Hansard

I thank members, particularly those who have stayed for the debate, for their support for the motion, which has helped it to be selected for debate. I also take the opportunity to welcome the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure to his new post.

The freight facilities grants scheme is an extremely important issue—I would go so far as to say that it is a key issue—in this year’s budget. It is a vital issue for my constituency, where it is fair to say that the announcement that the scheme would end came as a shock, because a considerable amount of work has been done on a bid for a new scheme at Grangestone, in Girvan.

The issue is also vital for the economy and environment of Scotland as a whole. That is borne out by the wide range of comments and submissions to the Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee’s scrutiny of the budget process, in particular from Highland Spring in Perthshire, in the constituency of the Minister for the Environment and Climate Change. It is also borne out by the wide support for the motion from the rail industry, business, trade unions and environmental groups. I am sure that the speeches in tonight’s debate will reinforce for the minister many of the points that have been made.

The amount of money that the freight facilities grants scheme involves is not huge in the context of the budget as a whole. However, such investment can help to regenerate communities, secure jobs, boost the economy and improve our environment. By any standards, the scheme has been a success. It has provided capital grants of up to 75 per cent of costs, to encourage the transfer of freight from roads to more sustainable methods of transport. Almost £70 million has been awarded in Scotland since 1997—I have just checked with Malcolm Chisholm, who is sitting next to me, that he was the minister with responsibility for transport at the time of the scheme’s introduction. According to the Scottish Government’s figures, the transfer of freight to rail and shipping has taken 33 million lorry miles away from Scotland’s road network annually. That is a massive achievement, which we should all celebrate, as the motion says. Without the FFG scheme, our environment would be poorer and our roads would be more congested and dangerous. In addition, we should not forget the benefits of the FFG scheme to business and the economy, in particular in creating and sustaining jobs in rural areas.

Schemes throughout Scotland have been supported and members will no doubt talk about the benefits for their areas. I have seen the benefits in East Ayrshire, where massive amounts of coal are now transported by rail rather than road.

The Grangestone proposal, which is outlined in my motion, would remove some 4,000 lorry journeys from roads in South Ayrshire. It has the potential to reduce the number of heavy goods vehicles that travel on the A77, where, as the minister will have heard from his predecessor, communities such as Maybole, Minishant, Kirkoswald, Girvan, Lendalfoot, Ballantrae and Glenapp have long-standing campaigns for road improvements that would reduce the number of accidents, for speed reduction measures and for by-passes. No doubt the minister will also take account of what his colleague Adam Ingram, who is sitting next to him, says, because Adam Ingram well knows about the pressure from communities on the issue.

I am not for a minute suggesting that the Grangestone scheme could solve all the problems. However, it could reduce the pressure on local roads, cut emissions and improve the local environment. That is a win-win situation, which—rightly—has significant backing throughout the local community. Major businesses that operate in global markets are located at Grangestone, such as William Grant & Sons Distillers and Nestlé. In recent times, both companies have made major investments in their plants to cut carbon emissions.

We can build on that progress. The proposal provides a chance to bring to fruition an innovative and far-reaching project that will be good for business and the environment and which will have the community at its heart. The unique aspect of the project is that it is being taken forward by Ailsa Horizons, which is a social enterprise that has charitable recognition. The company has set up a separate community interest company to operate its proposed railhead, and the plan is that the share of the profits that went to Ailsa Horizons would be channelled into local economic development activity.

The proposal could be the first ever community-owned rail freight facility in the United Kingdom. That is why it has been supported so well and why there is such dismay that this ambitious plan appears to have been wiped out at the stroke of a ministerial pen. It is all the more surprising to me, as the plan seems to tick all the boxes for the Scottish Government’s own priorities, given its economic, environmental, social and, indeed, commercial benefits.

To scrap the project now, after the significant time and money that has already been invested, would be seen as a slap in the face for Carrick. It would be a particularly bitter blow, as money was previously allocated to a freight facilities grant for the area to create a railhead at Barrhill to take transportation of timber off local roads. For various reasons, that money was never drawn down, but I argued at the time that future bids should be given a degree of priority to ensure that the area would get a fair share of available funding.

The Grangestone scheme has the support of many people outside the Parliament. Tony Berkeley, chairman of the Rail Freight Group, said:

“Projects such as the Girvan Intermodal Railhead show how small amounts of Government grant can support significant local investment in rail, and deliver economic and environment benefits across Scotland.”

WWF said:

“Abolishing this scheme will limit any further road to rail switch and is likely to increase climate pollution as a result.”

Keith Norman, the general secretary of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen, said:

“Scotland’s future low carbon economy needs a strong rail freight sector”.

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers has added its support, highlighting that the loss of freight facilities grants would reverse the progress that has been made in transferring freight from road to rail.

I recognise that the Scottish Government’s funding position is constrained. I did not and do not intend to make the debate party political if I can help it—I am trying to be as constructive as possible—but it is shortsighted to scrap a successful scheme with so much potential. At the very least, the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure could argue for keeping open the possibility of in-year funding for schemes that are already in progress, such as those at Grangestone and Blackford in Perthshire.

I have some experience of the way in which budget options are drawn up and I can only surmise that perhaps the FFG scheme came to be on the hit list as a result of underspends in some years leading to the belief that there was no need for the scheme. I see from today’s newswires that the scheme is now described as “suspended”, not scrapped. Perhaps that is a bit of movement, because scrapping the FFG would be bad for business, the environment and my local community, which has much to gain from the excellent proposal for Grangestone.

It is not too late to resolve the matter. As we are talking railways, I will not ask the minister to do a U-turn, but I ask that he stop, reverse, change direction and give an assurance that the FFG schemes will not be shunted into the sidings. I hope that, in his response, he will give a commitment to ensuring that the schemes that are in progress will proceed and a continued commitment to freight facilities grants for the future.