Official Report 846KB pdf
I ask members leaving the chamber to do so quietly and quickly, please.
The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S7M-01702, in the name of Jamie Langan, on supporting Scotland’s pubs. The debate will be concluded without any questions being put. I ask members who wish to speak in the debate to press their request-to-speak buttons now.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament notes with sadness the closure of The Crown Inn in Biggar, a historic public house dating back to 1650, which closed its doors in October after serving the local community for generations; recognises the contribution made by its owners and all their staff over the years; notes that The Crown Inn was named CAMRA Lanarkshire Pub of the Year in 2016 and was widely regarded as an important landmark in the town; believes that traditional country pubs play a vital role in fostering community spirit and identity; expresses concern at the growing number of pub closures across Scotland amid rising operating costs, taxation and what it sees as excessive regulations and bureaucracy; believes that Scotland's pubs form an integral part of Scotland's cultural heritage; notes reported concerns that policy making in recent years has too often treated pubs primarily as a public health problem rather than recognising them as vital community institutions; believes that social drinking is a normal and valued part of British life, and notes calls for the Scottish Government to champion rather than penalise Scotland's traditional pubs and the communities they serve.
17:51
I am pleased to open this debate. I will begin by thanking colleagues from across the chamber who supported my motion, in particular Duncan Dunlop, Tim Eagle and Craig Hoy, for their cross-party support, which has brought the issue before Parliament today. I also thank all members who are participating in today’s debate.
The reality is that this should not be a partisan issue. Members disagree on many things right across the chamber, but I suspect that almost every one of us has a favourite pub—a local that we are regularly at, or perhaps one that has closed and left a gap in the community that has never quite been filled. Pubs are about far more than just alcohol. They are where we celebrate and where we grieve, where friendships are formed, and where people who might otherwise be isolated find companionship and connection. In towns, villages and cities across Scotland, the pub remains one of the last truly social public places we have left.
That brings me to my reason for today’s debate. My motion was prompted by the closure of the Crown Inn in Biggar. The Crown Inn first opened its doors in 1650. I ask members to think about that for a moment. It goes back long before the act of union. It survived Jacobite uprisings, economic depressions, two world wars and countless changes of Government. It stood for almost four centuries of Scottish history. And yet, after all that, it could not survive the pressures facing Scotland’s hospitality sector today.
I thank Jamie Langan for taking my intervention and for bringing this important debate to Parliament today. I add my voice to his concern about the rate of pub closures in Scotland. I also apologise to him. I would ordinarily participate in this debate, as the chairman of the cross-party group on beer and pubs. However, as he knows, there is a meeting of the group this evening, and it is also our annual pub quiz.
However, before colleagues say that I am skiving off to a pub quiz, I put on the record my thanks to the many publicans around the country who innovate in their own premises to try and weather the storm that is ahead of them, such as through live music nights and pub quizzes.
When the minister speaks, I ask him to reflect on one simple thing—which will be critical to the future of hospitality in Scotland—as we go into the budget negotiations. Will he ensure that, this year, the Scottish Government does something that it has not done in previous years and passes on, in full, any rates relief that it receives from the United Kingdom Government to Scotland’s struggling hospitality sector?
I thank Mr Hoy for his intervention. Going off to support the trade is as good an excuse as any not to be here this evening. I think that we can give Mr Hoy a pass for getting out of the debate in good time. I know that many members will want to go off to the pub quiz.
The Crown Inn in Biggar was not an unsuccessful pub. It was named CAMRA—the Campaign for Real Ale—Lanarkshire pub of the year in 2016. It was highly regarded locally and remained popular right up until it closed its doors; indeed, I was there on its final day of trading, and it was packed full of locals, sad to see it go. However, that is no longer enough.
Unfortunately, the story of the Crown is far from unique. The reality is that Scotland has lost more than 20 per cent of its pubs since 2010. Between 2021 and 2026, almost 300 pubs in Scotland have permanently closed. The simple fact is that good pubs are closing because the environment that they operate in has become increasingly hostile.
