Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-31957

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the operators of the Queensferry Crossing regarding regularly cleaning its cables to prevent the build up of ice.

Transport Scotland has worked in partnership with its Operating Company BEAR Scotland and industry experts to test potential solutions and mitigation measures for ice accretion on the Queensferry Crossing, including cable cleaning.

This work, supported by laboratory testing, showed that cleaning of the cables stays helps to reduce ice accretion. Whilst a clean cable may reduce ice accretion, this measure cannot prevent it entirely. This was confirmed by detailed inspection during the November 2024 ice accretion event, which found that ice had accreted to stays which had no visual detritus. Notwithstanding this, we believe that cleaning the cables is a worthwhile mitigation measure that should be completed periodically.

Question reference: S6W-32014

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many instances there have been of the use of drones to deliver drugs to prisons since 2022 to date.

Question reference: S6W-31977

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many panel members for children’s hearings have resigned before their three-year term has been completed in each of the last three calendar years.

Question reference: S6W-31997

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much it estimates will be raised by the intermediate property rate in 2025-26, and how much has been raised by it in each year since its introduction, broken down by industry sector.

The Intermediate Property Rate was introduced from 1 April 2020. It applied to properties with a rateable value above £51,000, up to £95,000 until 31 March 2023, and to properties with a rateable value above £51,000 and up to £100,000 from 1 April 2023. In 2020-2021, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024 it was charged at 51.1p; in 2021-2022 this was 50.3p; in 2024-2025 increased in line with inflation to 54.5p, and in 2025-2026 it is planned to increase in line with inflation to 55.4p.

Table 1 shows the total estimated gross income since 2020-2021. This is the total gross bill (net of General Revaluation Transitional Relief in 2023-2024, 2024-2025 and 2025-2026) charged to properties with a rateable value between £51,001 and £95,000 up to 2022-2023, and between £51,001 and £100,000 from 2023-2024 onwards, as noted above.

Table 2 shows the total estimated net income from the Intermediate Property Rate since 2020-2021. Net figures for 2023-2024 are not available due to the absence of property-level reliefs data. Figures for 2025-2026 are estimated using reliefs data from 1 June 2024, with a calculation for General Revaluation Transitional Relief based on rateable values. The net estimates include adjustments for reliefs, as well as in-year adjustments such as reductions due to proposals or appeals and write-offs.

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, but may not necessarily accurately reflect the actual use of a property.

Figures are based on the Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll as at 1 October 2024 in each financial year, for 2025-2026 this is based on the Valuation Roll of 1 October 2024. Figures are gross of all reliefs, except for the General Revaluation Transitional Relief in 2023-2024 and 2024-2025. Figures are rounded to the nearest £100,000.

Table 1: Estimated gross income from the Intermediate Property Rate since 2020-2021, by property class (£)

Source: Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll as at 1 October in each year (1 October 2024 for 2025-2026)

Property class	2020-2021	2021-2022	2022-2023	2023-2024	2024-2025	2025-2026
Shops	73,900,000	73,500,000	76,000,000	77,000,000	81,600,000	82,800,000
Public houses and restaurants	14,000,000	13,700,000	14,100,000	14,500,000	15,500,000	15,800,000
Offices	58,500,000	57,400,000	59,100,000	62,800,000	66,700,000	67,600,000
Hotels	12,300,000	12,100,000	12,300,000	13,400,000	14,300,000	14,800,000
Industrial subjects	71,000,000	69,600,000	71,800,000	86,200,000	92,500,000	93,900,000
Leisure, entertainment, caravans, etc.	13,900,000	13,800,000	14,300,000	16,600,000	18,100,000	18,500,000
Garages and petrol stations	5,600,000	5,400,000	5,200,000	6,600,000	7,500,000	7,700,000
Cultural	2,600,000	2,300,000	2,500,000	2,800,000	3,400,000	3,400,000
Sporting subjects	600,000	500,000	600,000	1,500,000	1,700,000	1,800,000
Education and training	26,300,000	25,400,000	25,700,000	27,400,000	29,000,000	29,500,000
Public service subjects	17,000,000	16,000,000	16,200,000	17,700,000	19,000,000	19,200,000
Communications	900,000	1,100,000	800,000	1,300,000	1,500,000	1,500,000
Quarries, mines, etc.	1,500,000	1,200,000	1,100,000	1,600,000	1,800,000	1,900,000
Petrochemical	300,000	300,000	300,000	400,000	300,000	300,000
Religious	2,400,000	2,400,000	2,600,000	3,000,000	3,200,000	3,300,000
Health and medical	8,200,000	7,900,000	8,100,000	9,500,000	10,100,000	10,200,000
Other	5,800,000	6,200,000	6,200,000	6,000,000	6,500,000	6,600,000
Care facilities	16,700,000	16,600,000	16,900,000	18,500,000	19,100,000	19,300,000
Advertising	400,000	500,000	500,000	500,000	600,000	600,000
Statutory undertaking	4,300,000	4,300,000	4,500,000	5,300,000	5,600,000	5,800,000
All	336,100,000	330,100,000	338,700,000	372,400,000	398,200,000	404,500,000

