Chamber and committees

There are two walk-in services open in South Scotland, located in Hawick and Stranraer. Sites in East Ayrshire and Lanark are due to open in high street or former retail premises. These locations require longer lead times, as converting retail spaces into clinically compliant facilities must meet strict safety standards. I have committed to expanding the pilot programme and a Call for Proposals has been issued to Health Boards asking them to consider additional sites across Scotland.

All Health Boards were asked to submit proposals in response to the initial Call for Proposals and were asked to ensure proposals did not adversely impact existing service provision. I am however aware of staffing challenges faced by some sites and my officials remain in regular contact with affected sites to work together to find solutions.

As at 1 June 2025, there were 100,700 properties receiving 100% Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) relief. We estimate that, in 2026-2027, more than 100,000 properties will be eligible for 100% SBBS relief, of which we estimate that around 96,900 will apply for and be awarded 100% SBBS relief. Table 1 shows a breakdown of these figures by council area and valuation joint board.

Whilst the figures above represent the number of properties, the number of businesses or ratepayers receiving 100% SBBS relief will typically be lower: one ratepayer can be liable for multiple properties, and receive 100% SBBS relief on multiple properties. The currently available data does not allow us to reliably estimate the number of businesses or ratepayers benefitting.

Additional information on SBBS relief awards as at 1 June 2025 is available in Non-domestic rates relief statistics 2025.

Table 1: Number of properties receiving 100% SBBS relief as at 1 June 2025, and estimated number likely to receive in 2026-2027.

Figures are rounded to the nearest 100, and may not sum due to rounding. Figures for 2025-2026 are based on the billing snapshot as at 1 June 2025. Figures for 2026-2027 are estimates based on the available valuation data.

The Whole Family Support Third Sector Delivery Fund is a £20 million investment aimed at strengthening the capacity of third sector organisations to deliver tailored, community-based support to families living in, or at risk of, poverty across Scotland, contributing directly to the Government’s goal of ending child poverty.

The application window closed on 7 May and attracted strong interest, with 88 applications from a diverse range of organisations. A panel of policy and analytical experts, alongside external partners, is currently assessing proposals, with funding awards expected to be confirmed over the summer.

Local authorities have a statutory duty to ensure that funded ELC is available to the children residing within their own area and are also responsible for meeting the statutory guidance requirements in relation to cross-boundary placements.

This guidance is clear that, wherever possible, education authorities should make arrangements that ensure families accessing cross-boundary placements are treated on the same basis as families accessing provision locally. While local authorities do not have a statutory duty to provide funded ELC to children who reside outside their area, they have the power to do so under section 23 of the Education (Scotland) Act (1980).

To ensure families’ choice of provider is not limited by local authority boundaries, the Scottish Government encourages local authorities to work with neighbouring areas through Funding Follows the Child guidance, developed jointly by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and the Scottish Government.

Local authorities hold the statutory duty to ensure that funded ELC is available to the children residing within their own area, and are also responsible for meeting statutory guidance requirements in relation to cross-boundary placements.

The Scottish Government does not collect national data on which local authorities fund and invoice each other for cross-boundary funded early learning and childcare placements. Information on individual local authority cross-boundary policies may be available through local authority websites, or via local authority Early Years teams.

To ensure families’ choice of provider is not limited by local authority boundaries, the Scottish Government encourages local authorities to work with neighbouring areas through Funding Follows the Child guidance, developed jointly by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government’s running costs are reported in the annual consolidated accounts in note 5f Outturn Income and Expenditure - Operating Costs (2019-20: note 6f). The consolidated accounts can be found here: Financial reports and accounts - Government finance - gov.scot.

The table within the 2022-23 annual consolidated accounts restates the 2021-22 figures, therefore this should be used instead of the data in note 5f to the 2021-22 accounts.

Information is provided on a financial year basis which is consistent with our annual accounts publications. Therefore, the running costs for 2025-2026 will be published in the same location when available.

In 2019-20, a change in approach to operating costs was implemented, which means that comparable figures for earlier years cannot be provided. Previously, costs, including staffing, were held centrally as part of the administration budget and also as part of portfolio budgets for staff who were implementing and delivering specific public services. Since 2019-20, Total Operating Costs have been aligned with the portfolio budgets they support, replacing the dual system where both administration and portfolio budgets funded operating costs.

As at 1 June 2025, there were 116,100 properties receiving any amount of Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) relief. In 2026-2027, we estimate that SBBS relief will be awarded to around 115,500 properties. Table 1 shows a breakdown of these figures by council area and valuation joint board.

Whilst the figures above represent the number of properties, the number of businesses or ratepayers receiving SBBS relief will typically be lower: one ratepayer can be liable for multiple properties, and receive SBBS relief on multiple properties. The currently available data does not allow us to reliably estimate the number of businesses or ratepayers benefitting.

Additional information on SBBS relief awards as at 1 June 2025 is available in Non-domestic rates relief statistics 2025.

Table 1: Number of properties receiving SBBS relief as at 1 June 2025, and estimated number likely to receive in 2026-2027.

Figures are rounded to the nearest 100, and may not sum due to rounding. Figures for 2025-2026 are based on the billing snapshot as at 1 June 2025. Figures for 2026-2027 are estimates based on the available valuation data.

The Scottish Government collects and publishes quarterly statistics on proposals and appeals against non-domestic rates revaluations. The publications present the position up to the end of each quarter (end of June, September, December and March). As a result, the Scottish Government does not hold data on the number of appeals that were specifically lodged against non-domestic valuations at the end of May following the last three valuations. The earliest data held is the position as at 30 June following each of the last three revaluations.

The value of each property for the purposes of non-domestic rates is assessed by the local independent Scottish Assessor, and referred to as its “rateable value”. There is a right of appeal against the Assessor’s determination of rateable value.

Following recommendations of the independent Barclay Review of Non-Domestic Rates, from 1 April 2023, a new two-stage appeals process was introduced, with an initial evidence-based proposal stage. Proposals can typically be made within four months of a revaluation or 31 July in a revaluation year. Ratepayers may then, in prescribed circumstances, appeal against the outcome of the proposal to the Local Taxation Chamber, first-tier Tribunal.

Appeals are reported when they are first notified to the Assessors by the Scottish Tribunals. As a consequence of the lodging and disposal deadlines, no appeals were reported as lodged between the 2023 revaluation on 1 April 2023, and 30 June 2023.

There was no proposal stage prior to 1 April 2023 and therefore direct comparisons between revaluations are not feasible.

In some cases, there may be multiple proposals and/or appeals lodged against the valuation of a single property, for example where both the proprietor and the tenant submit a proposal. To account for this this, table 1 shows both the total number of subjects with at least one proposal or appeal, as well as the total number of all proposals/appeals, in the period between revaluation and 30 June of the same year.

Table 1: Number of subjects with at least one proposal or appeal, and total number of proposals and appeals lodged against non-domestic valuations in the period between the valuation and 30 June that same year, following each of the last three revaluations. Figures are reported to the nearest ten.