I thank Jamie Langan for bringing this topic to the chamber. Does he agree that, although there are many financial pressures on pubs across the country, one way to alleviate that would have been a VAT cut from the UK Treasury for the hospitality sector? Was he as disappointed as I was not to see that a few weeks ago?
I will come to that. Obviously, there is a lot that we can do in Holyrood, but there has also been an attitude from the Westminster Government that has not been conducive to supporting the trade. A VAT cut would have been a massive boost for the industry, so I completely agree with his comments on that.
The data tells us that, in the past 12 months, Aberdeen has lost about eight pubs. What are the member’s thoughts on a cut to beer duty?
As both a policy maker and a consumer, I would be very supportive of it. It would be a great boost for Aberdeen’s pubs and, indeed, those in all of Scotland.
Recent analysis shows that 62 pubs have closed in the first nine months of this year alone. That is almost seven pubs every month, around a pub and a half every week, or a pub closing every four and a half days. Behind those figures are real people and real communities. Those closures cost an estimated 585 jobs, including 330 jobs held by people under the age of 25, and resulted in more than £6 million of lost tax revenue. When a pub closes, everybody loses. Communities lose gathering spaces, workers lose jobs, young people lose employment opportunities, Governments lose tax revenue—
On the point about communities, will the member join me in congratulating the Oakbank Community Inn, Sandbank, which raised funds through the Scottish land fund? It was set up in 2022, with a combination of local shareholders, to organise the purchase and management of the pub and is now doing a roaring trade.
Absolutely. Where we see successes in the pub trade and communities coming together, they should be rightly celebrated by members across the chamber. That is an example from the member’s constituency of somewhere where the pub is a vital cornerstone of the community and we should absolutely be congratulating those involved.
That brings me on to my next point, which is crucial: it is not only about the economic value. The moment a pub goes, Scotland loses another piece of its social and cultural fabric. There has been debate about whether some of the issue is down to changing lifestyles and consumer habits; and there may be an element of truth in that but I do not believe that it explains the full picture. The fundamental problem is that pub owners have spent decades facing rising costs, rising taxes, rising regulations and growing bureaucracy from government at every level. They have found themselves on the sharp edge of almost every political decision affecting hospitality in the past 25 years.
I appreciate that, as other members have raised already, a lot of those pressures originate at Westminster. Alcohol duty remains a major burden and VAT continues to weigh heavily on hospitality businesses. National insurance increases have added significant costs for employers and, in many cases in recent years, have been the straw that has broken the camel’s back.
A lot of those issues are reserved matters, but there is a lot more that we can do in this Parliament. Business rates remain one of the biggest concerns raised by publicans across Scotland. We repeatedly hear from publicans who feel that they are carrying a disproportionate burden while fighting tooth and nail to keep their doors open. If we genuinely value pubs as community assets, we must ensure that they are not being taxed out of existence.
We must also strengthen planning protections. Many people are surprised to learn that a free-standing pub in Scotland can be demolished without planning permission. If a community is at risk of losing one of its most important social assets, local people should have a meaningful say before the bulldozers arrive. Often, once a pub is gone, it is gone for ever.
There is also a wider cultural question that we need to confront honestly. Too often, discussions around pubs have been filtered purely through a public health lens. Let me be clear: alcohol abuse exists and it can cause real harm. I do not think that anyone across the chamber would disagree with that. However, there is a fundamental difference between tackling harmful drinking and treating responsible social drinking as a problem that needs to be managed. The overwhelming majority of people who enjoy a drink in their local do so responsibly. While doing so, they are supporting local businesses, meeting friends, raising money for charity, supporting local sports teams and strengthening their communities. Social drinking is not something that has to be apologised for. It is a normal and valued part of Scottish life, and the nanny state needs to give it a wee bit of breathing room.
Scotland’s pubs are not a relic of the past. They are not—as I believe that one Labour MP down south said—some right-wing “nostalgic vision” of a country that “never really existed”. They are living institutions. They are woven into the story of our nation. They employ people, attract visitors, strengthen communities and preserve traditions that have endured for generations. That is why it was disappointing to hear recent claims in this chamber that pubs are somehow exclusionary places. Anyone who has spent more than five minutes in a pub in this country will know just how absurd that suggestion is.
