The Scottish Parliament

Question reference: S6W-31982

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many abandoned lead mines there are in each local authority area, also broken down by how many have been identified as being contaminated by the lead; what date this identification was made, and how many remain contaminated.

Question reference: S6W-32116

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-31685 by Jenny Gilruth on 9 December 2024, which of its officials attended the meeting.

Question reference: S6W-31996

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many properties in 2025-26 will be subject to the intermediate property rate, broken down by (a) industry sector and (b) local authority area.

Table 1 shows the number of properties liable for the Intermediate Property Rate by property class as at 1 October 2024. Table 2 shows the number of properties liable for the Intermediate Property Rate by council area as at 1 October 2024.

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, but may not necessarily accurately reflect the actual use of a property.

Figures are rounded to the nearest 10, and may not sum due to rounding.

Table 1: Number of properties liable for the Intermediate Property Rate, by property class

Source: Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll, as at 1 October 2024

Property class	Number of properties
Shops	2,140
Public houses and restaurants	420
Offices	1,750
Hotels	380
Industrial subjects	2,430
Leisure, entertainment, caravans, etc.	480
Garages and petrol stations	200
Cultural	100
Sporting subjects	50
Education and training	720
Public service subjects	500
Communications	40
Quarries, mines, etc.	50
Petrochemical	10
Religious	90
Health and medical	260
Other	180
Care facilities	500
Advertising	20
Statutory undertaking	150
All	10,440

Table 2: Number of properties liable for the Intermediate Property Rate, by council area

Source: Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll, as at 1 October 2024

Council area	Number of properties
Aberdeen City	840
Aberdeenshire	480
Angus	120
Argyll and Bute	150
City of Edinburgh	1,510
Clackmannanshire	50
Dumfries and Galloway	220
Dundee City	320
East Ayrshire	150
East Dunbartonshire	110
East Lothian	130
East Renfrewshire	60
Falkirk	200
Fife	550
Glasgow City	1,660
Highland	590
Inverclyde	90
Midlothian	170
Moray	150
Na h-Eileanan Siar	50
North Ayrshire	160
North Lanarkshire	510
Orkney Islands	40
Perth and Kinross	270
Renfrewshire	320
Scottish Borders	180
Shetland Islands	60
South Ayrshire	170
South Lanarkshire	430
Stirling	200
West Dunbartonshire	130
West Lothian	400
Scotland	10,440

Question reference: S6W-31974

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of children’s hearings have been conducted with at least one panel member who was from outwith the local authority area of the child or young person in each of the last three calendar years, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-31976

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many panel members for children’s hearings have been recruited in each of the last three calendar years.

Question reference: S6W-31960

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the root cause of the structural problem with the M8 Woodside Viaducts was due to movement in the supporting pillars caused by a change in the water table, which was triggered by nearby construction activity at Phoenix Road.

Transport Scotland engineers advise that there is no reason to believe that there has been any structural damage to the Woodside Viaduct as a result of a changing water table due to construction or any other activity at Pheonix Road.

The works are as a result of deterioration of the crosshead half joints, which are supported on top of the piers (pillars). Half joints are a detail susceptible to deterioration due to water ingress and are not utilised in new bridge construction as a result.

Question reference: S6W-32120

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-31864 by Gillian Martin on 10 December 2024, whether it will provide the full list of the key criteria being considered by EY.

Ernst & Young Parthenon continue to undertake a thorough analysis of viable alternatives for the Grangemouth site with a focus on three levers through which competitive advantage could be driven and these are demand, feedstocks, and infrastructure.

Additionally, the Scottish Government has asked Ernst & Young Parthenon to focus on opportunities that maximise the potential employment and GVA impact of prospective projects, and have been clear that the outputs of Project Willow must align with the contents of the draft Grangemouth Industrial Just Transition Plan.

Question reference: S6W-32060

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can detail what legal advice SEPA received regarding any impact of suggested changes to SEPA's out-of-hours contact service on reporting requirements of licenses given under the (a) Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011, (b) Waste Management Licensing (Scotland) Regulations 2011, (c) Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2012 and (d) Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018.

