Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S7W-01563

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 06 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for a public consultation on the status of the Lord Advocate’s dual role as the head of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and its senior legal advisor.

Question reference: S7W-01161

Asked by: Joe Fagan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Friday, 19 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 6 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-00448 by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 10 June 2026, how many businesses will be eligible for 100% relief under the Small Business Bonus Scheme in 2026-27, following the recent non-domestic rates revaluation, broken down by (a) local authority and (b) valuation area, and how this compares with the previous year.

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.

Valuation joint board	Council area	Properties receiving 100% SBBS as at 1 June 2025	Properties estimated to receive 100% SBBS in 2026-2027
All	All	100,700	96,900
Ayrshire	All	7,100	6,800
Ayrshire	East Ayrshire	2,100	2,000
Ayrshire	North Ayrshire	2,700	2,700
Ayrshire	South Ayrshire	2,300	2,200
Central	All	5,300	5,300
Central	Clackmannanshire	700	700
Central	Falkirk	2,200	2,200
Central	Stirling	2,500	2,400
Dumfries and Galloway	All	5,600	5,300
Dumfries and Galloway	Dumfries and Galloway	5,600	5,300
Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute	All	6,400	6,200
Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute	Argyll and Bute	4,200	4,000
Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute	East Dunbartonshire	1,000	900
Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute	West Dunbartonshire	1,300	1,300
Fife	All	5,900	5,700
Fife	Fife	5,900	5,700
Glasgow	All	8,900	8,700
Glasgow	Glasgow City	8,900	8,700
Grampian	All	9,300	9,100
Grampian	Aberdeen City	500	500
Grampian	Aberdeenshire	6,400	6,200
Grampian	Moray	2,400	2,300
Highland and Western Isles	All	9,500	8,800
Highland and Western Isles	Highland	8,200	7,500
Highland and Western Isles	Na h-Eileanan Siar	1,200	1,300
Lanarkshire	All	9,100	9,000
Lanarkshire	North Lanarkshire	4,200	4,100
Lanarkshire	South Lanarkshire	4,900	4,900
Lothian	All	10,800	10,000
Lothian	City of Edinburgh	5,800	5,300
Lothian	East Lothian	1,800	1,700
Lothian	Midlothian	1,100	1,100
Lothian	West Lothian	2,100	2,000
Orkney and Shetland	All	2,300	2,200
Orkney and Shetland	Orkney Islands	1,400	1,300
Orkney and Shetland	Shetland Islands	900	900
Renfrewshire	All	5,800	5,700
Renfrewshire	East Renfrewshire	800	800
Renfrewshire	Inverclyde	1,100	1,000
Renfrewshire	Renfrewshire	3,900	3,900
Scottish Borders	All	5,100	4,900
Scottish Borders	Scottish Borders	5,100	4,900
Tayside	All	9,500	9,200
Tayside	Angus	3,000	2,900
Tayside	Dundee City	2,200	2,100
Tayside	Perth and Kinross	4,400	4,200

Question reference: S7W-01304

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 6 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many premises it anticipates will be excluded from non-domestic rates relief as a result of the proposed exclusion of vape shops, including how many of these premises are specialist vape retailers as opposed to mixed-use convenience stores or other types of retailer.

As announced in Parliament by the Deputy First Minister on 23 June 2026, from 1 April 2027, we will remove non-domestic rates relief from vape shops. We want to ensure vape shops are contributing to the high street, recognising the growth of the sector in recent years and ensuring rates relief aligns with our public health commitments. We will confirm the details of the policy in the Budget, which will be followed by the regulations setting out the scope and definition of the measures, including the definition of a vape shop.

Question reference: S7W-01307

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 6 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it plans to provide to local authorities and assessors regarding the classification of premises that sell vaping products alongside groceries, newspapers, confectionery or other retail goods.

Question reference: S7W-01309

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 6 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what appeals process will be available to a business that has been classified as a vape shop and excluded from non-domestic rates relief.

Question reference: S7W-01306

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 6 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has set a threshold for the proportion of a retailer’s turnover, floor space or product range that must be attributable to vaping products for a premises to be classified as a vape shop and therefore excluded from non-domestic rates relief.

Question reference: S7W-01305

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 6 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government's statement to the Parliament on 23 June 2026 on Non-domestic Rates, how it will define a vape shop for the purposes of determining eligibility for non-domestic rates relief and what criteria will be used to distinguish a vape shop from other retail premises that sell vaping products.

Question reference: S7W-01027

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kirsten Oswald on 6 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has provided to local authorities regarding the implementation of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025.

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 (also known as Martyn’s Law) is a reserved piece of legislation. It introduces a legal duty on those responsible for publicly accessible premises and events to improve preparedness for terrorist attacks. The Act received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025.

A minimum 24-month implementation period means duties are expected to come into force from 2027, following statutory guidance published in April 2026. As the guidance is for reserved Legislation it is the responsibility of the UK Government to provide relevant guidance. The Home Office have recently published a series of guidance and documents to support the Act and those under its remit.

Question reference: S7W-01166

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 6 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government who has ministerial responsibility for industrial decarbonising; what role the Cabinet Secretary for the Economy has in relation to this, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

I was appointed in May 2026 and my responsibilities include industrial decarbonisation.

Many strategic issues affecting energy-intensive industrial sectors fall within the portfolio of Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport. This includes responsibility for business, industry, manufacturing support and entrepreneurship, and the green industrial strategy.

The Scottish Government operates under the principle of collective responsibility. This means that decisions taken by Ministers, individually or collectively, are binding on all members of the Government. The Scottish Ministerial Code sets out this principle, which applies to all Ministers.

Question reference: S7W-01154

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 6 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to paragraph 142 of the 2025 final report of the SPCB Supported Bodies Landscape Review Committee, whether it plans to undertake a strategic mapping exercise to identify the functions of all Scottish public bodies, including areas of overlap; and, if so, whether it will provide details of (a) who will be responsible for carrying out this work and (b) the expected timeline for its completion.