For too long, Governments of all colours have looked at pubs and seen a problem to regulate rather than an institution to protect. They have piled on taxes, costs, regulations and bureaucracy and they now act surprised when another pub closes its doors. We cannot regulate our way to vibrant communities, we cannot tax our way to thriving high streets and we cannot lecture people on what they should be doing in their free time. If we want strong communities, we need strong community institutions, and the local pub is arguably the most important of those institutions.
We should stop treating social drinking as a problem. We should start recognising pubs as the community assets that they are. We must reform business rates so that pubs are not taxed to oblivion, and we must strengthen planning protections.
I would argue that people here should be speaking to their colleagues in Westminster as well, because a lot of what we have talked about is very much done on a Westminster basis.
Finally, I will make one simple request. If we value our local pub, we should use it, support it, take our friends there, have a meal there and hold our events there. If we do not support these institutions while they are still here, we may soon find ourselves talking about them in the past tense.
A country that values community should value its pubs, so let us start acting like it. Cheers to Scotland's boozers.
18:01
I thank Jamie Langan for bringing this debate to the chamber, as it is important that we are able to have this discussion.
When people visit Inverness, they often ask me for recommendations of what to do, and there is always that moment when I think to myself, “Don’t just name pubs.” We have plenty of things that people can do in Inverness. They can visit the castle or go to see anything down the Bught, and, in the summer, there is the Under Canvas festival. However, it says a lot about how many much-loved and special pubs we have in Inverness that so many of them immediately come to mind when somebody asks, “What do you get up to in the city?”
At the end of last week, I circulated a motion on one such pub, the Market Bar, which has just changed hands after 44 years. It is a staple of the town, for many reasons, not least its regulars. It is also a staple because of the live music that it has supported, nurtured and inspired. The loss of the Ironworks music venue was of huge significance to our city, and we have not managed to recover from it yet—there is still a massive gap when it comes to live entertainment. However, people can often enjoy live music upstairs in the Market Bar, as they can in Hootananny, MacGregor’s and the likes of the Bandstand in Nairn.
When the sale of the Market Bar was announced, there was real fear that that meant that it would just go—that is what many of us believed. A campaign to save the bar showed how loved the place is by people in the city and by musicians who have passed through it over the years. Whether it has been to meet a friend for a special occasion or on a Friday, to show a visitor the nightlife or to recover from a full council meeting, I have visited the Market Bar and nearby bars many times. I have even performed in a fair few of them.
I wanted to contribute to this debate to highlight the importance of pubs to the cultural landscape. I suspected that the importance to communities would be well covered this evening, but as live music and other cultural events face a time of great pressure, it is important that we recognise the support that these smaller venues can provide.
There are traditional musicians in Scotland who became well known thanks to the opportunities that they were given by small venues such as bars. There are people who just go out for a drink and are inspired by music nights to pick up their fiddle again the next day, and perhaps join in next time. Further, there are people who do not get the opportunity to go to large-scale entertainment events but can come along to sessions hosted by those premises and see future politicians make jokes or music.
Acknowledging the many challenges that exist, I am glad that we got the opportunity to speak about supporting Scotland’s pubs. I look forward to exploring those challenges in more detail over the next few years, and working with colleagues across parties to support those pubs.
18:04
I will say just a few words to support my colleague. First, I congratulate Alastair Scoular and the Five Kingdoms Brewery of Isle of Whithorn for having been rated by CAMRA as the best pub in Scotland this year. Unfortunately, the pub has not made it to the final stages of the competition, but I was down there a couple of weeks ago, having a pint, and it is just as good as ever. Alastair brews the stuff himself in Isle of Whithorn, and it is great. I try to go there several times a year and I always like to get my pint on the harbourside, especially on a really nice night.
Very often, a pub is the last commercial enterprise in a village and provides much-needed employment for people, and some form of normality, in small places that are losing all their commercial activity. There needs to be somewhere that people can go and spend some money just to have a sense of normality. Some pubs are now opening wee grocery stores to try to diversify their turnover a bit.
