FFG 'needs more funding'

Date: 20/1/2012

More funding is required if the Scottish Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) is to be effective, it has been claimed.

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) welcomed the Scottish government's announcement that money will be provided for the initiative until 2014.

However, this will not be enough and is unlikely to support demand from firms looking at more environmentally-friendly ways of transporting goods, the organisation claimed.

The FTA's Head of Policy for Scotland Chris MacRae said freight needs to be moved off the roads and on to rail and water if the country is to meet its environmental targets.

He added that "£750,000 is not going to go very far and will effectively make Scottish railways less attractive for those who could consider taking goods off the road."

Environment Minister Alex Attwood recently assured the FTA that Operator Licensing will be introduced in Northern Ireland by April, which would mean commercial vehicle operators in the country have to hold the licence if they carry goods on a vehicle weighing more than 3.5 tonnes.

Posted by Mary Treen