The purpose of this paper is to give an update on the current position (at 1 st April 2023) of the Strategic Timber Transport Fund (STTF) which supports both the Strategic Timber Transport Scheme (STTS) and the TimberLINK public service shipping contract.

The original STTF of £13m was introduced in 2005 for a three year period. Subsequently, it was extended for three years to March 2011 with an annual budget of £5m. This annual budget included a maximum £1m allocation to the TimberLINK shipping service.

The fund continued thereafter with a budget of £3m/year (including TimberLINK) until March 2016. Subsequently the annual budget has been £2.85 million from 2016-17 until 2018-19 and then it was reduced to £2 million in 2019-20.

This has been enhanced since 2017-18 with an extra £5 million from Transport Scotland, giving a:

• 2017-18 total of £7.85m
• 2018-19 total of £7.85m
• 2019-20 total of £7m

The 2020-21 budget of £7m was increased to £8m to support Covid-19 recovery. The 2021-22, and 2022-23 budgets were both set at £7m. The aims and objectives of the Fund remain the same:

‘To facilitate the sustainable transport of timber in rural areas of Scotland for the benefit of local communities and the environment, maximising the value of monies available through innovative projects and partnerships’.