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-35988

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 8 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recently announced council tax increases, what support it can provide to households, and what assessment it has made of the impact of these increases on low-income families.

Throughout engagement with COSLA, councils and opposition parties ahead of the 2025-26 Scottish Budget, there was a clear consensus that councils should have full flexibility for decisions on Council Tax rates. The Scottish Budget delivered that ask in full, as part of a record Local Government Settlement worth over £15 billion including real terms protection of General Revenue Grant, another key ask of COSLA and opposition parties.

Council Tax is a local tax, and decisions on rates are therefore a matter for local authorities to take in consultation with their local communities. Although there are some differences between Scotland and England in how Council Tax works, the average Council Tax bill in Scotland is £344 less than the average bill in England in 2025/26. However, the Scottish Government is providing several forms of support to households in light of recently announced Council Tax increases for 2025-26.

The most financially vulnerable will continue to be protected through the Council Tax Reduction (CTR) scheme. The CTR scheme exists to ensure that nobody in Scotland should have to meet a Council Tax liability they cannot be expected to afford and reduces a household’s liability based on an assessment of their income, capital, and other circumstances. Over 460,000 households receive some level of CTR, and on average recipients save over £850 a year. Anyone who considers they may qualify for this relief should contact their local council directly.

The Scottish Government will invest at least £15.8 million in 2025-26 in welfare, debt and income maximisation advice services to provide support, information and advice to those who may need it. This investment includes funding for The Money Talk Team, delivered by the Citizens Advice Network, helping to maximise incomes and ensure people are receiving all the payments and grants that they are entitled to. More information on the Money Talk Team is available online at: https://moneytalkteam.org.uk/.

Information and support is also available on the Scottish Government’s cost of living website at https://costofliving.campaign.gov.scot/. This web site provides helpful information, advice and signposting for anyone struggling with the ongoing cost crisis.

Households struggling with Council Tax payments will have access to enhanced advice through the expansion of a Citizens Advice Scotland project. This expanded support is backed by an additional £2.2 million in Scottish Government funding. Working in collaboration with local authorities, this project provides targeted help to affected households using best practice techniques in debt management.

Looking further ahead, we have launched a joint engagement program with COSLA to explore reforms aimed at making Council Tax fairer. This includes public consultations, town hall meetings, and expert discussions, ensuring that future changes reflect the needs of all communities.

Question reference: S6W-36149

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 8 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that eligible businesses in the hospitality sector are aware of and can secure the 40% business rates relief in 2025-26.

The Scottish Government has a range of measures to communicate information and raise awareness about the Non-Domestic Rates (NDR) reliefs which are available in 2025-26, including specific relief for the hospitality sector. This includes:

information on the Scottish Government webpages at Non-domestic rates (business rates) - Local government - gov.scot and Non-domestic rates relief - mygov.scot;
a Short Guide to NDR Rates and Reliefs 2025-26 which is issued to a wide range of stakeholder groups including trade representative bodies;
Local Government Finance Circular 4/25 which provides more detailed information for local authorities on NDR reliefs for 2025-26 and is published on Scottish Government webpages; and
regular engagement and dialogue with industry stakeholders and representatives through the consultative sub-group on Non-Domestic Rates, regular roundtable meetings with Ministers and the Scottish Ratepayer Forum. The membership of these groups includes representatives from the Scottish Hospitality Group, UK Hospitality, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Licensed Trade Association, Scottish Beer and Pub Association, and Night-Time Industries Association.

Local Authorities also publish information on non-domestic rates reliefs, including hospitality relief, on their individual websites.

Question reference: S6W-36152

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 8 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it will update the non-domestic rates relief webpage, mygov.scot, to include information on hospitality business rates relief.

Question reference: S6W-36221

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 8 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect (a) it and (b) public bodies from any internal activism that seeks to influence outward-facing policy, including through staff networks.

Civil Servants appointed to the Scottish Government must adhere to the Civil Service Code and Standards of Behaviour. They must act with integrity and impartiality, avoiding any appearance of bias or misuse of position and refrain from using their official role to advance personal interests. Failure to do so could result in disciplinary action being taken up to and including dismissal.

Network activity is governed by a network role descriptor “The core purpose of a staff network is in providing a space for peer support.” Internal Staff networks have no role in informing external policy.

This response addresses only the Scottish Government and its executive agencies. Public bodies have local responsibility for staff management.

Question reference: S6W-36151

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 8 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the final date is for eligible businesses in the hospitality sector to apply for 40% business rates relief in 2025-26.

Question reference: S6W-36150

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 8 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that local authority areas are informing eligible business of the 40% business rates relief in 2025-26 to properties in the hospitality sector, including grassroots music venues with a capacity of up to 1,500.

Question reference: S6W-36182

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 8 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-30074 by Mairi Gougeon on 27 September 2024, and in light of recent media coverage, including a video showing discarded fish on the seabed, how the suite of measures in place to manage fisheries and safeguard fish stocks are tackling illegal discarding.

The fishing industry is heavily regulated, with many rules in place designed to limit unwanted catch. The Scottish Government is tackling illegal discarding primarily through the enforcement of the Landing Obligation, which mandates that all catches of quota species must be landed. This is supported by monitoring and enforcement, including sea patrols, as well as technical and spatial management measures such as selective fishing gear and area closures, with the combined aim to reduce instances of unwanted catches.

Question reference: S6W-36299

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 8 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it anticipates the future catching policy (FCP) will be implemented.

Question reference: S6W-36126

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 7 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its procedures are for vetting and reviewing ministerial memoirs.

Paragraph 12.1 of the Scottish Ministerial Code (Scottish Ministerial Code: 2024 Edition - gov.scot) requires former Ministers intending to publish their memoirs to submit the draft manuscript in good time before publication to the Permanent Secretary and to conform to the principles set out in the Radcliffe Report of 1976. On receipt of any such manuscript the Permanent Secretary, supported as necessary by other senior Scottish Government officials, will conduct a review in accordance with that arrangement.

Question reference: S6W-36048

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 7 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to revise the fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) in response to reported plans in England to ease the process of building nuclear power plants, and what assessment it has made of any potential implications of this for its energy policy.