Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government has received representations from retail representative organisations including the Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Grocers’ Federation and others through correspondence, and meetings with Ministers including the New Deal for Business Non-Domestic Rates Sub-group.

It was not possible to fund all the Scottish Government’s priorities in the budget but, despite the financial challenges, the budget continues to support businesses and communities with a competitive non-domestic rates regime including the reintroduction of a 40% relief for hospitality.

The freeze to the Basic Property Rate in 2025-26 is estimated to save ratepayers £9m a year compared to an inflationary increase, and our generous relief package is worth an estimated £731 million next year and includes reliefs which will benefit properties in the retail and leisure sectors such as the most generous small business rates relief in the UK. In combination, we estimate that around half of the properties in the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure sectors will continue to pay no rates in Scotland in 2025-26.

Shoplifting and other forms of retail crime causes considerable distress to their victims. We have seen a significant rise in recorded shoplifting throughout the UK according to our own figures and those released by the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales and Scotland, part of which is being driven by organised criminal groups.

As announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government on 4 December 2024, £3 million will be specifically provided through the draft budget for 2025/26 to enable Police Scotland to work with the retail sector to target the unacceptable levels of crime on Scotland’s high streets.

This funding is an important step in the fight against retail crime which costs businesses millions each year, and has a knock-on effect on the prices we pay in the shops.

As set out in the 2023-24 Programme for Government, the Scottish Government has been reviewing its policy in relation to drinking water and wastewater with a view to bringing forward new primary legislation as soon as practicable. As part of the review, it is considering how the water industry needs to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

A consultation on detailed policy measures will be published in Spring 2025 and we would welcome all views and contributions.

Work to scope out what the fund will deliver and how it will be managed is underway. Transport Scotland is engaging with key stakeholders on this and will confirm details in due course. However, the fund will look to build on the work undertaken through both the Bus Partnership Fund and Community Bus Fund with renewed focus on bus priority infrastructure to help address the negative impacts of congestion on bus services, and support local public transport improvements.

Our Public Sector Reform (PSR) programme is making a vital contribution to improving outcomes and achieving sustainable public finances in the longer term. We have set out a clear programme of PSR to Parliament, with a strong focus on the data, levers and workforce that will drive efficiency. To enable this work, we will implement an Invest to Save fund in 2025-26, backed by up to £30 million of new funding. This fund will support the cost of change to deliver improvements in efficiency, effectiveness and productivity, including cashable savings which will be recycled back into the fund, and we will work towards creating a self-sustaining fund.

The Scottish Government recognises the important role that grandparents have in many families bringing up children, particularly following parental separation.

When the Children (Scotland) Bill (now the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 (the 2020 Act)) was introduced, the Scottish Government considered whether to include a presumption or right for grandchildren to have contact with their grandparents.

However, no such provision was included.A presumption in favour of a particular group of adults could cut across the driving principle of the legislation that the welfare of the child must be the paramount consideration in any contact or residence case.

We have no plans to change the law in this area at the present time.It remains possible for any person with an interest in a child, including a grandparent, to apply to the court to seek an order under section 11 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (the 1995 Act), which is the key provision in relation to contact and residence.

Section 16 of the 2020 Act sets out additional factors that the court must consider when deciding whether or not to make an order under section 11 of the 1995 Act.It provides that the court must consider the effect the order might have on the child’s important relationships with other people.This could include the child’s grandparents. Section 16 is not yet in force but the Scottish Government will consider in 2025 which further sections of the 2020 Act could be commenced.

The Scottish Government has produced the Charter for Grandchildren as part of the Your Parenting Plan. The Charter sets out that grandchildren can expect to maintain contact with their wider family except in very exceptional circumstances.

The draft 2025-26 Budget, which is subject to Parliamentary approval, provides indicative funding for a Bus Infrastructure Fund. Work is underway to assess allocations and this will be dependent on business cases, assessments of value for money/impact of spending and deliverability.

Any further ongoing funding for future years will be considered as part of the annual budget setting processes and prioritisation exercises.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-31994 on 12 December 2024. 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.

The Scottish Government is pleased to announce in the draft budget that we will provide a Bus Infrastructure Fund in 2025-26 focussed on delivering bus priority, supporting infrastructure measures to tackle the negative impact of congestion and local public transport improvements. This brings the Bus Partnership Fund and Community Bus Fund together into one fund.

£20.5 million was spent on bus priority through the Bus Partnership Fund. This has delivered bus gates, enforcement cameras, and equipment to help buses get through traffic lights more quickly in North Ayrshire, Glasgow, Inverness, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. It has also assisted in making a number of temporary measures, such as bus lanes, permanent in Edinburgh and Glasgow. A bus gate at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness also opened helping buses to by-pass congestion and passengers to access this important facility more quickly.