Clarity on figures provided within answer to Parliamentary Question S6W-38806: EIR release

Information requested

1. Clarification of PQ S6W-38806: Please confirm whether the "allocated" figures provided in the answer to S6W-38806 refer to budgeted/planned expenditure or actual/realised expenditure.

2. Comparative Financial Data: For each financial year since the Fund’s inception in 2022 (including the current 2025/26 cycle to date), please provide a table showing:

• • The total amount budgeted/allocated at the start of the financial year.
  • The total amount actually spent/disbursed by the end of that financial year.

3. Underspend Treatment: If there was a discrepancy (underspend) between the budgeted and spent amounts for any year, please provide any internal briefing notes or correspondence explaining how that remaining capital was treated (e.g., if it was carried forward or returned to the central budget).

Reference Data (for context): The answer to S6W-38806 stated the following allocations:

• 2022-23: £10 million
• 2023-24: £50 million
• 2024-25: £12.172 million
• 2025-26: £15.9 million

If you plan to withhold any information, please state which specific exemption applies and confirm if the public interest test has been considered. I would prefer to receive this information in an electronic format (Excel or PDF).

Response

1.  As stated in PQ S6W‑38806, the figures described as “allocated” represent the funding approved for projects through the Just Transition Fund for the North East & Moray. These amounts reflect the planned allocations made at the point of award and do not represent the actual expenditure incurred by the funded/supported projects.

2. Year	Allocated/Planned/Budgeted	Actual Spend
   2022 - 2023	£10 million	10,423,478
   2023 - 2024	£50 million	46,439,565
   2024 - 2025	£12.172 million	16,127,651
   2025 - 2026	£15.9 million	N/A – the financial year has not yet concluded.
   2026 - 2027	£17 million	N/A

3. As with the majority of programmes in Scottish Government, the JTF operates to a single-year budgeting system so any underspend sitting at year-end against the revised budget will be returned to support the corporate balance as there simply is no “carryover” mechanism. Any capital underspend is returned to a central budget as part of the Spring Budget Revision process. Any underspend identified after the SBR process has been completed is used to offset budget pressures elsewhere. The Just Transition Fund has only had an underspend in FY 23/24, £5.7M was returned at SBR with a further £2.5M identified after the SBR process had concluded.
    

   Category	Recipient / Organisation	Project	Description	Funding Duration	Total Initial Funding Given/Award	Total Actual Funds Spent	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25	2025-26	Reason for underspend
   Underspend	Moray Council	Just Transition Masterplan - Moray Council	Five interlinked projects tosupport Moray’s journey away from fossil fuels, including projects to support offshore renewables, creation of a local hydrogen economy, natural capital approach to offsetting, and redeveloping derelict land and premises.	2022 - 2024	£881k	£638,983.30	£250,544.62	£388,438.68			Organisation/council unable to utilise the full allocated funding within the specified timeframe.
   Underspend	Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, and Moray Councils	NESS Carbon Capture Feasibility Study	Study to determine if there is a viable project to retrofit carbon capture systems to the NESS energy facility.	2022 - 2023	£100k	£96,750	£96,750				Project was able to be successfully completed at a cost below the initially anticipated funding request.
   Underspend	Social Investment Scotland	Social Enterprise Just Transition Fund	Delivery of a blended finance approach(part loan/part grant) focused on supporting charities and social enterprises to transition to net zero.	2022 - 2024	£1.5 million	£1,016,085	£488,085	£528,000			Due to reduced demand / less projects supported in 2023-24
   Underspend	University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI Moray)	Moray Net Zero Bottlenecks	Collaborative study focused on the current and future skills requirements and labour supply chain bottlenecks in Moray as it transitions to Net Zero.	2022 -  2024	£210,000	£181,789.79	£41,596.47	£140,193.32			Project being able to be delivered for less than originally awarded.
   Underspend	Energy Skills Passport	OPITO	Development and deployment of a digital offshore energy skills passport to support the transition of skills and jobs across the rapidly changing industry.	2022 -  2024	£4,996,100	£3,703,609.57	£1,871,967.88	£1,831,641.69			Project was originally allocated £4.9 million. Underspend resulted from delays and slippages in delivery, driven in part by challenges OPITO encountered in gaining the support of broader industry stakeholders.
   Underspend	Opportunity North East	North East Adventure Tourism	Project to transform the region into a world class destination for adventure tourism by facilitating the development of high quality, sustainable facilities and low carbon infrastructure.	2022 -  2024	£2.097 million	£1,690,674.13	£397,000	£1,293,674.13			Delays in completing the Organisations; Gravitate North East project due to challenges in developing the project sustainably, compounded by construction delays caused by weather and natural environmental factors.
   Underspend & Extended	Findhorn, Nairn, and Lossie Rivers Trust	Findhorn Watershed Riverwoods Pilot	Habitat restoration of the Findhorn watershed, beginning with an unbroken network of riparian woodland along its riverbanks, supporting the restoration of Wild Atlantic Salmon populations.	2022 -  2025	£970,000	£890,908.45	£139,972.45	£434,098	£316,838		Originally funded from 2022-24 but extended to finish March 2025. Underspend due to planned woodland planting scheme which was unable to be agreed and delivered within time available.
   Extended	Energy Transition Skills Hub (formerly Advanced Manufacturing Skills Hub)	Energy Transition Zone Ltd	The Skills Hub will be a focal point of the Energy Transition Zone Skills Campus and will aim to deliver the skills and training needed to support net zero transition.	2022 -  2024	£4.5 million	N/A	£1,180,000	£470,000	£2,850,000		Originally funded from 2022-24 but extended to finish March 2025.
   Extended	HydroGlen	The James Hutton Institute	Green hydrogen farming pilot to acquire new knowledge to switch from increasingly high levels of fuel poverty to self-reliant, net-zero carbon energy producers in rural communities.	2022 -  2026	£6,968,203.94	N/A	£262,270	£1,248,412.94	£1,987,031	£3,470,490	Originally funded from 2022-25 but extended to finish March 2026. Extension was due to wind turbine supply chain delays.

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