Pubs used to be called the people’s parliament—the pub is where people go to talk and share ideas. It is good for your mental health to go and talk to your mates in a relaxed atmosphere. There are few better ways to spend a cold winter’s night than sitting by the side of the pub fire, having a couple of jars with your friends. As Emma Roddick mentioned, pubs are also excellent venues for traditional music, and the best traditional music venue of all is the Moffat rammy, which is held every April. For a whole weekend, all the pubs open up and you can bring your instruments and come sing a song, recite a poem or whatever. There is no need to book—just watch out for it being advertised and come along to join in the fun.
18:06
I am pleased to speak in the debate. The motion mentions the closure of the Crown Inn in Biggar, which—as we have heard—is a historic public house that has served its community over many centuries. I join other members in recognising the contribution that is made by these establishments, and by their owners and staff.
I understand why many local people will feel a real sense of loss at the closure of the Crown Inn. There is no doubt that traditional pubs play an important role in community life. They provide places where people can meet friends, celebrate milestones, support local events and strengthen social connections, and Emma Roddick explained that well in speaking about her area of Inverness. The loss of a local pub, therefore, can mean the loss of an important community gathering place.
The motion also highlights concerns about rising costs, taxation and regulation. Those are genuine challenges facing many businesses in Scotland’s hospitality sector, and if we want our towns, town centres and communities to thrive, we need to carefully consider what support can be provided to businesses that contribute in such a positive way to local life. However—I hope members do not mind me saying this—I believe that we should approach the debate with balance. The motion speaks of concerns that pubs are too often viewed through the lens of public health, but we cannot ignore the reality of alcohol-related harms. They present significant challenges in Scotland, and alcohol misuse continues to affect families, communities, the national health service and many other public services.
Would Carol Mochan agree that consuming alcohol in a public licensed place, with staff and other people around you, is a much safer way to do that, and it is not where the issue of problem alcohol consumption lies?
I would probably disagree with that, as social drinking has perhaps become a bit normalised in Scotland. I absolutely agree, however, that there is a place for socialising with alcohol in community pubs—I am not at all trying to say that there is not.
As I was coming on to say, the question, therefore, is not whether we support pubs or support public health but how we support both. Responsible and well-run hospitality can be a valuable community institution, but public health measures exist for a reason and should not be ignored—we should not dismiss them.
As we reflect on the closure of the Crown Inn and the great discussion that we have had tonight about other pubs, we should focus on reforms that help community pubs to survive while ensuring that efforts to reduce alcohol-related harm remain at the heart of our policy making. That balanced approach is, in my view, the best way to support our communities, thinking about cohesion and what can happen in rural life in particular, and to ensure that we, as politicians, see a real future for health and wellbeing in Scotland.
18:10
I thank Jamie Langan for bringing the debate to the chamber. It is a bit surprising that I am speaking in the debate, given that—I have to be honest—I am not in pubs very often. That is not for any real reason—it has just not been my culture. Nevertheless, I want to bring up a few points.
I agree with nearly everything that every member has said, including, to a large extent, what Carol Mochan said. However, I agree with Jamie Langan: at least if people are going to the pub and having a drink, the drink is more expensive and they might nurse a pint or two while they have an evening’s chat. You only have to go into the supermarket to know that people in Scotland have not stopped drinking if they have stopped going to pubs; they are taking large carry-outs home and watching the box.
I want to speak about something that has perhaps been forgotten in the six years that have passed since: the impact that the Covid-19 regulations had, and still have, on people. A member of my family had a hotel and regulations were brought in at no notice to say that they could not serve meals. It is important that people can eat as well as have a drink in a pub, and pubs nowadays often serve food. Gone are the days when you went into a pub and all that it served was drink—you can probably go in now and ask for a coffee and some food, and the answer is yes. Back in the day, regulations for Covid included not being able to serve meals after 6 pm and not being able to serve drink.
