Current status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 22 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to support local authorities to manage any potential increases in business distress or closures linked to the draft 2026 revaluation of non-domestic rates for self-catering properties.
The Scottish Budget 2025-26 supported local government with £14.4 billion in revenue funding and the 2026-27 local government finance settlement will be set out in the Scottish Budget on 13 January.
The Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. As such, the vast majority of funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on local economic development teams, on the basis of local needs and priorities.