Chamber and committees

The number of properties liable for the Higher Property Rate (HPR) in 2023-2024 before any reliefs are applied is presented in the following below, broken down in Table 1 by property class, and in Table 2 by local authority. In 2023-2024, HPR is applied to all properties with a rateable value above £100,000. Property class is a classification used by Scottish Assessors to describe the type of property, and does not necessarily accurately reflect the use of a property. The Scottish Government does not hold property-level data on industry sectors.

These tables are based on the valuation roll as at 1 July 2023.

Figures in these tables are rounded to the nearest 10, with values greater than zero but lower than five displayed as ‘[low]’.

Table 1: Number of properties liable for HPR in 2023-2024 by property class

Table 1 presents the expected gross income from the Higher Property Rate (HPR), after the application of the revaluation Transitional Relief (TR), in 2023-2024. In 2023-2024, HPR is applied to all properties with a rateable value above £100,000. The values presented in Table 1 relate to the supplement of 2.6p above the Basic Property Rate only. This is broken down by property class, as the Scottish Government does not hold property-level data on industry sectors. Property class is a classification used by Scottish Assessors to describe the type of property, and does not necessarily accurately reflect the use of a property.

This table is based on the valuation roll as at 1 July 2023. Figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000.

Table 1: Estimated gross income from HPR after revaluation transitional relief in 2023-2024 by property class

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13971 on‎ 31 January 2023, which sets out the circumstances in which Scottish Ministers are notified of a local authorities’ proposal to introduce a scheme. While no such notifications, required at the stage of a formally published scheme proposal, have been received, I am aware of exploration by City of Edinburgh Council and Glasgow City Council who continue to consider how best to use the powers.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21155 on‎ 22 September 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

As part of the work to develop a new Palliative and End of Life Care Strategy, the Strategy Steering Group for Palliative Care will consider the financial implications of delivery.

Scottish Government Ministers and officials regularly meet with local politicians, council Chief Executives and Directors of Finance to discuss national priorities and local issues. In those meetings, in parallel with ongoing engagement with COSLA Leaders and Spokespeople, Councils routinely identify policy challenges and financial pressures locally.

Despite a decade of UK Government austerity measures, the Accounts Commission, who are responsible for holding councils and other local government bodies in Scotland to account, have confirmed that local government revenue funding is 2.6% higher in real terms than it was in 2013-14.

Scottish councils have therefore been treated fairly throughout UK imposed austerity but we recognise the challenging environment they face, alongside the rest of the public sector, and that is why we are committed to a Fiscal Framework as part of our New Deal with Local Government in order to ensure the sustainability of local services.

11 out of 14 territorial NHS Scotland Boards have long COVID pathways in operation. The following table outlines anticipated commencement date of the remainder, where applicable.

The Scottish Government’s 2019 5G Strategy included an action to develop a series of 5G use cases across several industrial sectors, including health and social care. The Scotland 5G Centre has led this work through their network of 5G Innovation Hubs and developed the following use cases:

• “Gro Health” app Dumfries is a personalised treatment platform proven to support sustainable weight loss, blood glucose control, and improvements in mental health and wellbeing.
• “Care Reality VR Training Environment” is Scotland’s first Virtual Reality immersive learning platform using 5G that creates a tailored training environment for health and social care staff.
• “Care Reality Virtual Choirs” is an Extended Reality therapeutic singing intervention with a mental health focus that uses 5G to enable participants to be part of a choir in real time regardless of their physical location.
• “Safehouse Monitoring & Anomaly Detection device” is a 5G-based solution focusing on at-home social care that alerts carers to fall incidents.
• “Smart Walls” project at The Ladyfield at the Crichton is a 5G-based solution which offers potential to improving health and well-being for residents as well as cost savings to the NHS.

The Scotland 5G Centre will also launch a Digital Healthcare Innovation challenge in partnership with the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre later in 2023.

We have commissioned NHS National Services Scotland to establish a National Strategic Network to ensure the development of our approach to supporting people living with long COVID is informed by evidence and expertise. As part of this activity, NHS National Services Scotland has commissioned the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) to facilitate a long COVID Lived Experience Network to support people affected by long COVID to engage with and inform the activity of the Strategic Network.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) has been conducted for the Lived Experience Network to inform its approach and identify issues impacting on people with protected characteristics, including those from minority ethnic communities. When individuals join the network, they are asked to complete a voluntary equalities monitoring form to support with monitoring representation. Regular audits of the membership of the network are conducted to highlight any gaps in representation. This informs where further targeted outreach is needed and to identify areas for improvement.

NHS Boards’ use of the C-19 YRS digital screening tool will provide disaggregated data on who is accessing services, including by ethnicity and other protected characteristics. The collection of health data through the tool will be used to map the provision and effectiveness of long COVID services.

The Scottish Government’s Fair Work Action Plan sets out actions to promote fair and inclusive workplaces across Scotland. We are committed to using all levers at our disposal to extend Fair Work conditionality with clear standards and minimum requirements to cover all forms of Scottish Government support within the limits of devolved competence. The action to consider including the use of reliefs and licensing powers is an investigatory action, and not a definitive position on if and how these can be used. Officials will continue to monitor implementation of Fair Work conditions to ensure the approach remains fair and proportionate.

Non-domestic rates are levied on the private, public and charitable sectors and on a very diverse array of properties, from shops and offices to telephone masts, railways lines, harbours, bothies and advertising boards. Certain properties may have no employees linked with them, or properties may be operated by individuals rather than businesses, and therefore may not have any employees, and we will therefore need to consider carefully the potential role of fair work conditionality in the non-domestic rates system, within the limits of devolved competence.