In addition, people often do not recognise the issue with the bounce-back loans that were provided, especially if they do not know someone who had one of those loans. The bounce-back loans were not grants—they were personal loans, and people are still tied to them. People whose businesses have gone down still have to repay the loan. That often dragged down pubs and small hotels after Covid—it was not that they went out of business at the time of Covid; they hoped to bounce back. The increase in taxes has been a huge factor, as has, in particular, the increase in energy costs. Pubs are big buildings, and the cost of energy has been a huge factor for the pubs that I know that have closed.
I agree that pubs are important, even though, as I said, I am not a regular visitor to them. I have seen pubs in Perth close that were a centre for a particular area of the town where there was not much else. The post office has gone; there are cafes, but they shut at teatime. I support the motion, and I think that we should do something about the tax system.
18:12
I thank Jamie Langan for securing this debate on the future of Scotland’s pubs, and for the opportunity to highlight the many fine establishments of East Kilbride’s conservation village, which is another highlight of the South Scotland region that we both represent.
I also thank Jamie Langan for the specific reference that he made to the Crown Inn in Biggar—it is a great shame that the Crown Inn, which has been an institution and a fixture in that community through the decades, has been lost. I was reflecting on how it had existed through the rise and fall of industries, and the rise and fall of the railway. I had not expected that Jamie Langan’s history lesson would take us quite so far back in time, but that underlines what a fixture the Crown Inn was in that community, and I know that it will be missed.
Although I do not agree with every aspect of Jamie Langan’s contribution—I was reflecting, when Carol Mochan was speaking, about the ban on smoking in public places, for example, which was a transformative public health intervention—I certainly agree with him that pubs are part of the cultural heritage and vitality of our communities and our local economies. Sometimes—to pick up on David Kirkwood’s point—those local economies are very fragile. The way that people socialise is changing—sometimes that is through choice and sometimes it is the result of other factors that shape their lives, whether it is living costs or transport. It is important to stress that there is a wider value to social drinking—I agree with that—and to a community coming together. That is worth preserving, and it is something that we cannot replicate when we are alone or online.
Does Mr Fagan agree that, where people are running pubs, it is not just the people who own them but their families who are involved? Pubs have struggled to exist during the times in which various things have happened, and running a pub is a huge feat of endurance for anyone who decides to take it on. It is often a family effort, and it is important that we recognise that that is part of the modern culture of pubs. We must understand that the people who take on these responsibilities are not just serving their communities—they are also serving their families, who take on the responsibility and the task of endurance as well.
Yes, I think that that speaks to the unique character of pubs, in particular—although not exclusively, it has to be said—those in some of our smaller communities and outside the town and city centres.
I want members in the chamber to reflect on three points. First, I do not want us to lose sight of what it takes to regenerate a town-centre economy. Diversifying town-centre uses beyond retail can densify footfall, and we have to ensure that Government policy and planning frameworks make that kind of change easier.
Secondly, the decline in bus services and challenges in our licensed taxi trade are not only changing how people travel and how they choose to socialise but making it harder for workers in the night-time and evening economy to get home safely. We have a collective responsibility to think of those workers.
Thirdly, I want us to reflect honestly on those operational costs that the sector faces that make it an outlier. That issue has been mentioned. It is absolutely the case when it comes to energy costs in this country, and in relation to the way in which licensed hospitality is valued in Scotland for the purposes of non-domestic rates. Many pubs are small businesses that attract disproportionately high rateable values, and a high rateable value does not automatically mean that that business is a large or a highly profitable business.
The Scottish Hospitality Group has provided me with an example of a licensed basement bar and restaurant in Aberdeen, covering 25 per cent of the building and comprising almost 17,000 square feet, that has a rateable value of £158,000 and an annual rates bill of £86,000. The offices across the three floors above the bar, in the same building, which was once occupied by Aberdeen Asset Management, make up the other 75 per cent of the premises. Their rateable value is £128,000, which is £30,000 less than the hospitality premises, and their annual rates bill is just £66,000. Of the building’s total rates liability, the hospitality premises is paying 57 per cent, despite occupying only a quarter of the floor space.