Table 2: Estimated net income from the Intermediate Property Rate since 2020-2021, by property class (£)

Source: Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll as at 1 October in each year (1 October 2024 for 2025-2026); local authorities’ billing information from 1 July 2020, 1 June 2021, 1 July 2022, and 1 June 2024

Property class	2020-2021	2021-2022	2022-2023	2023-2024	2024-2025	2025-2026
Shops	5,600,000	30,900,000	69,000,000	[not available]	79,000,000	82,700,000
Public houses and restaurants	400,000	3,000,000	13,100,000	[not available]	15,400,000	16,200,000
Offices	47,100,000	45,800,000	47,800,000	[not available]	58,100,000	60,700,000
Hotels	300,000	1,900,000	11,100,000	[not available]	13,300,000	14,100,000
Industrial subjects	63,500,000	63,100,000	67,400,000	[not available]	88,200,000	92,200,000
Leisure, entertainment, caravans, etc.	900,000	2,600,000	8,200,000	[not available]	11,100,000	11,700,000
Garages and petrol stations	2,400,000	3,100,000	5,300,000	[not available]	7,500,000	7,900,000
Cultural	200,000	300,000	600,000	[not available]	1,000,000	1,000,000
Sporting subjects	100,000	200,000	400,000	[not available]	800,000	900,000
Education and training	22,200,000	21,800,000	22,500,000	[not available]	25,300,000	26,400,000
Public service subjects	9,500,000	9,100,000	10,500,000	[not available]	12,600,000	13,200,000
Communications	800,000	1,100,000	1,100,000	[not available]	1,500,000	1,500,000
Quarries, mines, etc.	1,400,000	1,200,000	1,200,000	[not available]	1,800,000	1,900,000
Petrochemical	300,000	300,000	300,000	[not available]	300,000	300,000
Religious	600,000	500,000	500,000	[not available]	500,000	600,000
Health and medical	6,000,000	5,900,000	6,000,000	[not available]	7,700,000	8,100,000
Other	3,800,000	4,100,000	4,300,000	[not available]	5,300,000	5,600,000
Care facilities	1,300,000	2,000,000	2,600,000	[not available]	3,000,000	3,200,000
Advertising	400,000	500,000	500,000	[not available]	600,000	600,000
Statutory undertaking	3,700,000	3,100,000	3,200,000	[not available]	4,000,000	4,300,000
All	170,400,000	200,500,000	275,600,000	[not available]	337,000,000	353,100,000

Question reference: S6W-31959

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will engage with the Ministry of Defence on its plan to tender for two new floating docks for submarine maintenance at Faslane, and establish the feasibility for these docks to be constructed in whole or part at Scottish shipyards, such as Ferguson Marine.

The Scottish Government will interact with the UK Government and Ministry of Defence to support the opportunity for any significant contracts with the potential to provide ongoing employment opportunities for shipyards and fabrication businesses in Scotland.

There are several Scottish yards that possess the capabilities and specialist workforce skills needed to deliver this kind of infrastructure project, and we would encourage the MOD to utilise those resources. It is of course a commercial matter for each business to bid for work, however we would support any bid that ensured the work is delivered in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-32036

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much it is allocating to legal aid in its draft Budget 2025-26.

This information is in the public domain and can be found on the Scottish Government’s website where the Scottish Budget sets out the Scottish Government’s proposed spending and tax plans for 2025-26 as presented to the Scottish Parliament. Please see the following link.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-budget-2025-2026/

Further details on the Scottish Budget, such as the split by HMT aggregate, outturn comparisons and Level 4 Budget tables, can be found in the following link.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-budget-2025-2026/documents/

Question reference: S6W-31960

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the root cause of the structural problem with the M8 Woodside Viaducts was due to movement in the supporting pillars caused by a change in the water table, which was triggered by nearby construction activity at Phoenix Road.

