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: S6W-43360

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party 2021 manifesto commitment, what the cost would be in 2026-27 of bringing the higher property rate into line with that in England, broken down by industry sector.

Question reference: S6W-43359

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has decided not to extend retail, hospitality and leisure rates relief to premises that are liable for the higher property rate.

Question reference: S6W-43356

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to fulfil the commitments in the Scottish National Party 2021 manifesto and subsequent Framework For Tax, and the recommendation of the Barclay review of non-domestic tax rates, to restore the level playing field with England for retail, hospitality, and leisure premises that are liable for the higher property rate.

Question reference: S6W-43358

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much it expects to raise from the retail, hospitality and leisure industries, and business sectors, from the higher property rate in 2026-27.

Question reference: S6W-43357

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has not brought the higher property rate into line with that in England, as recommended by the Barclay review of non-domestic tax rates.

Question reference: S6O-05481

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Current Status: Due to be taken in the Chamber on 5 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what progress has been made in dealing with the issue of short-formed trains on services between Fife and Edinburgh.

Question reference: S6W-43355

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 10 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Retail Consortium’s analysis of its draft Budget 2026-27, as set out in its Post-Budget submission to the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee, that the new retail, hospitality and leisure sectors' rates relief “is less generous at every level than England’s RHL relief”, that the difference in the poundage rates is set to move from being a “gap … to become a chasm”, and overall that the relief “doesn’t match the more competitive rates regime for retailers in England being introduced from April 2026”.

Question reference: S6T-02861

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in response to the finding from UKHospitality Scotland that licensed premises face, on average, an 86% increase in non-domestic rates as a result of the current revaluation.

Question reference: S6W-42834

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the comments from the former chair of the Scottish Government’s Retail Industry Leadership Group, Andrew Murphy, in The Times on 22 December 2025, that if Scotland does not follow England and introduce a permanent business rate discount for all retail premises it would be “a huge mistake” and could see existing shops close and fewer new ones open.

The draft Budget ensures the estimated revenues raised from non-domestic rates in 2026-27 will be 6% lower in real terms measured by CPI than pre-COVID, despite the number of properties on the valuation roll increasing in that time, and introduces the lowest Basic Property Rate for 2026-27 since 2018-19.

Businesses and communities will be supported with a generous non-domestic rates relief package worth an estimated £864 million in 2026-27, including the Small Business Bonus Scheme which remains the most generous scheme of its kind in the UK and is confirmed for the next three years, as well as transitional relief schemes.

Recognising the challenges faced by the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, for the next three years we will offer 15% relief for eligible properties in these sectors liable for the Basic or Intermediate Property Rate, capped at £110,000 per business per year; and extend and expand 100% relief for the next three years to retail, hospitality and leisure premises located on islands as defined by the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, and in prescribed remote areas (Cape Wrath, Knoydart and Scoraig) capped at £110,000 per business per year.

Around half of the properties in the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure sectors continue to be eligible for 100% Small Business Bonus Scheme relief in 2026-27. A further 37,000 properties could benefit from the new 15% relief for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure properties with a rateable value up to and including £100,000 and on Islands.

Taken together around 96% of retail, hospitality and leisure businesses could benefit from some form of relief in 2026-27.

Question reference: S6W-42836

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 20 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish its current business and regulatory impact assessment in relation to its defence sector support policy, which was updated on 3 September 2025, including the number of any affected companies.