§ Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all instances where a freight flow has been transferred from road to rail transport in Scotland during the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 21 March 1994]: The information requested is not available centrally.
§ Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will give details of all awards made by his Department under the freight facilities grant scheme over the past 10 years; and if he will make a statement;
329W(2) if he will give details of the total amount spent by his Department on awards under the freight facilities grant scheme over the past 10 years; and if he will make a statement;
(3) if he will give details of the number of applications for awards under the freight facilities grant scheme that have been rejected over the past 10 years; and if he will make a statement.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 21 March 1994]: The Scottish Office has made awards to four new projects totalling £3,455,034 under the freight facilities grant scheme since March 1984. The details of the projects are as follows:
Company Location Facilities Deanside Transit Ltd. Hillington, Glasgow Warehousing and bulk handling facilities John G. Russell Gartcosh, Glasgow Coal containers and handling equipment British Alcan Fort William Rail facilities and averages for the handling of alumina Caledonian Paper plc Irvine Siding, track and handling facilties for timber and china clay Over the past 10 years a total of £3,627,704 has been paid out under the FFG scheme. This includes the awards of to the four projects detailed and the balance of awards made prior to 1984. During this period three applications, which did not meet the schemes' criteria for eligibility, have been rejected.
The Government recognise that the carriage of freight by rail usually offers environmental advantages over other transport modes, and it is our policy that freight should use rail wherever it makes good economic sense to do so. To give rail a competitive edge the Government are enhancing the freight facilities grant scheme from 1 April 1994. These enhancements include the extension of the areas of capital expenditure which may be eligible for grant, and the simplification and improvement of procedures for applicants. We hope that the revisions will lead to renewed interest in the scheme in Scotland.