Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-13356

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 16 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent staff, broken down by grade, have been employed by Public Health Scotland and its predecessors, Health Protection Scotland and NHS Scotland’s Information Services Division, to work on tobacco policy in each year since 2017-18.

Question reference: S6O-01790

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out an assessment of the potential impact of its decision to end the Network Support Grant Plus for bus operators.

Question reference: S6W-13346

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 9 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage more local authorities to consider and utilise their existing powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to reduce or remit non-domestic rates.

In 2023-24 the Local Government finance settlement will provide over £13.2 billion to local authorities with a real terms increase in funding of £160.6 million or (1.3%).

The Scottish Government continues to encourage all local authorities to use their powers under the Community Empowerment Act 2015, which grants them the wide-ranging flexibility to offer bespoke local rates relief schemes. The administering of reliefs under these powers is a matter for local authorities who are independent bodies, democratically elected and accountable to their local electorate.

Question reference: S6W-13344

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 5 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much revenue raised by the business rates incentivisation scheme is expected to be retained by each local authority in (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24.

Question reference: S6W-13339

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 5 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much it expects to raise from the higher property rate in 2023-24, broken down by industry and business sector.

Table 1 presents the expected gross income from the Higher Property Rate (HPR), after the application of the revaluation Transitional Relief (TR), in 2023-24. This is broken down by property class, as 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, and does not necessarily accurately reflect the use of a property.

This table based on an imputed Valuation Roll based on an incomplete draft Valuation Roll, as used by the Scottish Fiscal Commission in Scotland’s Economic and Fiscal Forecasts December 2022, and figures are therefore subject to change.

Figures in this table are rounded to the nearest £1,000.

Table 1: Estimated gross income from HPR after revaluation transitional relief in 2023-24 by property class

Property class	Gross HPR income after TR
Shops	19,784,000
Public Houses	791,000
Offices	14,884,000
Hotels	5,074,000
Industrial Subjects	20,316,000
Leisure, Entertainment, Caravans etc.	4,174,000
Garages and Petrol Stations	813,000
Cultural	965,000
Sporting Subjects	267,000
Education and Training	13,973,000
Public Service Subjects	6,196,000
Communications	675,000
Quarries, Mines, etc.	253,000
Petrochemical	3,583,000
Religious	144,000
Health and Medical	4,712,000
Other	2,433,000
Care Facilities	1,558,000
Advertising	98,000
Statutory Undertaking	27,070,000
Not in Use	0
All	127,761,000

Question reference: S6W-13340

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 5 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many premises will be removed from the higher property rate due to the uplift in the threshold to £100,000 rateable value, broken down by industry sector.

Table 1 presents the number of properties expected to be removed from the higher property rate (HPR) due to the increase of the rateable value threshold to £100,000, before any reliefs are applied. This is broken down by property class, as 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, and does not necessarily accurately reflect the use of a property.

This table based on an imputed Valuation Roll based on an incomplete draft Valuation Roll, as used by the Scottish Fiscal Commission in Scotland’s Economic and Fiscal Forecasts December 2022, and figures are therefore subject to change.

Figures in this table are rounded to the nearest 10, with values greater than zero but lower than five displayed as ‘[low]’.

Table 1: Number of properties removed from HPR in 2023-24 due to the threshold increase, by property class

Property class	Properties removed from HPR
Shops	150
Public Houses	20
Offices	90
Hotels	20
Industrial Subjects	150
Leisure, Entertainment, Caravans etc.	40
Garages and Petrol Stations	10
Cultural	[low]
Sporting Subjects	[low]
Education and Training	70
Public Service Subjects	30
Communications	0
Quarries, Mines, etc.	[low]
Petrochemical	[low]
Religious	[low]
Health and Medical	20
Other	10
Care Facilities	30
Advertising	0
Statutory Undertaking	10
Not in Use	0
All	670

Question reference: S6W-13341

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 5 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it decided not to reintroduce business rates relief for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in 2023-24.

The Scottish Government has backed Scotland’s economic recovery with more than £4.7 billion in direct business support since March 2020. This included 100% retail, hospitality, leisure (RHL) and aviation relief in both 2020-21 and 2021-22 uncapped, and 50% RHL relief in 2022-23 capped at £27,500, which expired on 30 June 2022.

We recognise the difficult economic climate and this is why the Scottish Budget 2023-24, announced on 15 December, included a freeze in the poundage – the number one ask of 18 business organisations, and delivering the lowest poundage in the UK for the fifth year in a row. It also proposed a package of reliefs worth £744m including the UK's most generous small business rates relief.

We expect around half the properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors to be eligible for 100% Small Business Bonus Scheme relief next year. Properties in these sectors may also be eligible for the transitional relief schemes set out in the Budget.

