Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government regularly makes evidence-based representations to the UK Government on reserved tax issues. Alcohol sales are already subject to VAT, whilst any profits made by retailers selling alcohol will be already be subject to Corporation Tax. The Scottish Government, as set out in December’s budget announcement, is exploring the reintroduction of a Public Healthy levy using devolved powers.

We believe that the Scottish Parliament should have full tax powers so that fiscal decisions that affect the people of Scotland can be made by the people who live here.

The Scottish Government regularly makes evidence-based representations to the UK Government on reserved tax issues. Alcohol sales are already subject to VAT, whilst any profits made by retailers selling alcohol will be already be subject to Corporation Tax. The Scottish Government, as set out in December’s budget announcement, is exploring the reintroduction of a Public Healthy levy using devolved powers.

Our block grant funding for this Budget is derived from the UK Government's spending decisions and has fallen by 1.2% in real terms since 2022-23 – a real terms drop of £0.5 billion. The reality is that the amount Scotland has available to spend is still largely driven by the block grant set by successive UK Governments whose constraint of public expenditure prolongs the austerity felt by public services. We fully recognise that all difficult funding decisions have an impact and while there is significant pressure across all Scottish Government budgets in 2024-25, we have reviewed funding options and have identified budget resource for the Mark Scott Awards for 2024-25.

The Public Health Scotland final MUP evaluation report (published 27 June 2023) concluded that the evidence on the impact of the post MUP changes in price and sales on revenues of retailers and producers is mixed. The section on “The alcoholic drinks industry in Scotland” in the report by Scottish Ministers on the operation and effect of minimum unit pricing of alcohol (published on 20 September 2023) sets out the impact that minimum unit pricing (MUP) has had on retailers of alcoholic drinks (including large retailers), producers and wholesalers. The report by Scottish Ministers states:

“According to the final evaluation report:

Quantitative analysis of sales data shows an overall increase in the monetary value of off-trade alcohol sales, with increases in sale price compensating for declines in sale volumes for retailers, while the effect on producers’ revenues was negative, but was considered by some, but not all, interviewees to be small. While no participants in the qualitative interviews reported any changes in employment or facilities owing to MUP some reported that individual retailers had been affected adversely, with at least some of the variation likely to be due to the extent to which the products made/sold were affected by MUP. Large retailers did not report any change in revenue or profits due to MUP, but convenience stores were more likely to have noted a decrease in revenue and profits, particularly if they previously relied on high-strength, low-cost alcohol products. There was limited evidence that any potential increase in revenue for retailers had been passed on to producers. While the sales data show an overall increase in revenue from alcohol, it was not possible to determine the impact on profit. Analysis of quantitative data finds little evidence of MUP having material impacts on five key metrics of business performance [the number of enterprises and business units; employment; turnover; gross value added (GVA); and output value] on any of the main sectors of the industry in Scotland. (PHS 2023: 56)”

The report by Scottish Ministers on the operation and effect of minimum unit pricing of alcohol during its first five years was laid before the Scottish Parliament on 20 September 2023 and is available at Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 - operation and effect 2018 to 2023: report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Orders for Lifelong Restriction (OLRs) are a long-standing valuable sentencing option for courts to use for the most dangerous offenders. The OLR is an exceptional risk based sentence which is only used by the most senior judges in Scotland in the High Court following a risk assessment process carried out by accredited experts.

In order for the High Court to impose an OLR, they must be satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the nature of, or the circumstances of the commission of, the offence of which the convicted person has been found guilty - either in the circumstances themselves or as part of a pattern of behaviour - are such as to demonstrate that there is a likelihood that he or she, if at liberty, will seriously endanger the lives, or physical or psychological well-being, of members of the public at large.

Decisions on the release of OLR prisoners are taken by the Parole Board for Scotland. New rules were introduced last year which require that the latest Risk Management Plan (RMP) or the Risk Assessment Report is available to the Board when consideration is made for the release of a person subject to an OLR. The Board will only direct release when they are satisfied that imprisonment is no longer necessary for the protection of the public but in circumstances where their decision differs from the recommendations in the RMP, they must provide a reason for that decision.

The Risk Management Authority (RMA) have a legislative responsibility around the evaluation and approval of RMPs and can make recommendations around the role of social work and psychologists involved in those cases. The RMA have produced evidence-based Standards and Guidelines for Risk Assessment and Management to support criminal justice partners in consistent risk practice. Last year, they also published extensive research into the Order for Lifelong Restriction sentence, a report which is available on their website, and the Scottish Government continues to reflect on these findings.

Professional standards bodies such as the Scottish Social Services Council sets out national standards of conduct and practice that apply to all social service workers and their employers.

Over the last few years, there have been changes to pilot delivery of two new national offender programmes, an expanded Self-Change programme to address intimate partner violence and sexual offending and a redesigned Moving Forward to Change (MF2C) sex offender programme. It is expected that MF2C will support a greater throughput of prisoners through the programme, optimising access to it.

The Scottish Government chaired the Grangemouth Future Industry Board Industrial Leadership Forum on 18 January which included representation from the UK Government and Petroineos to explore all options regarding the future of the refinery site. I am encouraged that, at this meeting, the UK Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero confirmed the UK Government's willingness to consider any proposals that support a long-term and sustainable future for the refinery business, recognising its strategic importance to the economy of the whole of the UK.

The Grangemouth Future Industry Board has been established in acknowledgement of both the significant economic role that the wider Grangemouth industrial cluster plays today, and its potential to support Scotland’s Just Transition to net zero. The overarching remit of the Grangemouth Future Industry Board is therefore to support the delivery of the Grangemouth Just Transition Plan. This will help to ensure a that future low-carbon opportunities are realised, whilst ensuring that any transition puts equity and fairness at its heart for people who live and work there.

Representatives from Scottish Government, Petroineos and Unite the Union met on 18 January 2023 to during the Grangemouth Future Industry Board Industrial Leadership Forum discuss the future of the refinery.

For discussion topics I refer the member to the published minutes from this meeting.