Question reference: S6W-31997

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much it estimates will be raised by the intermediate property rate in 2025-26, and how much has been raised by it in each year since its introduction, broken down by industry sector.

The Intermediate Property Rate was introduced from 1 April 2020. It applied to properties with a rateable value above £51,000, up to £95,000 until 31 March 2023, and to properties with a rateable value above £51,000 and up to £100,000 from 1 April 2023. In 2020-2021, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024 it was charged at 51.1p; in 2021-2022 this was 50.3p; in 2024-2025 increased in line with inflation to 54.5p, and in 2025-2026 it is planned to increase in line with inflation to 55.4p.

Table 1 shows the total estimated gross income since 2020-2021. This is the total gross bill (net of General Revaluation Transitional Relief in 2023-2024, 2024-2025 and 2025-2026) charged to properties with a rateable value between £51,001 and £95,000 up to 2022-2023, and between £51,001 and £100,000 from 2023-2024 onwards, as noted above.

Table 2 shows the total estimated net income from the Intermediate Property Rate since 2020-2021. Net figures for 2023-2024 are not available due to the absence of property-level reliefs data. Figures for 2025-2026 are estimated using reliefs data from 1 June 2024, with a calculation for General Revaluation Transitional Relief based on rateable values. The net estimates include adjustments for reliefs, as well as in-year adjustments such as reductions due to proposals or appeals and write-offs.

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, but may not necessarily accurately reflect the actual use of a property.

Figures are based on the Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll as at 1 October 2024 in each financial year, for 2025-2026 this is based on the Valuation Roll of 1 October 2024. Figures are gross of all reliefs, except for the General Revaluation Transitional Relief in 2023-2024 and 2024-2025. Figures are rounded to the nearest £100,000.

Table 1: Estimated gross income from the Intermediate Property Rate since 2020-2021, by property class (£)

Source: Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll as at 1 October in each year (1 October 2024 for 2025-2026)

Property class	2020-2021	2021-2022	2022-2023	2023-2024	2024-2025	2025-2026
Shops	73,900,000	73,500,000	76,000,000	77,000,000	81,600,000	82,800,000
Public houses and restaurants	14,000,000	13,700,000	14,100,000	14,500,000	15,500,000	15,800,000
Offices	58,500,000	57,400,000	59,100,000	62,800,000	66,700,000	67,600,000
Hotels	12,300,000	12,100,000	12,300,000	13,400,000	14,300,000	14,800,000
Industrial subjects	71,000,000	69,600,000	71,800,000	86,200,000	92,500,000	93,900,000
Leisure, entertainment, caravans, etc.	13,900,000	13,800,000	14,300,000	16,600,000	18,100,000	18,500,000
Garages and petrol stations	5,600,000	5,400,000	5,200,000	6,600,000	7,500,000	7,700,000
Cultural	2,600,000	2,300,000	2,500,000	2,800,000	3,400,000	3,400,000
Sporting subjects	600,000	500,000	600,000	1,500,000	1,700,000	1,800,000
Education and training	26,300,000	25,400,000	25,700,000	27,400,000	29,000,000	29,500,000
Public service subjects	17,000,000	16,000,000	16,200,000	17,700,000	19,000,000	19,200,000
Communications	900,000	1,100,000	800,000	1,300,000	1,500,000	1,500,000
Quarries, mines, etc.	1,500,000	1,200,000	1,100,000	1,600,000	1,800,000	1,900,000
Petrochemical	300,000	300,000	300,000	400,000	300,000	300,000
Religious	2,400,000	2,400,000	2,600,000	3,000,000	3,200,000	3,300,000
Health and medical	8,200,000	7,900,000	8,100,000	9,500,000	10,100,000	10,200,000
Other	5,800,000	6,200,000	6,200,000	6,000,000	6,500,000	6,600,000
Care facilities	16,700,000	16,600,000	16,900,000	18,500,000	19,100,000	19,300,000
Advertising	400,000	500,000	500,000	500,000	600,000	600,000
Statutory undertaking	4,300,000	4,300,000	4,500,000	5,300,000	5,600,000	5,800,000
All	336,100,000	330,100,000	338,700,000	372,400,000	398,200,000	404,500,000

