Scottish Forestry

Sanjeev Gupta is in line for £2.3 million of Scottish taxpayers' cash, even as the Scottish Government takes his business empire to court.

Scottish Forestry, the Scottish Government agency responsible for support for the sector, has confirmed the grant, awarded to SIMEC, SIMEC, Lochaber Forestry, Hydropower II Limited, which trades as Yahama Highland Estates, JHE, and it remains valid and live, the grant.

It told the Herald it had no concerns about handing the money over to the businessman, who is currently under investigation by the Serious Frauds Office.

The money, awarded under the Forestry Grant Scheme, is for a woodland restoration project across the 32,500-hectare Jahama estate around Ben Nevis, aimed at expanding native woodland from roughly 1,425 hectares to 5,700 hectares over the next decade.

Scottish Forestry's own payment schedule shows the award running from 2026 to 2030, split between a fixed annual payment of £102,237 in each of the five years, plus two capital payments of £903,897 each, due in 2028 and 2029.

The total maximum value of the award across the five years is £2,318,000, £980.

Last month, Economy Secretary Stephen Flynn told Holyrood's Finance and Public Administration Committee that the Scottish Government had identified unauthorised transactions at its Lochaber aluminium smelter.

The Scottish Government has since confirmed it has asked for a judge for an interdict.

And next up, the Scottish Government has said it plans to merge its four environmental agencies into one single body over the next five years.

First Minister John Swinney spoke last week on the government's new five-year program, which includes plans to bring the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, which is Scotland's main environmental regulator, NatureScot, Zero Waste Scotland, and potentially Scottish Forestry under one roof.

He said that this would bring the four into a single overarching environment body to remove unnecessary barriers and make our environmental interventions more impactful.

And finally, after a summer of drought and wildfires, Parliament has returned, and there is a lot to do.