The Scottish Parliament

Question reference: S6O-05412

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in 2024-25 no longer received the Scottish Child Payment because they moved off benefits.

Question reference: S6O-05418

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the draft Scottish Budget 2026-27 will have on social security in Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-05401

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect women from rape and sexual assault in hospitals.

Question reference: S6O-05388

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what cross-government action it is taking to support island connectivity in the West Scotland region.

Question reference: S6O-05417

Asked by: Marie McNair, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to promote the take-up of Pension Age Disability Payment.

Question reference: S6O-05413

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to respond to the housing emergency in Fife.

Question reference: S6O-05395

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what urgent action is being taken to improve whole-system patient flow, including seven-day discharge services, social care capacity, and shared responsibility across hospital departments, rather than focusing on redirecting patients away from A&E departments.

Question reference: S6O-05389

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it has entered into with the Scottish Information Commissioner regarding the publication of the controlling interests of recipients of payments made under the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024.

Question reference: S6W-42681

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 14 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the decision taken in the UK Government Budget to provide a permanent business rate discount for retail and hospitality businesses in England from April 2026, whether it will adhere to its pledge in the New Deal for Business Group Implementation Plan to deliver a competitive business rates system.

The draft Budget published on 13 January ensures the estimated revenues raised from non-domestic rates in 2026-27 will be 6% lower in real terms than pre-COVID, using the Consumer Price Index.

The strong package for 2026-27 decreases the Basic, Intermediate and Higher Property Rates in 2026-27, delivering the lowest Basic Property Rate since 2018-19 and businesses and communities will be supported with a generous non-domestic rates relief package worth an estimated £864 million in 2026-27. This includes the Small Business Bonus Scheme which remains the most generous scheme of its kind in the UK and is confirmed for the next three years, as well as transitional relief schemes.

It also continues a number of reliefs which are not available elsewhere in the UK, or are less generous, such as the Business Growth Accelerator Relief, Day Nursery relief, Fresh Start relief and the UK’s most generous package of reliefs for the energy-generating sector.

Recognising the challenges faced by the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, for the next three years we will offer 15% relief for eligible properties in these sectors liable for the Basic or Intermediate Property Rates, capped at £110,000 per business per year; and extend and expand 100% relief for the next three years to retail, hospitality and leisure premises located on islands as defined by the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, and in prescribed remote areas (Cape Wrath, Knoydart and Scoraig) capped at £110,000 per business per year.

Around half of the properties in the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure sectors continue to be eligible for 100% SBBS relief in 2026-27. A further 37,000 properties could benefit from the new 15% relief for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure properties with a rateable value up to and including £100,000 and on Islands.

Taken together around 89,000 properties (or 96%) across the three sectors could benefit from zero or reduced rates and the budget guarantees that support for the full three years of the revaluation.

Question reference: S6W-42682

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 14 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the decision taken in the UK Government Budget to provide a permanent business rate discount for retail and hospitality businesses in England from April 2026, what analysis or assessment it has undertaken of the potential risk to the fulfilment of its Town Centre Action Plan if Scotland does not introduce a commensurate reduction in business rates and commercial investment in retail and hospitality shifts to England.

The draft Budget published on 13 January ensures the estimated revenues raised from non-domestic rates in 2026-27 will be 6% lower in real terms than pre-COVID using the Consumer Price Index.

It continues to support businesses and communities with a strong non-domestic rates package for 2026-27 which decreases the Basic, Intermediate and Higher Property Rates in 2026-27, delivering the lowest Basic Property Rate since 2018-19.

Businesses and communities will be supported with a generous non-domestic rates relief package worth an estimated £864 million in 2026-27, including the Small Business Bonus Scheme which remains the most generous scheme of its kind in the UK and is confirmed for the next three years, as well as transitional relief schemes.

Recognising the challenges faced by the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, for the next three years we will offer 15% relief for eligible properties in these sectors liable for the Basic or Intermediate Property Rates, capped at £110,000 per business per year; and extend and expand 100% relief for the next three years to retail, hospitality and leisure premises located on islands as defined by the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, and in prescribed remote areas (Cape Wrath, Knoydart and Scoraig) capped at £110,000 per business per year.

Around half of the properties in the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure sectors continue to be eligible for 100% SBBS relief in 2026-27. A further 37,000 properties could benefit from the new 15% relief for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure properties with a rateable value up to and including £100,000 and on Islands.

Taken together around 89,000 properties (or 96%) across the three sectors could benefit from zero or reduced rates and the budget guarantees that support for the full three years of the revaluation.

We continue to support the revitalisation of town centres through the Town Centre First Principle and the delivery of the Town Centre Action Plan, delivered in partnership with COSLA, local government and key partners including Scotland’s Towns Partnership.

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Question reference: S6O-05412

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Question reference: S6O-05418

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Question reference: S6O-05401

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Question reference: S6O-05388

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Question reference: S6O-05417

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Question reference: S6O-05413

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Question reference: S6O-05395

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Question reference: S6O-05389

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Question reference: S6W-42681

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Question reference: S6W-42682

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