Table 2: Estimated net income from the Intermediate Property Rate since 2020-2021, by property class (£)

Source: Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll as at 1 October in each year (1 October 2024 for 2025-2026); local authorities’ billing information from 1 July 2020, 1 June 2021, 1 July 2022, and 1 June 2024

Property class	2020-2021	2021-2022	2022-2023	2023-2024	2024-2025	2025-2026
Shops	5,600,000	30,900,000	69,000,000	[not available]	79,000,000	82,700,000
Public houses and restaurants	400,000	3,000,000	13,100,000	[not available]	15,400,000	16,200,000
Offices	47,100,000	45,800,000	47,800,000	[not available]	58,100,000	60,700,000
Hotels	300,000	1,900,000	11,100,000	[not available]	13,300,000	14,100,000
Industrial subjects	63,500,000	63,100,000	67,400,000	[not available]	88,200,000	92,200,000
Leisure, entertainment, caravans, etc.	900,000	2,600,000	8,200,000	[not available]	11,100,000	11,700,000
Garages and petrol stations	2,400,000	3,100,000	5,300,000	[not available]	7,500,000	7,900,000
Cultural	200,000	300,000	600,000	[not available]	1,000,000	1,000,000
Sporting subjects	100,000	200,000	400,000	[not available]	800,000	900,000
Education and training	22,200,000	21,800,000	22,500,000	[not available]	25,300,000	26,400,000
Public service subjects	9,500,000	9,100,000	10,500,000	[not available]	12,600,000	13,200,000
Communications	800,000	1,100,000	1,100,000	[not available]	1,500,000	1,500,000
Quarries, mines, etc.	1,400,000	1,200,000	1,200,000	[not available]	1,800,000	1,900,000
Petrochemical	300,000	300,000	300,000	[not available]	300,000	300,000
Religious	600,000	500,000	500,000	[not available]	500,000	600,000
Health and medical	6,000,000	5,900,000	6,000,000	[not available]	7,700,000	8,100,000
Other	3,800,000	4,100,000	4,300,000	[not available]	5,300,000	5,600,000
Care facilities	1,300,000	2,000,000	2,600,000	[not available]	3,000,000	3,200,000
Advertising	400,000	500,000	500,000	[not available]	600,000	600,000
Statutory undertaking	3,700,000	3,100,000	3,200,000	[not available]	4,000,000	4,300,000
All	170,400,000	200,500,000	275,600,000	[not available]	337,000,000	353,100,000

Question reference: S6W-32027

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is still committed to implementing a Deposit Return Scheme in Scotland by October 2027, in light of the reported announcement by the Welsh Government that it will no longer seek to participate in the planned UK-wide approach to this scheme.

The UK Government’s decision to remove glass from its own scheme and refusal to agree a full Internal Market Act exclusion for Scotland’s own scheme meant we were left with no choice but to delay our scheme last year.

Scotland’s scheme would have been operational in 2024 and would already be improving our recycling rates, however, the Internal Market Act prevented us from moving forward with a deposit return scheme as intended.

Urgent action is needed from the UK Government to repeal the Internal Market Act and restore the full powers of devolved Parliaments.

Until then, the UK scheme remains the only practical option available to Scotland. The Scottish Government is committed to seeing it delivered by October 2027 and will continue to work to that end. We opened applications for a DRS scheme administrator alongside England and Northern Ireland at the start of December.

Parliament dissolved ahead of election

Chamber and committees

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Question reference: S6W-31982

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Question reference: S6W-32116

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Question reference: S6W-31996

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Question reference: S6W-31960

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