Questions and answers

Question reference: S6O-04013

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on this winter’s flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.

Question reference: S6W-30147

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 11 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-25972 by Tom Arthur on 18 March 2024, whether it will provide an updated table that includes figures for 2024-25, broken down by property class.

Table 1 presents the estimated gross cost of setting the Higher Property Rate equal to the Standard Multiplier in England, updated to include 2024-2025.

In England, in 2021-2022, 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, the Standard Multiplier was 51.2p, or 1.3p above the Small Business Multiplier of 49.9p.

In 2024-2025, the Standard Multiplier is 54.6p, or 4.7p above the Small Business Multiplier of 49.9p.

In Scotland, the Higher Property Rate in 2021-2022, 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 was 2.6p above the poundage, which was 49p in 2021-2022 (having been temporarily reduced from 49.8p in 2020-2021 in response to the ongoing impact of COVID-19), and 49.8p in 2022-2023, 2023-2024.

The costs therefore represent the impact of setting the Higher Property Rate at 51.2p instead of 51.6p in 2021-2022, and 51.2p instead of 52.4p in 2022-2023 and 2023-2024.

The Higher Property Rate in 2024-2025 is 6.1p above the poundage, which remains at 49.8p from 2023-2024. The costs therefore represent the impact of setting the Higher Property Rate at 54.6p instead of 55.9p.

The figures for 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 are presented after General Revaluation Transitional Relief is applied.

The figures are gross estimates and are not adjusted for any other relief. Figures are broken down by property class, a classification used by Scottish Assessors to describe the type of property, which may not necessarily accurately reflect the use of a given property.

This table is based on the valuation roll as at 1 October 2021, 1 October 2022, 1 October 2023 and 1 October 2024.

Figures from 30 March 2023 and 1 April 2023 were used to calculate General Revaluation Transitional Relief.

Figures in this table are rounded to the nearest £1,000, and may not sum due to rounding.

Table 1: Estimated gross cost of reducing the Higher Property Rate to the level of the English Standard Multiplier (£), broken down by property class.

Property class	2021-2022 (£)	2022-2023 (£)	2023-2024 (£)	2024-2025 (£)
Shops	3,589,000	10,798,000	8,824,000	9,627,000
Public houses and restaurants	127,000	377,000	317,000	409,000
Offices	2,167,000	6,597,000	6,092,000	7,066,000
Hotels	778,000	2,390,000	2,270,000	2,649,000
Industrial subjects	2,863,000	8,658,000	8,709,000	9,969,000
Leisure and entertainment	600,000	1,814,000	1,873,000	2,206,000
Garages and petrol stations	117,000	341,000	312,000	406,000
Cultural	145,000	408,000	412,000	448,000
Sporting subjects	36,000	113,000	98,000	185,000
Education and training	1,918,000	5,707,000	6,229,000	6,988,000
Public service subjects	895,000	2,614,000	2,505,000	3,038,000
Communications	81,000	197,000	303,000	298,000
Quarries, mines, etc.	34,000	94,000	95,000	121,000
Petrochemical	447,000	1,291,000	1,400,000	1,529,000
Religious	14,000	50,000	50,000	76,000
Health and medical	714,000	2,097,000	2,120,000	2,364,000
Other	352,000	1,045,000	1,102,000	1,537,000
Care facilities	207,000	631,000	704,000	773,000
Advertising	11,000	34,000	39,000	55,000
Statutory undertaking	3,647,000	10,897,000	10,039,000	13,139,000
All	18,743,000	56,152,000	53,493,000	62,883,000

Question reference: S6O-03971

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the hospitality and tourism sectors to promote safety on Scotland’s mountains in winter 2024-25.

Question reference: S6F-03468

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 October 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 October 2024

To ask the First Minister what engagement the Scottish Government has had with Police Scotland officials who are responsible for investigating whether the actions of Professor Eljamel amounted to criminal conduct.

Question reference: S6O-03859

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 October 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out regarding the potential impact of introducing a public health supplement to be paid by retailers in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-29956

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Retail Consortium’s suggestion in its Retail industry recommendations for the 2025-26 Scottish Budget paper, that increases in income tax rates should be ruled out.

Question reference: S6W-29955

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Retail Consortium’s suggestion in its Retail industry recommendations for the 2025-26 Scottish Budget paper, that spending restraint rather than tax rises should form the bulk of the measures to plug the projected gap in devolved government finances.

Prolonged Westminster austerity, the economic damage of Brexit, a global pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the cost of living crisis have all placed enormous and growing pressure on the public finances.

For example, Brexit has reduced the size of the UK economy by 2.5 per cent, equating to a £2.3 billion annual cut in revenue in Scotland.

Decisions for 2025-26 will be published as part of the 2025-26 Scottish Budget on 4 December. Scottish Income Tax policy for 2025-26 will be announced during the annual Budget process.

Question reference: S6W-29958

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 1 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Retail Consortium’s suggestion in its Retail industry recommendations for the 2025-26 Scottish Budget paper, that following the 2014 Regulatory Reform Act, a Primary Authority system for devolved regulation should be introduced.

The Scottish Government committed to review and improve our process of developing, implementing, and reviewing devolved regulation to meet our economic, environmental and societal aims within the National Strategy for Economic Transformation. While there are no current plans to implement a Primary Authority system for devolved regulation, we will consider the merit of Primary Authority provisions with business and regulatory stakeholders in line with the NSET commitment and New Deal for Business Group recommendations.

Question reference: S6W-29957

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 25 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Retail Consortium’s suggestion in its Retail industry recommendations for the 2025-26 Scottish Budget paper, that no ratepayer in Scotland should be liable for a higher business rate than counterparts in England.

Question reference: S6W-29622

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 19 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it plans to take over the next four years to ensure that it fulfils its duties under article 23 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in relation to disabled children under 12 years old.

The UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 places legal duties on public authorities and provides legal protection for children’s rights that was not previously available in Scotland, and is not available in any other part of the UK.

The Scottish Government expects public authorities to ensure that they fulfil their duties within the Act, including under Article 23, to ensure all rights under UNCRC are respected, protected and fulfilled. We have supported public authorities with their approach to implementation through: non-statutory guidance; a children’s rights guide for senior leaders; an introduction to Children’s Rights e-learning and guidance on Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessments. We have also provided funding to the Improvement Service and NHS Education Scotland to assist local authorities and health boards to fulfil their UNCRC duties. Statutory guidance will be published this month and a Children’s Rights Skills and Knowledge Framework will be available before the end of the year.

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