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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-00138

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Reform UK
Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party's 2026 manifesto commitment to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, what it anticipates the impact might be on farmgate prices from the policy.

Question reference: S7W-00133

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Reform UK
Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party's 2026 manifesto commitment to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, how prices would be set and who would take that decision.

Question reference: S7W-00097

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Reform UK
Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party's 2026 manifesto commitment to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, what discussions it has had with the Groceries Code Adjudicator regarding this proposal.

Question reference: S7W-00130

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Reform UK
Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party's 2026 manifesto commitment to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, what discussions it has had with the Advertising Standards Authority regarding this proposal.

Question reference: S7W-00137

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Reform UK
Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party's 2026 manifesto commitment to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, what it anticipates the administrative implications might be for grocery staff from its implementation.

Question reference: S7W-00134

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Reform UK
Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party's 2026 manifesto commitment to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, how this policy would interact with existing rules on competition and avoid collusion and price fixing, which are designed to protect shoppers.

Question reference: S7W-00136

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Reform UK
Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party's 2026 manifesto commitment to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, what other regulatory and legislative measures affecting grocery retailers are due to come into effect.

Question reference: S6O-05616

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Reform UK
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to make records on the Scotland's People website more readily available elsewhere.

Question reference: S6W-43579

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Reform UK
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 17 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether Scotland-based retail, hospitality and leisure firms that will be liable for the higher property rate in 2026-27 will be better placed to pay a higher non-domestic rate than their counterparts in England in similar sized premises.

Following the extended relief announced at Stage One of the Budget Bill, the Budget ensures the estimated revenues raised from non-domestic rates in 2026-27 will be 7% lower in real terms measured by the Consumer Price Index than pre-COVID despite the number of properties on the valuation roll increasing in that time. It sets out a decrease in the three non-domestic property rates, including a 3.5% decrease in the Higher Property Rate, from 56.8p to 54.8p.

Decisions on Budget are made in the context of the prevailing economic conditions and government priorities. We have had to consider how best to target support within limited finances but also acknowledge that it is no longer possible to directly compare tax rates between Scotland, England and Wales due to differences in the tone dates used to derive Rateable Values. Different tone dates and by extension different impacts on Rateable Value growth, merit different decisions on tax rates and do not necessarily translate to higher liabilities.

The non-domestic rates liability that applies to a property depends on the interaction between its rateable value, the tax rate that applies and any reliefs that it is in receipt of. Total rateable value (local list) is expected to rise by 19% at the 2026 revaluation in England but only 12% in Scotland.

By way of example, shops are expected to see an increase in total rateable value of 6% in Scotland and 10% in England. Hotels’ total rateable value is expected to rise by 28% in Scotland but 79% in England, while for pubs this is 15% in Scotland but 30% in England. For restaurants the overall increase is expected to be 8% in Scotland while the total rateable value increase of restaurants and cafes in England is expected to be 15%.

Given the context of higher rateable value growth in England, the relief available to retail, hospitality and leisure properties liable for the Basic and Intermediate Property Rates in Scotland still compares well with the support available to equivalent properties in England.

The Budget continues to support businesses and communities, with a strong non-domestic rates package, including more than £180million of forecast support through transitional relief schemes over the next three years.

We believe that the relief package proposed in Budget strikes a fair balance and estimate that 96% of retail, hospitality and leisure properties could benefit from some form of relief in 2026-27.?

Question reference: S6W-43578

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Reform UK
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 13 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the proposal in the draft Budget 2026-27 that retail, hospitality and leisure firms liable for the basic and intermediate property rate will be eligible for 15% non-domestic rates relief, how much it would cost to extend this to premises in this sector that are liable for the higher property rate.

Internal Scottish Government estimates are that extending the 15% relief to non-domestic rates (NDR) for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) properties liable for the Basic or Intermediate Property Rate, capped at £110,000 per business per year, announced in the draft Budget 2026-27, to include premises in these sectors liable for the Higher Property Rate, would cost an additional £36m in 2026-27, rising to £37m in 2027-28 and £38m in 2028-29.

The identification of properties in the RHL sectors are based on criteria used to identify eligible properties for the purpose of forecasting relief costs. Property class is used by the Scottish Assessors to describe the type of a property and may not accurately reflect its use in all cases. For example, a property classified as a ‘shop’ may in fact be used to offer financial services.