Transport Scotland engineers advise that there is no reason to believe that there has been any structural damage to the Woodside Viaduct as a result of a changing water table due to construction or any other activity at Pheonix Road.

The works are as a result of deterioration of the crosshead half joints, which are supported on top of the piers (pillars). Half joints are a detail susceptible to deterioration due to water ingress and are not utilised in new bridge construction as a result.

Question reference: S6W-32043

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the announcement in its draft Budget 2025-26 of an additional £4.5 million to "deliver new specialist support across the country for Long Covid, ME, Chronic Fatigue, and other similar conditions", whether this will include funding for the implementation of the NICE guideline on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), in the event that the draft Budget is agreed to by the Parliament.

We want everyone living with ME/CFS in Scotland to be able to access the best possible care and support. That is why the Budget includes a new investment of £4.5 million to deliver specialist support for ME/CFS, Long Covid and other similar conditions. We have commenced early work to determine how this funding should be allocated.

This important investment will help support people with ME/CFS across Scotland, and we are asking Parliament to unite behind the Budget to ensure this funding reaches the people who need it.

While the Scottish Government sets the strategic policy for the NHS in Scotland, it is NHS Boards and healthcare professionals locally who have responsibility for both service delivery and ensuring people receive the right care for them, taking into account relevant guidance and the needs of patients. The Health and Social Care Standards, issued in 2017, also set out the expectation that care should be provided by health and social care professionals based on the most relevant evidence, guidance and best practice, as is appropriate to their profession and patient group.

We have already taken a number of steps to demonstrate our support for the NICE guidelines. Most recently in November 2024 we published an analysis of data from all NHS boards about their arrangements for ME/CFS care and their awareness and implementation of the NICE guidelines: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781836019923.

Question reference: S6W-31992

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many properties will be subject to the higher property rate poundage in 2025-26, broken down by (a) industry sector and (b) local authority area.

Table 1 shows the number of properties liable for the Higher Property Rate by property class as at 1 October 2024. Table 2 shows the number of properties liable for the Higher Property Rate by council area as at 1 October 2024.

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, but may not necessarily accurately reflect the actual use of a property.

Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and may not sum due to rounding.

Table 1: Number of properties liable for the Higher Property Rate, by property class

Source: Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll, as at 1 October 2024

Property class	Number of properties
Shops	2,380
Public houses and restaurants	190
Offices	1,710
Hotels	600
Industrial subjects	2,530
Leisure, entertainment, caravans, etc.	550
Garages and petrol stations	160
Cultural	90
Sporting subjects	30
Education and training	1,390
Public service subjects	510
Communications	80
Quarries, mines, etc.	40
Petrochemical	70
Religious	40
Health and medical	280
Other	250
Care facilities	350
Advertising	20
Statutory undertaking	400
All	11,630

Table 2: Number of properties liable for the Higher Property Rate, by council area

Source: Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll, as at 1 October 2024

Council area	Number of properties
Aberdeen City	1,000
Aberdeenshire	530
Angus	140
Argyll and Bute	160
City of Edinburgh	1,770
Clackmannanshire	50
Dumfries and Galloway	210
Dundee City	350
East Ayrshire	150
East Dunbartonshire	120
East Lothian	140
East Renfrewshire	80
Falkirk	290
Fife	500
Glasgow City	1,800
Highland	630
Inverclyde	100
Midlothian	180
Moray	210
Na h-Eileanan Siar	50
North Ayrshire	170
North Lanarkshire	580
Orkney Islands	30
Perth and Kinross	290
Renfrewshire	370
Scottish Borders	170
Shetland Islands	60
South Ayrshire	210
South Lanarkshire	550
Stirling	200
West Dunbartonshire	130
West Lothian	420
Scotland	11,630

Question reference: S6W-32015

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any progress that it has made against the actions set out in the document, Delivering Scotland's Blue Economy Approach.

Delivering Scotland's Blue Economy Approach committed to mainstreaming blue economy thinking across the Marine Directorate and our wider work. To highlight some examples of this, it is evidenced in our approach to marine funding channels where we look to maximise private investment and since 2021, the Marine Fund Scotland has awarded £55 million in grants, enabling £120 million of investment, progressing blue economy outcomes. The Marine and Science Innovation Strategy embeds the Blue Economy Vision, furthering our evidence base, and blue economy outcomes are steering the development of Scotland's new National Marine Plan, influencing stakeholder engagement and how its monitoring and evaluating framework develops, helping to deliver our Vision.

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