Regardless of what anyone thinks about the business rates system or the VAT system in this country, there surely has to be a consensus that a system that overtaxes the licensed trade in that way is simply incoherent. I know that that has been the subject of the Gill review—
I thank Joe Fagan for giving way, and I agree—he makes a valid point. Would he agree, however, that there is a lot of merit in reviewing VAT for hospitality? I wrote to the Prime Minister to urge him to back VAT for the sector being dropped to 10 per cent, which UKHospitality supports. There are a lot of international comparators where a lower rate of VAT is applied to the hospitality sector.
There are such international comparators. It is interesting that the European Union seems to permit special dispensation for some of those VAT regimes to fall below the EU-wide floor.
All that I would say to Mr Kerr and perhaps some of his colleagues on the Government side, and to members across the chamber—it is an important point—is that HM Revenue and Customs estimates that such a tax cut would be in excess of £10 billion. It is important that these measures are funded. If proposals are to come forward, they should be properly funded, or there is a risk to the public finances of the country. However, there is merit in the member’s point. As I said, there are three areas where I think that we can demonstrably show that the sector is facing outlier costs, and those are VAT, energy costs and business rates.
I will finish my point on business rates. I know that the example that I used is the kind of thing that was being considered by the Gill review, and now by the Murphy review. I am hopeful that the review will make recommendations that can support the trade, as the impact of that confused and unfair business rates system is hitting pubs right now. I simply ask the Scottish Government to take those points into account and engage further with the sector. Good pubs—good premises that are well run and well supervised, and often embedded in their communities—are good places, and I urge the whole Parliament to reflect on practical steps that we can take to support them.
I call the minister to respond to the debate.
18:19
I thank Jamie Langan for bringing the debate to the chamber, and I thank members from across the chamber for their contributions. I, too, am sad to learn of the closure of the Crown Inn in Biggar. I appreciate that that is a big loss both to the operators and the employees who have invested their labour and resources in the business over many years, and of course to the local area.
When any business that provides an important service to communities closes, it is always regrettable, but when it is a business such as the Crown Inn, with its heritage, landmark premises and community hub status, it is more than just another business gone from our high streets—the impact has a broad reach.
The motion and members’ contributions have raised a number of important issues, and I will take the opportunity to address some of them. There is no doubt whatsoever that our pub trade and the wider hospitality sector are navigating a prolonged period of economic turbulence and shifting trends, and the Scottish Government has been quick and up front to acknowledge that. Margins are too tight, and it has become harder to grow and invest in those local assets; I have seen and heard that at first hand over the past few months through direct engagement with the sector.
As members and those in industry know, the reasons for that are complex and not attributable to any one single factor. The combination of inflationary forces pushing up supply chain costs, staff costs and overheads, together with statutory liabilities and the squeeze on consumer income, is having a profound impact on our pubs. In essence, for many pubs, costs keep rising while demand faces sustained pressure, and from a business perspective, that is extremely challenging and, sadly, too often unsustainable.
The pandemic—as has been touched on—was a seismic event, but, in all honesty, as we are aware, the challenges for pubs predate the advent of Covid. Over recent years, we have all seen the changing face of our local high streets, too. Where once stood many long-established public houses, which were the heart of their communities, now often stand very different businesses. Those new businesses are important, too, but it is not how we remember it previously. That is true in my constituency, as I am sure it is in the constituencies of each member in the chamber.
That said, while the economy evolves, we have a duty to support local businesses that provide desired and important services to our communities, and the local pub is one of those businesses. As members have touched on, we should recognise that a pub is not simply a business—it is a fulcrum of community cohesion and a place where people come to meet. I think that it is no coincidence that, notwithstanding the significant pressures that publicans currently face, many pubs still endure and have a loyal trading and customer base. For as long as there have been people willing to meet and engage and socialise with each other, there has been some form of hostelry, and a pub is part of the way in which we organise ourselves as a society. Notwithstanding the pressures that pubs face, I know that they will continue to endure and to provide those vital services for communities.
I turn to some of the issues that members have raised. Non-domestic rates are a key lever that the Scottish Government has to help businesses, and we have sought to deliver real support for many pubs across Scotland. The budget supported businesses and communities with a reduction to all three property rates in the current financial year and a relief package worth the better part of £1 billion. The relief package includes the small business bonus scheme, which remains the most generous scheme of its kind in the UK, along with generous support for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties, which benefits pubs.
