying to dog breeding licences granted under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 already make clear that no dog may be kept for breeding if it can reasonably be expected, on the basis of its genotype, conformation or state of health, that breeding from it could have a detrimental effect on its, or it’s offspring’s, health or welfare.

Furthermore, the Scottish Government guidance produced for both local authorities and holders of a dog breeding licence provides clear advice on this specific issue and lists the category 3 breeds of dogs highlighted by the Kennel Club as being of particular concern and that are more susceptible to developing specific health conditions associated with exaggerated conformation, in particular problems that involve the eyes, skin, dentition, movement and respiratory function.

Anyone seeking to breed a category 3 breed must demonstrate that they have robust selection and health screening procedures in place and local authorities should only licence such a breeder if completely satisfied that all relevant safeguards are in place and that the breeder demonstrates a clear understanding of the issues inherent to the breed in question.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) monitors visitor numbers at several sites within the 7stanes network. Available data shows that visitor trends have varied across the network over the last five years, with some sites recording increases and others experiencing periods of decline before recovering.

For example, recorded visits to Glentress increased by 12% between 2023 and 2025, while visits at Dalbeattie declined between 2021 and 2024 before recovering by 29% in 2025 compared with the previous year.

FLS considers that a range of factors have influenced these trends, including increased participation in outdoor recreation during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic, storm damage and associated trail closures, forestry operations affecting site access, the introduction of parking charges at some locations, and investment in new trails, visitor facilities and major events such as the UCI Cycling World Championships at Glentress.

As visitor counters are not currently in place at every 7stanes location, it is not possible to determine a single overall trend for the whole network. However, FLS have recently approved investment to expand and improve its visitor number monitoring infrastructure next year.

Future Farming Investment Scheme grants were paid in advance specifically to give businesses the cash flow to make the approved investments, which was one of the main barriers experienced with previous schemes. Verification before Basic Payment Scheme payment protects public funds by ensuring funds were used as agreed, and establishing whether any grant is recoverable before further support is paid. The Scottish Government has extended the deadline for businesses to submit evidence to 30 September, providing additional flexibility. As of 15 September 2026, 423 beneficiaries are still to provide evidence that the funded investment was carried out.

Planning work being undertaken by Public Services Delivery Scotland will provide the information necessary to develop a 24/7 thrombectomy service across Scotland.

This work will include consideration of the specific requirements of rural and island communities, including those of people living in Dumfries and Galloway.

Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Division are processing received applications in a timely and robust manner to ensure the safeguarding of public funds. The deadline for submitting evidence is 30 September 2026. As of 15 September 2026, 423 beneficiaries are still to provide evidence that the funded investment was carried out.