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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-32710

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 7 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32031 by Kate Forbes on 18 December 2024, whether any of the measures that it is taking to grow the economy in its draft Budget 2025-26 reduce any regulatory or tax burdens on business.

Further to the response to S6W - 32031, the Scottish Government has taken a number of measures within the draft budget to help grow the economy.

The budget freezes the Non-Domestic Rates Basic Property Rate at 49.8p (for properties with a rateable value up to and including £51,000), and is expected to save ratepayers £9 million next year. We are maintaining the Small Business Bonus Scheme, the most generous scheme of its kind in the UK, at the rates and thresholds introduced in 2023-24. Together, these measures will protect over 200,000 small properties, with an estimated half of properties in the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure sectors continuing to be eligible for 100% relief next year.

The Intermediate Property Rate and Higher Property Rate have received inflationary increases (1.7%) however, this still ensures that over 95% of non-domestic properties continue to be liable for a lower property tax rate than anywhere else in the UK. On top of these measures, a new 40% relief will be introduced for Hospitality premises in 2025-26,

To support tourism, culture and hospitality we will continue to offer 100% relief in 2025-26 for hospitality businesses located on islands as defined by the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, and in prescribed remote areas, capped at £110,000 per business.

The new 40% relief for Hospitality premises includes Grassroots Music Venues with capacity up to 1,500, where the property is liable for the Basic Property Rate (rateable value up to and including £51,000) capped at £110,000 per business.

On regulation, the budget was informed by our continued engagement with business representative organisations, industry bodies and business leaders. That approach will continue to ensure meaningful engagement as part of policy development. This includes supporting our programme of regulatory improvement, delivering the New Deal for Business Group recommendations and continuing our work with businesses and regulators through the Regulatory Review Group. Considering the cumulative regulatory burden remains an important consideration in policy development, which is why following engagement with stakeholders we confirmed in the budget that there are no plans to introduce the Public Health Supplement for large retailers.

Question reference: S6W-32115

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 7 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to providing further financial support to grassroots music venues beyond the planned 40% rates relief in its draft Budget 2025-26.

The Scottish Government fully values the importance of the music industry to Scotland’s culture, and the role grassroots music venues play in the talent pipeline.

The Scottish Government has demonstrated our commitment to the culture sector with an increase of over £34m in 2025-26. This is takes us to over £50m more in culture funding than in 2023-2024. Through this increased investment we want to support the entire culture ecosystem by driving up opportunities for participation in creative pursuits, supporting the production of new works, and ensuring that Scotland’s cultural output has platforms at home and abroad. The additional funding will support the continuation of flagship music programmes across Scotland, including Youth Music Initiative and Sistema. As part of our regular engagement with the industry, and our review of how we support the sector, we welcome insights from stakeholders into how future budgets could further support the sector.

Further details of the increases for 2026-2027 and beyond will be set out when the budgets for that year are published.

Question reference: S6W-32034

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 20 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the proposal in the draft Budget 2025-26 to reduce spending at Ferguson Marine by one quarter will have on employment at the yard.

Following the successful handover of the MV Glen Sannox in November 2024, the draft budget for 2025-26 includes the capital funds required for the completion of Glen Rosa (vessel 802). There are also capital funds included, subject to Parliamentary approval and financial and legal due diligence, for capital investment in the shipyard to modernise operations and enhance productivity, positioning the yard to secure future contracts. Operational matters, including the utilisation of the workforce, are decisions for the yard.

Question reference: S6O-04153

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports music venues.

Question reference: S6W-32114

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 18 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it will provide to the grassroots music venue industry regarding its plans for business rates relief in the years beyond the draft Budget for 2025-26.

Decisions on non-domestic rates for 2026-27 will be considered in the context of the Scottish Budget 2026-27.

The Scottish Budget 2025-26 announced a new 40% relief for hospitality premises, including grassroots music venues with a capacity of up to 1,500, which have a rateable value of up to £51,000, capped at £51,000 per business. Following the passage of the budget, the Scottish Government will update the MyGov website setting out the non-domestic rates reliefs available to provide information to applicants on this new relief.

Question reference: S6W-32031

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 18 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what measures in its draft Budget 2025-26 reflect the statement by the First Minister on 22 May 2024, in which he stated that one of his "priorities is to grow Scotland’s economy".

The Draft 2025-26 Budget invests in the long-term prosperity of Scotland’s people, places and businesses.

The expanded package puts money firmly behind the Programme for Government’s priorities for economic growth, investing:

over £321 million for the enterprise agencies, a rise of £14 million compared to the 2024-25 Budget. This will facilitate their work to help businesses to start and scale, develop new products and enter new markets, and positively impact on their communities;
a further £200 million (net) to the Scottish National Investment Bank as it continues to create jobs, support innovation and attract investment across the country;
over £214 million made available to deliver sustainable and inclusive economic growth across every region in Scotland through the City and Region Deals programme this year;
a new fund of £2 million for VisitScotland to promote Scotland’s connectivity, internationally and to encourage visitors to consider lesser-known destinations, and a revitalised and expanded Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund (RTIF), which will provide critical economic support to tourist hotspots across the country;
over £2 billion in Scotland’s colleges, universities and skills system in recognition of their contribution to driving economic growth and to help ensure businesses have access to a skilled workforce;
a £34 million uplift for culture to improve the resilience and sustainability of our cultural sector’s contribution to growing our economy;
£15 million to fund the Government’s Enterprise Package to expand support for female entrepreneurs, boost the economic impact of universities, and to develop of business clusters in advanced manufacturing and deeptech; and
over £7 billion investment in our total infrastructure package, almost tripling our investment in offshore wind to £150 million and investing £100 million for the continued rollout of our digital connectivity programmes across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-32032

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the proposal in its draft Budget 2025-26 to reduce the consumer policy and advice budget.

The Scottish Government has taken the decision to realign funding for scams prevention and awareness, with the requisite funding reallocated from its consumer policy and advice budget to Consumer Scotland’s budget. Consumer Scotland also now receives and manages grant funding for Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) for its advocacy and education programme which was previously allocated from the consumer policy and advice budget.

Realigning these funding streams has had the effect of reducing the consumer policy and advice budget, while the Consumer Scotland budget has correspondingly increased.

Question reference: S6W-32112

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 13 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the UK Government’s reported commitment to a permanently lowered tax rate for grassroots music venues in England and Wales from 2026-27, whether it will commit to implementing any such relief in full in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-32113

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 13 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the UK Government’s consultation on reforming its business rates system, whether it has any plans to undertake a similar consultation on potential changes to non-domestic rates in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-32033

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 11 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the 2025-26 draft Budget proposes reducing the digital budget of the portfolio of the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic by more than one half, and what areas of the digital budget this will impact on.

Following record investment in digital this financial year, the draft budget allocates £166 million for investment during 2025-26. This total includes income to the Scottish Government of around £68 million from legacy programmes and will support continued delivery of the Reaching 100% (R100) contracts and the Digital Strategy. The Scottish Government has also secured UK Government funding for investment in digital infrastructure through the Project Gigabit programme which will further increase planned digital spend in 2025-26.