In order to provide those businesses with greater certainty, the small business bonus scheme, retail, hospitality and leisure relief and revaluation transitional relief are all guaranteed for three years, until 2028-29. Pubs and restaurants benefited from more than £8.3 million of relief as at 1 June 2025, and we estimate that 96 per cent of retail, hospitality and leisure businesses could benefit from some form of relief in the current financial year.
Would the minister accept the point that there appears to be a particular issue with businesses that do not qualify for the small business bonus because they appear to be overtaxed through the way in which they are valued? That appears to be a particular issue that is unique to the licensed hospitality sector in this country.
I thank the member for his intervention, and he makes an important point. I engaged with that issue in my previous role as minister for public finance, and it brings me neatly to my next point. As a result of ongoing concerns raised by the licensed hospitality sector about the valuation methodology for licensed hospitality properties, we commissioned an independent review to consider the matter.
To update Parliament, I note that the timetable for the review to report has recently been extended to summer 2027, to allow the new chair, Jonathan Murphy, and the review group members sufficient opportunity to complete the review. The review findings and any recommendations will be considered in advance of the 2029 revaluation cycle. It is a very important piece of work that responds to long-standing concerns that have been raised by the hospitality sector, because I recognise the sector’s frustrations with regard to the valuation methodology. As a minister, I have to respect the autonomy of assessors, but it is important that the review is allowed to run its course and that we consider the findings from it.
Going beyond that specific review, we want to ensure that the non-domestic rates system supports economic growth and remains fair and proportionate. Building on our commitment to examine the impact and configuration of all our reliefs in advance of the next revaluation on 1 April 2029, we have committed to a comprehensive review of non-domestic rates. It will examine improvements and reforms that can be made to the system, working closely with business to ensure that clarity, incentive and transparency are fundamental features of the system.
Recruitment and skills are also a pressing issue in the sector, and we recognise the role that pubs and the hospitality sector play in providing employment and helping people into work. That includes those who are entering the labour market for the first time; those who are already established on a career path or returning to work; and those who need flexibility around caring commitments.
The Scottish Government is supporting employability measures with £90 million in this year’s budget, and many hospitality businesses will engage with those measures through local employability partnerships. Skills are also supported through the services that are provided by Skills Development Scotland, such as the modern apprenticeship framework elements that are aimed at hospitality roles.
I also highlight, in the context of the debates that we have had in recent weeks about youth employment and ensuring that there are opportunities for young people to get their first job, that hospitality, along with other sectors such as retail, plays a vital role in that regard. We know that issues around recruitment, retention and skills can be a particular challenge for pubs in more rural and island parts of Scotland, and that is something else that we have to consider as part of our overall work around skills, economic inactivity and migration.
Turning to regulation, I want to be clear that the Scottish Government is committed to open consultation on any measures that are brought forward that would place a duty on businesses, including pubs. Government relies on the expertise and perspective of those on the ground in the economy to ensure that the right outcomes are achieved. That is why we have committed in our programme for government to reduce business bureaucracy and ensure that regulation is designed in accordance with our better regulation principles. Regulation where requirements are placed on business must also take account of the existing regulatory landscape and be fully impact assessed in order to understand any cumulative impacts on those on whom the requirements will be placed.
I want to be clear about where the Scottish Government stands in relation to our much-valued pub trade, both rural and urban. Pubs are important to our economy and our communities. They are hubs that allow people to come together and share life’s experiences, and they hold a key place in the life of local high streets.
While the face of our towns and cities continues to change and lifestyle habits shift toward moderation and sustainability, there will, quite rightly, continue to be a place for pubs across Scotland, and it is the Scottish Government’s position that we will continue to support our pub and hospitality sector in every way that we can. I thank the member again for lodging the motion for debate, and I thank all members for their contributions.
That concludes the debate. I call last orders and close this meeting of the Parliament.
Meeting closed at 18:28.
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