Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government will continue to provide vital assistance to enable older people to heat their homes, to help disabled people live independent lives and will keep thousands of children out of poverty. The Scottish Government is committed to doing all it can to ensure that the finances remain on a sustainable trajectory. We have delivered a balanced budget every year since 2007, while taking forward action to improve the overall sustainability of the public finances. Scottish Ministers have been clear that this Government will continue to direct resources to the most impactful interventions to support our priorities. We will continue to drive forward our public sector reform programme to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of our public services.

The Council Tax (Variation for Unoccupied Dwellings) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023, which came into effect on 1 April 2024, provide local authorities with discretionary powers to apply a Council Tax premium of up to 100% on second homes.

Council Tax is a local tax, and it is for individual councils to determine the appropriate balance of housing in their areas based on local needs. The Regulations give Councils greater fiscal empowerment, in the spirit of the Verity House Agreement. They enable Councils to charge Second Homes anywhere between a 50% discount, and up to a 100% premium. It is for Councils to take decisions about the tax treatment of second homes, including where exclusions may apply.

The Scottish Government is committed to monitoring the impact of these regulations and will consider their effects as more data becomes available. The first set of data reflecting the implementation of the premium was collected in September 2024. This data indicated a 10% decrease (2,455 properties) in the number of second homes compared to the previous year. This decline may be related to the introduction of the 100% Council Tax premium on second homes. The Scottish Government will continue to monitor the impact of the Council Tax premium.

The following link sets out the Councils that introduced a second homes premium on 1 April 2024, Second homes and long term empty policies and discounts 2024-25: data

The following link provides the published data on the numbers of second and empty homes as at September 2024, Second homes and empty properties in September 2024 - gov.scot.

I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-36833 on 9 May 2025 and S6W-36835 on 6 May 2025 and S6W-36840 on 6 May 2025. 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

Since 2007 we have completed ten major trunk road upgrades, including on the A830, A82, A9, and A96, improving the safety and reliability of these routes for roads users across the Highlands, Islands and beyond.

We opened new stations at Conon Bridge and Inverness Airport, and our investment in Scotland’s Railway has allowed for improved frequency and journey times on the Highland Mainline and between Inverness and Aberdeen.

Orkney and Shetland residents receive a 30% discount on ferry fares, while Road Equivalent Tariff saves passengers around £25 million per year in total.

Over 57,000 young people across the Highlands and Islands have benefited from free bus travel, with more than 9.2 million journeys made since the Under 22’s scheme launched.

Transport provision has improved, and will continue to improve, as we introduce new vessels to our ferry networks, and deliver further upgrades to key trunk roads and public transport infrastructure.

The Scottish Budget continues to support businesses, including nightclubs and music venues, with a number of measures including maintaining the Small Business Bonus Scheme which remains the most generous scheme of its kind in the UK, and a freeze to the Basic Property Rate in 2025-26 which ensures that over 95 per cent of non-domestic properties continue to be liable for a lower property tax rate than anywhere else in the UK.

Recognising the challenges faced by the hospitality sector 40 per cent relief is offered in 2025-26 for hospitality premises with a rateable value up to and including £51,000, including Grassroots Music Venues with a capacity of up to 1,500 people, capped at £110,000 per business. 100 per cent relief continues for hospitality premises located on islands, and in prescribed remote areas (Cape Wrath, Knoydart, and Scoraig), capped at £110,000 per business.

The Scottish Government continue to demonstrate steadfast support for culture and the arts in Scotland, with record-changing increases in funding for the sector. The highest ever number of artists and organisations will receive regular funding from Creative Scotland this financial year – including grassroots and community culture as well as the music sector.

The UK Government has an important role to play in all aspects of the future of the Grangemouth Industrial Cluster and the Scottish Government will engage with them and others as required.

As we do this, we will also work with all businesses and investors, to ensure that the community and workforce benefit from this investment.

More broadly Scotland’s National Flood Resilience strategy commits to exploring new ways public and private finance can contribute to creating flood resilient places in the longer term.

Scotland’s National Water Scarcity Plan sets out how water resources will be managed prior to and during periods of prolonged dry weather ensuring the correct balance is struck between protecting the environment and providing resource for human and economic activity.

The Scottish Government are working closely with partners to provide information and guidance on emerging water scarcity issues directly to farmers and food producers. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has sent direct communications to all agricultural abstraction licence holders providing them with an early overview of the water scarcity risks for this year and where support can be found. These direct messages will continue to be used over the summer and will be targeted to specific catchments where water scarcity becomes an issue.

The Scottish Government is actively addressing water scarcity in agriculture through the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS). The scheme promotes sustainable land management practices, including water management and water-use efficiency measures to reduce the impacts of water scarcity on the agricultural sector.

In the 2024 and 2025 rounds of AECS, applications for irrigation lagoons, which are a key measure for reducing water scarcity, were able to be made as a simplified standalone item or as part of a wider application, open until 12 June 2025. To support further uptake, in 2024 we increased the grant ceiling for irrigation lagoons from £30,000 to £40,000.

The Scottish Government funded Farm Advisory Service (FAS) and Farming and Water Scotland (FWS) programmes provides largely free information and resources for farms and crofts in Scotland. Both FAS and FWS develop and share sector-specific guidance with farmers and food produces in various formats, such as at agricultural shows, training events, podcasts, videos and in articles. Farmers and food producers can access resources related to water scarcity and water management on both the FAS and FWS websites.

As detailed in our programme for Government for 2025-26, we are committed to carrying out a comprehensive assessment of the law in relation to non-fatal strangulation to determine if there is further action that needs to be taken.

The detailed information requested is currently being collated and I will write to the member as soon as the information is available and a copy will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib number 65812).

The Scottish Government recognises the critical challenges and opportunities in transitioning towards a circular economy within the textiles and mattress sectors.

As set out in the Circular Economy and Waste Route Map to 2030, we are considering textiles and mattresses as priority products and have committed to publishing a Product Stewardship plan by 2026. We will continue to engage with stakeholders across these sectors to develop policies and actions that will tackle the environmental impact of priority products throughout their lifespan, including disposal options.

Furthermore, from 31 December this year, we will end the practice of landfilling biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) in Scotland from 31 December 2025.

We are presently running a Call for Evidence (CfE) on the potential extension of the BMW ban. This CfE seeks to support consideration of extending the landfill ban to include non-municipal biodegradable wastes by:

• filling information gaps on the types of waste that could fall under an extended ban, as well as their characteristics and environmental impacts;
• filling information gaps on the feasibility of alternative (non-landfill) treatment options for wastes that could fall under an extended ban;
• supporting consideration of any barriers to diverting wastes from landfill;
• To understand if there are wastes for which landfill remains the best option and;
• considering other policies, their timings and interactions with an extended ban that could support the diversion of waste from landfill.

The CfE is being run as part of a wider consultation on potential changes to waste management services in Scotland which also includes a consultation on whether textile collections should be a mandatory requirement for local authorities in Scotland.

The consultation launched on 25 March 2025 and will close on 17 June 2025. You can access and respond to this consultation here: Changes to waste management services - Scottish Government consultations - Citizen Space.