Questions and answers

Question reference: S6F-04313

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 September 2025

To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the potential impact on households in Scotland of the forecasts from the Food and Drink Federation that food and drink inflation could reach 5.7% by December.

Question reference: S6F-04293

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 September 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-40240

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 12 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much it expects to raise each year from the Building Safety Levy, and how this will be ringfenced for cladding remediation.

The Scottish Government aims to raise around £30 million per annum from the Scottish Building Safety Levy. This is in proportion to the revenue that the equivalent UK Government Levy for England is intended to generate and in line with the Barnett consequentials that the Scottish Government might have received had the UK Government Levy been extended UK-wide.

The Bill Safety Levy (Scotland) Bill includes provision for a regular review of the Levy, which will be an opportunity to consider the revenue target in light of the prevailing housing market and wider economic conditions, as well as the emerging position on the scale and profile of spending on cladding remediation work.

The Bill also sets out that proceeds from the Levy must be used for the purposes of improving the safety of persons in or about buildings in Scotland. This is intended to mirror, as closely as possible, the provisions for the use of funds for the UK Government’s Building Safety Levy, as set out in the Building Safety Act 2022 and reflected in the Scotland Act 1998 (Specification of Devolved Tax) (Building Safety) Order 2024 which devolved the powers necessary to introduce legislation for a devolved Levy.

Question reference: S6W-40242

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 12 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has assessed the risk that the Building Safety Levy costs will be passed on to homebuyers through higher prices, and, if so, what mitigations are proposed.

The Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment published alongside the Building Safety Levy (Scotland) Bill sets out Scottish Government’s assumptions on the likely impact of a Building Safety Levy in Scotland, including those relating to homebuyers.

New build house sales make up just 9% of all Scottish residential sales in 2024-25. This, in addition to the existence of the secondary market for housing, means that residential housing developers do not have significant price setting power over the market as a whole. The Scottish Government’s assessment is, therefore, that the likelihood of the costs of the Levy leading to increased house prices is low, particularly over the longer-term.

With limited scope for developers to pass through the cost of the Levy onto house buyers, the more likely scenario is that developers will seek to pass on the costs of the SBSL on through paying a lower price for the land to be developed. This reflects evidence from the Competition and Markets Authority and the Scottish Land Commission, and was underlined in feedback provided by stakeholders as part of the consultation and engagement undertaken prior to the introduction of the Bill.

The Scottish Government recognises that developments already in train and which span the commencement of the Levy could experience different impacts. The Bill, therefore, enables Scottish Ministers to set transitional arrangements to provide for different treatment for such developments. The Scottish Government is working with developers and industry stakeholders to gather evidence to inform decisions on any transitional arrangements, which will be legislated for in secondary legislation.

Question reference: S6W-40263

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 12 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether all priority Single Building Assessments via its assessment process were completed and returned by the end of August 2025.

Question reference: S6W-40302

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 12 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of Adult Disability claimants transferred from PIP have received a reassessment of their claim, and what the outcomes were of any such reassessment, including the percentage of claims that have (a) increased, (b) decreased and (c) remained the same.

Social Security Scotland is committed to transparency and accountability and routinely publishes statistics on its benefits, including Adult Disability Payment reviews in its quarterly Adult Disability Payment Official Statistics publication.

As of 30 April 2025, 345,955 people had their benefits transferred from Personal Independence Payment to Adult Disability Payment. Social Security Scotland has completed reviews for 142,100 of these awards:

20% of awards resulted in an increase in award (28,145 cases)
2% resulted in a decrease in award (2,365 cases)
79% stayed the same (111,590 cases)

It is not possible to directly calculate the percentage of clients who have had a review, as a small number have had more than one review since their benefit was transferred.

The initial review date for transferred Adult Disability Payment awards is based on the Personal Independence Payment review date set by the Department for Work and Pensions, so many transferred Adult Disability Payment awards are not yet due to be reviewed. The next Adult Disability Payment statistics will be published on 16 September 2025, covering up to 31 July 2025.

Social Security Scotland is committed to transparency and accountability and routinely publishes statistics on its benefits, including Adult Disability Payment reviews in its quarterly Adult Disability Payment Official Statistics publication.

As of 30 April 2025, 345,955 people had their benefits transferred from Personal Independence Payment to Adult Disability Payment. Social Security Scotland has completed reviews for 142,100 of these awards:

20% of awards resulted in an increase in award (28,145 cases)
2% resulted in a decrease in award (2,365 cases)
79% stayed the same (111,590 cases)

It is not possible to directly calculate the percentage of clients who have had a review, as a small number have had more than one review since their benefit was transferred.

The initial review date for transferred Adult Disability Payment awards is based on the Personal Independence Payment review date set by the Department for Work and Pensions, so many transferred Adult Disability Payment awards are not yet due to be reviewed. The next Adult Disability Payment statistics will be published on 16 September 2025, covering up to 31 July 2025.

Question reference: S6W-40024

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 12 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it had with civil service unions in advance of the reported comments by the Permanent Secretary regarding an ambition for civil servants to work in the office for at least 60% of their contracted hours.

Question reference: S6W-40270

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 12 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has assessed the effect of (a) rent controls and (b) other policies on the withdrawal of landlords from the rental market.

A fairer, well-managed private rented sector is in the interest of both tenants and landlords, and the private rented sector measures in the Housing (Scotland) Bill have been developed following extensive engagement with the sector.

The Scottish Government carried out a Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment of the suite of rented sector reform measures included in the Bill, which included consideration of the potential cumulative impacts of rented sector reforms.

This was published in October 2024 on the Scottish Government website.

The Scottish Government will continue to engage with stakeholders from across the sector during the remainder of the Bill’s Parliamentary passage and beyond.

Question reference: S6W-40245

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 12 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on service delivery timescales for (a) taxpayers and (b) businesses of a reduced working week.

The Scottish Government continues to monitor the impact of changes to working patterns, including the recent transition to a 35-hour working week within the organisation.

Previous Public Sector Pay Policies have set an expectation that employers work towards standardising a 35-hour working week. Public bodies retain the flexibility to adopt working patterns that support operational efficiency, employee wellbeing, and service delivery, provided these are delivered within existing budgets and do not adversely affect public services. It remains the responsibility of individual public bodies to assess the impact of any reduction in working hours in their organisation.

Research published by The Autonomy Institute in relation to the private sector A four-day week in Scotland’s private sector? A spotlight on precedents and opportunities - The Autonomy Institute represents their assessment of the impact and opportunity of 4 day working week for private sector. The Scottish Government has not carried out any assessment in relation to this.

Evidence shows that employers benefit from offering flexibility in working arrangements which can result in happier, more engaged workers, improved recruitment and retention, improved innovation, productivity and business reputation, helping to attract new customers.

Question reference: S6W-40222

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 12 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Retail Consortium’s suggestion in its Scottish Budget 2026-27 recommendations paper that retailers of all sizes should benefit from a meaningfully more competitive business rate than in England.

The Scottish Government offers a competitive non-domestic rates regime delivering the lowest property rate in the UK for the seventh year in a row and ensuring that over 95% of non-domestic properties continue to be liable for a lower property tax rate than anywhere else in the UK. The retail sector continues to be the largest beneficiary of the Small Business Bonus Scheme. That scheme remains the most generous scheme of its kind in the UK, and is part of our package of reliefs to support businesses and communities worth a forecast £733 million in 2025-26.

Tax policy decisions are made annually at budget in line with prevailing economic decisions and Government priorities.

Seòmar agus comataidhean