Process and Guidance

It should be noted that whilst Transport Scotland’s intention is to avoid placing unnecessary administrative burden on bus operators which are not commensurate with either the size of the operator, or its type of operations, all operators are required to return their Fair Work First Compliance Statement and a fully completed Excel claim form. Payment will not commence until all relevant information is received by Transport Scotland, a grant award has been made, and the relevant parts of the grant award form has been agreed, signed and returned to Transport Scotland by the grantee.

All payments of NSG are made through the Bankers Automated Clearing Service (BACS) and any new operators are asked to supply Transport Scotland with their banking details. A form for these is available on request at schemesandgrants@transport.gov.scot.

For their part, companies are required, under the conditions imposed under section 38 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001, to keep adequate records of the kilometres run and operation of local bus services so as to satisfy both the independent accountant who must certify the actual claim form and Transport Scotland that the figures on the claim are correctly stated.

NSG claims will run from the first date of claim (whether estimate and certified or certified only) to 31 March for each financial year. The relevant claim form and guidance to assist in the completion of the claim form (which can also be found on the NSG website) is available below:

• 2024-25 NSG Claim Form
• Claim Form Completion Guidance