Question reference: S6W-13364

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 5 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many firms will be eligible for 100% rates relief under the Small Business Bonus Scheme in (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24.

As at 1 July 2022, there were 114,880 properties in receipt of 100% Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) relief and a further 1,140 properties that were in receipt of 100% rates relief as a result of a combined partial award of SBBS relief and another NDR relief – for a total 116,020 SBBS recipients that paid no rates. In 2023-24, due to changes to Rateable Values as a result of the 2023 revaluation and changes to the SBBS relief thresholds announced at the Draft Budget 2023-24, it is estimated that around 106,000 properties will receive 100% relief through SBBS, either solely through SBBS relief or through SBBS relief combined with another NDR relief.

This estimate is based on modelling that underpinned the costing of SBBS relief in Scottish Fiscal Commission’s (SFC) Economic and Fiscal Forecasts December 2022. As noted by the SFC, rateable values were projected and based on an incomplete draft Valuation Roll, and are therefore subject to change.

Question reference: S6W-13343

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 5 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much it estimates will be raised by the intermediate property rate in 2023-24, broken down by industry sector.

Table 1 presents the expected gross income from the Intermediate Property Rate (IPR), after the application of the revaluation Transitional Relief (TR), in 2023-24. This is broken down by property class, as 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, and does not necessarily accurately reflect the use of a property.

This table is based on an imputed Valuation Roll based on an incomplete draft Valuation Roll, as used by the Scottish Fiscal Commission in Scotland’s Economic and Fiscal Forecasts December 2022, and figures are therefore subject to change.

Figures in this table are rounded to the nearest £1,000.

Table 1: Estimated gross income from IPR after revaluation transitional relief in 2023-24 by property class

Property class	Gross IPR income after TR (£)
Shops	1,761,000
Public Houses	341,000
Offices	1,487,000
Hotels	308,000
Industrial Subjects	1,957,000
Leisure, Entertainment, Caravans etc.	377,000
Garages and Petrol Stations	153,000
Cultural	68,000
Sporting Subjects	17,000
Education and Training	639,000
Public Service Subjects	412,000
Communications	29,000
Quarries, Mines, etc.	34,000
Petrochemical	8,000
Religious	70,000
Health and Medical	218,000
Other	149,000
Care Facilities	431,000
Advertising	13,000
Statutory Undertaking	120,000
Not in Use	0
All	8,590,000

Question reference: S6W-13338

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 5 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many properties will be subject to the higher property rate poundage in 2023-24, broken down by (a) industry sector and (b) local authority area.

The number of properties expected to be liable for the Higher Property Rate (HPR) in 2023-24 before any reliefs are applied is presented in the below tables, broken down in Table 1 by property class, and in Table 2 by local authority. Property class is a classification used by Scottish Assessors to describe the type of property, and does not necessarily accurately reflect the use of a property. The Scottish Government does not hold property-level data on industry sectors.

These tables are based on an imputed Valuation Roll based on an incomplete draft Valuation Roll, as used by the Scottish Fiscal Commission in Scotland’s Economic and Fiscal Forecasts December 2022, and figures are therefore subject to change.

Figures in these tables are rounded to the nearest 10, with values greater than zero but lower than five displayed as ‘[low]’.

Table 1: Number of properties liable for HPR in 2023-24 by property class

Property class	Properties with a gross HPR liability
Shops	2,390
Public Houses	180
Offices	1,760
Hotels	580
Industrial Subjects	2,520
Leisure, Entertainment, Caravans etc.	510
Garages and Petrol Stations	150
Cultural	90
Sporting Subjects	20
Education and Training	1,390
Public Service Subjects	500
Communications	90
Quarries, Mines, etc.	40
Petrochemical	70
Religious	40
Health and Medical	280
Other	240
Care Facilities	350
Advertising	10
Statutory Undertaking	370
Not in use	0
All	11,570

Table 2: Number of properties liable for HPR in 2023-24 by local authority

Local authority	Properties with a gross HPR liability
Aberdeen City	1,040
Aberdeenshire	530
Angus	140
Argyll & Bute	150
Clackmannanshire	50
Dumfries & Galloway	200
Dundee City	350
East Ayrshire	140
East Dunbartonshire	110
East Lothian	140
East Renfrewshire	80
City of Edinburgh	1,720
Na h-Eileanan Siar	50
Falkirk	290
Fife	510
Glasgow City	1,830
Highland	600
Inverclyde	110
Midlothian	170
Moray	200
North Ayrshire	170
North Lanarkshire	570
Orkney Islands	30
Perth & Kinross	280
Renfrewshire	380
Scottish Borders	170
Shetland Islands	60
South Ayrshire	200
South Lanarkshire	540
Stirling	210
West Dunbartonshire	130
West Lothian	420
Scotland	11,570

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