Chamber and committees

Agricultural businesses, including crofters and small farmers, which are registered on the Scottish Government’s Rural Payments and Services website may apply to the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS). The scheme has now closed for applications in 2025, and detail of the 2026 round will be shared in late 2025.

An important feature of the scheme is a scoring system designed to avoid discrimination against smaller businesses, including crofters. This aims to promote applications by small businesses by awarding three additional points where the application value is less than £20,000.

Where an applicant’s business has less than 30 hectares, some beneficiaries are able to access small unit supplementary payments across many of the options over and above the income foregone payments for AECS options. This enables some businesses of less than 30 hectares to access important socio-economic options like native breed cattle introduction and retention.

An additional scoring uplift is also offered where two or more applicants intend to deliver an option collaboratively. This is available to all eligible applicants, including smaller businesses, crofters and common grazing committees.

As set out in the Agricultural Reform Route Map, AECS is expected to continue up to at least 2026 to deliver elements of Tier 3 until the new Elective support is implemented.

Opportunities to improve the equity of access to future support across all business sizes and types will be considered as part of the Agricultural Reform Programme. As part of this, a review of the AECS scoring system will be undertaken. We remain committed to co-designing the development of future support structures and delivery with rural partners, and this includes how existing schemes will transition to the four-tier model. It is right that we take the time necessary to develop the detail of our policies with the people directly affected by them, which is important if we are to deliver on our commitment to a just transition for our farmers and crofters. Following this process, further detail will be shared in due course.

The Scottish Government worked collaboratively on arrangements for the recent visit of President Trump to Scotland, and recognises the hard work of the police officers and police staff who delivered this complex and large-scale operation, which ensured a safe and secure visit by the President.

Operational decisions around the planning and delivery of the operation, and the deployment of police officers, were for the Chief Constable. Police Scotland is still determining the costs of this complex policing operation, and they do not expect the final costs to be available until later in the year.

The Scottish Government is engaging with the UK Government to explore the options for funding the costs incurred by Police Scotland and wider public sector partners including the Scottish Government, in supporting the Presidential visit. In the interests of openness and transparency the Scottish Government has committed to making details of the costs publicly available, once they are known.

Currently, grants are available to bring about distinct and durable improvement in the quality of permanent pasture. Soil analysis is also eligible for grant aid as part of an acceptable scheme.

Throughout 2024, officials worked with stakeholders on the CAGS Stakeholder Group to discuss changes to the operation of the scheme. These changes, implemented in 2025, included the introduction of standard costs for the likes of fencing and agricultural buildings. The next stage will focus on the type of projects supported, to ensure the CAGS aligns with the future support framework and the Scottish Government’s Vision for Agriculture.

The 2025-26 Scottish Budget, which was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 25 February, has funding allocated to provide free bus travel for people seeking asylum. My officials have reconvened the Working Group with Third Sector representatives and other interested parties to work through delivery options for a pilot scheme this financial year.

The pilot will provide free bus travel for those people seeking asylum who are not eligible for the existing statutory free bus travel schemes. It is anticipated that the pilot will commence in the Autumn. Delivery of the pilot will be monitored and an evaluation carried out to determine demand, costs and potential benefits of free bus travel to people seeking asylum in Scotland.

People seeking asylum in Scotland who are aged under 22, aged 60 or over or have an eligible disability are already entitled to concessionary travel through the existing National Concessionary Travel schemes.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39465 on 29 July 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is engaging Historic Environment Scotland regarding the future of HMP Barlinnie and whether any part of the buildings at the prison would be considered for listed building status. This is an important part of SPS’ considerations around the future direction of the site and sale.

Trade policy is reserved to the UK Government. The UK Environment Act 2021 enables the introduction of controls on palm oil, cocoa, beef, leather and soy in an effort to ensure that are not linked to illegal deforestation. Similar provisions have been introduced in the European Union. Through the ENRA (Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture) research programme, the Scottish Government is directly funding work to develop sustainable feeding strategies that reduce reliance on imported soya.

The Public Service Obligation (PSO) contract for services between Glasgow and Campbeltown does not include a limit on the number of flights that can operate. As with any PSO, the specification sets out the number of flights for which subsidy will be paid. This number is based upon anticipated demand. The airline is, however, free to operate additional services on a commercial basis if they wish.

At time of the transition to public ownership and control of ScotRail, in order to maintain service levels while minimising disruption to staff, it was decided that the contracts for the contact centre, finance and payroll which were delivered to ScotRail by a third party provider, would remain external.

The contract for the contact centre, which is coming to an end, has been awarded to Teleperformance Ltd, who will maintain the continuity of providing the service.

ScotRail will bring the abovementioned functions in-house, as soon as it is practicable to do so.

We continue to provide Scotland’s farmers, crofters and land managers with the most generous package of direct support in the UK, investing over £660 million in support to agriculture. Support schemes such as the Crofting Agricultural Grant Scheme, the Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme and the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme all help to support our sheep producers.

The Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024 provides the powers to create a new future payment framework and this approach provides future flexibility to respond to geopolitical, economic, climate and nature challenges which will enable rural communities to thrive. The purposes for which support can be provided are specified within Schedule 1 of the Act, which includes wool, and is aimed at providing the flexibility to support all our producers.