Chamber and committees

Thank you for being so generous, Presiding Officer.

Non-domestic rates continue to be one of the biggest issues for our local authorities, especially in the north-east of Scotland. I have met many local businesses, to speak to them in order to understand the issues that they face.

As my colleagues have mentioned, the Scottish Conservatives are supportive of the bill in its mirroring of what has happened in the rest of the UK. It is a sensible measure to update the non-domestic rates appeals system. However, I feel that much wider reform is needed. We will continue to press the Scottish Government to meet business leaders to discuss the further reforms that are required.?

Although the bill is welcome, it falls short of providing the help that thousands of businesses need, due to the failed system. During the debate in April, I pointed out that, in 2017, businesses in the north-east of Scotland faced huge increases in their rates bills when the valuation was assessed at the peak of oil and gas activity, only for new bills to arrive just as the sector faced one of its biggest slumps. The courts ruled that there had been no material change in circumstance and that businesses would have to wait for the revaluation to take place. Then that was delayed by a year because of Covid, despite calls from many business leaders for the revaluation date to be brought forward. As the minister pointed out, revaluation was the time for the market to be fixed. The delay was so disappointing for the businesses that were waiting. We continue to have a situation in which the non-domestic rates income from businesses in Aberdeen is greater than that from businesses in Edinburgh—a city with twice its population. Many businesses in the north-east simply cannot believe that that is the case.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission forecasts that were released last month gave worrying news to businesses up and down Scotland. They showed that non-domestic rates income was set to increase by 30 per cent over the next five years, from £2.7 billion to £3.6 billion, at a time when growth will be minimal, which left many people wondering where the extra £900 million will come from.

The forecast also showed that some businesses last year voluntarily handed back Covid business rates relief funds to the tune of £126 million. That was the right thing to do for places such as Asda, Sainsbury’s and Boots, whose income seems to have increased. Some may have thought that that cash would go to local authorities to help struggling businesses on the high streets or that it could have been used to plug some of the non-domestic rates overdraft, but no—instead, the devolved Scottish National Party Government used it simply to plug other holes in its budget. Those were business rate support funds and should have been used just for that purpose.

I welcome the contributions from members from across the chamber. First, I agree with Miles Briggs in sending the cabinet secretary my best wishes for what I am sure will be a busy and joyful summer. Miles Briggs also mentioned that the right to appeal has not been removed. Of course, we welcome that. He also mentioned support. For me, that just masks a failing system.

The issue of town centres was mentioned by Miles Briggs and by Alex Rowley. Town centres have faced difficulties over the past few years, and we have an opportunity to fix some of those things with a new system. Miles Briggs also asked for greater transparency over the appeals system, which would be welcomed by so many.

Mark Griffin mentioned warehouses that are used by online retailers who pay very little in non-domestic rates, compared with others. That highlights that change is needed.

The current system of business rates is outdated, and we need to look at a much greater and broader reform. High streets in our local towns and villages struggled for years before the pandemic and have struggled right through it. We have to look at and work with our local businesses to develop a system of rates that works for them and encourages growth. We need to put the voices of business at the heart of our policy making, and I do not see much of that from the SNP-Green devolved Government. Although I welcome the aims and outcomes of the Barclay review, many have viewed its remit as too tight and not wide ranging enough to give the freedom to look at the full picture.

In summary, we welcome the bill as a first, small step. However, more needs to be done. The Scottish Government has the powers. It needs to stop sitting on its hands and use them.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app did not refresh. I would have voted no.

Will the member take an intervention?

Will the member take an intervention?

Earlier this year, the Scottish Government released its national transport strategy and, as my colleague Liam Kerr identified, the document failed to mention the notorious Toll of Birness junction. Upgrading that junction and the wider A90 will not only make a huge difference to the lives of those people who live and work in the north-east, and serve as a catalyst for economic growth, but come with the potential of dramatically reducing the number of horrific accidents and saving lives. Traffic assessments that were done nearly five years ago show that the junction will be almost unusable in the future. With that in mind, will the minister commit to upgrading the junction and bring much needed safety to commuters in Aberdeenshire?

Will the member take an intervention?

I will come on to the waste that this Government makes all over the place.

If there was more transparency around the budget process, that question might be easier to answer. We had things in the budget for this year such as a line with £620 million for things that we might see coming in, including ScotWind. Now, that has been taken out of this year’s budget and put into next year’s budget, and suddenly the £620 million has miraculously just reappeared.

Prevention is much better than trying to tackle the outcomes of such austere measures. Our sports and libraries aid health and wellbeing and prevent long-term illness. Our schools and youth clubs cut down crime. Good roads cut down accidents. New schools increase attainment and opportunities for all.

I have taken enough interventions.

Cutting investment in our local government is short-sighted and will lead to greater costs down the track.

The SNP is also cutting off investment from key sectors such as oil and gas, which will have massive implications for the north-east and Scottish economies. At the breakfast meeting with the SFC that SPICe held this morning, we heard that one of the reasons that our economy is falling behind the rest of the UK is the decline in the energy sector and the income tax take from it. It is clear that the SNP Government does not back the oil and gas industry and is driving investment away. While we still have a demand for hydrocarbons, it is better for the environment and better for jobs in the north-east that the energy industry in this country is protected and supported. This devolved Government’s outright hostility to the industry is directly related to the cuts that it is having to make to public services. The Government needs to change its tune before it is too late.

Much has been said today about the cost of living crisis. Time will not allow me to go into detail here, but the UK Government has now provided over £37 billion of support to families. However, families in Scotland will have to pay more income tax than families in the rest of the UK—a point that Liz Smith covered earlier. That is the Scottish Government’s contribution to the cost of living crisis: higher taxes.

And what is this devolved Government doing with our taxes? It has spent £250 million on ferries that do not sail, £40 million on the doomed, malicious prosecution of Rangers and £50 million on loans to BiFab, and now £20 million is being allocated for an independence referendum next year. That is £4 million more than it has allocated as an increase in the education budget. Colleagues, that is an absolute disgrace. This Government holds its obsession with having a referendum above the education of our children.

The spending review has so many areas of concern that we can only skim over today. We will have more sessions in committee—maybe—to go over it in detail. However, the SNP-Green coalition will need to put the needs of the people of Scotland at the heart of its policies—

—to an independence referendum dropped, with the money going towards education.

The member spoke about independence and about currency. Can he confirm what the currency would be in an independent Scotland?