Questions and answers

Question reference: S6O-00039

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what support and assistance it is offering to the organisers of this summer's Edinburgh festivals.

Question reference: S6W-00128

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 7 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, following its decision to extend the 100% business rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure firms for the whole of 2021-22, what savings will be made, broken down by industry sector.

The extension of the 100% Retail, Hospitality, Leisure, and Aviation (RHLA) relief for the whole of 2021-22 is expected to save ratepayers an estimated £719 million. The following table shows the value of the estimated relief award broken down by property class, as industry sector classifications are not available.

Table 1: Value of RHLA relief in 2021-22, by property class

Property class	Estimated value of relief (£m)
Shops	417.8
Public Houses	51.9
Offices	1.8
Hotels	123.7
Industrial Subjects	17.0
Leisure, Entertainment, Caravans etc.	55.5
Garages and Petrol Stations	13.5
Cultural	3.5
Sporting Subjects	5.3
Education and Training	0.2
Public Service Subjects	23.4
Petrochemical	0.1
Religious	0.4
Health and Medical	0.0
Other	2.2
Care Facilities	2.5
Statutory Undertaking	0.0
All	718.8

Source: Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll as at 1 April 2021, Local Authority Billing Information as at 1 July 2020. Ratepayers who have repaid or have publicly committed to repaying the equivalent of the RHLA relief awarded in 2020-21 are assumed not to apply in 2021-22.

Figures may not sum due to rounding.

Property class is a classification used by the Scottish Assessors to describe the type of a property, and may not accurately reflect its use. For example, a property classified as a ‘shop’ may in fact be used to offer financial services. Eligibility for reliefs is defined by the use of the property, so a property listed as a ‘shop’ may not necessarily be eligible for the RHLA relief, while a property used as a retail shop would be eligible regardless of its classification. ‘Public Service Subjects’ includes airports which account for over 70% of the RHLA relief awarded to this property class.

Question reference: S6W-00124

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 7 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many properties in each local authority area are subject to the (a) basic, (b) intermediate and (c) higher property rate poundage, broken down by industry sector, and how much will be raised from each of the three bands in the current financial year, broken down by local authority area.

Tables 1a, 1b, and 1c, have been placed in the Scottish Parliament information Centre under Bib No. 62441. These show the number of properties as at 1 April 2021 subject to the Basic (BPR), Intermediate (IPR), and Higher Property Rates (HPR) respectively, broken down by local authority and property class (data on industry sectors is not available). Property class is a classification used by the Scottish Assessors to describe the type of a property, and may not accurately reflect its use. For example, a property classified as a ‘shop’ may in fact be used to offer financial services. Properties across all bands may be eligible for rates reliefs which may reduce or eliminate their rates liability.

The BPR (49p) is charged on properties with a rateable value up to and including £51,000, the IPR (50.3p) on properties with a rateable value over £51,000 and up to £95,000, and the HPR (51.6p) is charged on properties with a rateable value over £95,000.

Table 2 presents the net amounts (after anticipated reliefs) expected to be raised in 2021-22 through the BPR, levied on all properties, and the additional amounts expected to be raised from the IPR and HPR. Ratepayers who have repaid or have publicly committed to repaying the equivalent of the Retail, Hospitality, Leisure and Aviation (RHLA) relief awarded in 2020-21 are assumed not to apply in 2021-22.

Table 2: Net amounts expected to be raised in 2021-22 through the BPR, IPR and HPR, by property class

Local Authority	BPR ‎ (£m) 1	IPR ‎ (£m) 2	HPR ‎ (£m) 3
Aberdeen City	202.7	0.5	8.2
Aberdeenshire	102.5	0.2	4.1
Angus	21.4	0.1	0.7
Argyll & Bute	29.0	0.0	1.1
City of Edinburgh	209.9	0.5	8.2
Clackmannanshire	14.0	0.0	0.6
Dumfries & Galloway	41.7	0.1	1.6
Dundee City	45.2	0.1	1.6
East Ayrshire	22.0	0.1	0.8
East Dunbartonshire	17.5	0.0	0.6
East Lothian	22.4	0.1	0.9
East Renfrewshire	9.9	0.0	0.4
Falkirk	66.2	0.1	2.8
Fife	133.9	0.2	5.8
Glasgow City	244.3	0.7	9.1
Highland	115.4	0.2	4.6
Inverclyde	15.0	0.0	0.6
Midlothian	22.2	0.1	0.8
Moray	45.5	0.1	2.0
Na h-Eileanan Siar	6.8	0.0	0.2
North Ayrshire	32.0	0.1	1.2
North Lanarkshire	92.2	0.3	3.3
Orkney Islands	8.7	0.0	0.3
Perth & Kinross	38.4	0.1	1.3
Renfrewshire	85.5	0.1	3.6
Scottish Borders	29.5	0.1	1.0
Shetland Islands	23.1	0.0	1.0
South Ayrshire	28.2	0.1	1.0
South Lanarkshire	311.5	0.2	15.1
Stirling	29.8	0.1	1.0
West Dunbartonshire	74.6	0.1	3.6
West Lothian	65.0	0.2	2.5
Scotland	2,206.0	4.6	89.6

Source: Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll as at 1 April 2021, Local Authority Billing Information as at 1 July 2020. Ratepayers who have repaid or have publicly committed to repaying the equivalent of the RHLA relief awarded in 2020-21 are assumed not to apply in 2021-22.

‎ Figures may not sum due to rounding. The figures given are the total amount billed to ratepayers, prior to adjustments for reliefs funded by local authorities, backdated reliefs, or any other adjustments, and are likely to differ from the forecast contributable amount.
‎ 1. Income from the 49p element charged to all properties.
‎ 2. Income from the 1.3p portion charged at the IPR.
‎ 3. Income from the 2.6p portion charged at the HPR.

Question reference: S6W-00125

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party's manifesto commitment, whether it will set out further details of its proposal to bring the higher property rate for non-domestic tax rates in Scotland in line with that in England.

Alongside the most generous relief package, the Scottish Government has delivered the lowest poundage in the UK for the third year in a row, and over 95% of properties pay a lower rate of tax than anywhere in the UK. The Scottish Budget 2021-22 took the unprecedented step of reducing the poundage mid-revaluation, saving ratepayers £120 million compared to what an inflationary increase would have delivered.

We have already demonstrated our commitment to the recommendation to bring the Large Business Supplement into line with the aggregate rate set in England when we reduced the rates liabilities for around 9,500 medium-sized properties by introducing the Intermediate Property Rate for properties with a rateable value between £51,001 and £95,000.

Decisions on taxation are taken as part of the Scottish Budget process.

Question reference: S6W-00126

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much of tje revenue raised by the business rates incentivisation scheme has been retained by each local authority since its inception, broken down by year.

The Business Rates Incentivisation Scheme (BRIS) was introduced in in 2012-13 in recognition of the fact that the Scottish Government guarantees the combined General Revenue Grant (GRG) and distributable Non-Domestic Rates Income (NDRI) funding thereby reducing the incentive for local authorities to try and maximise their NDRI. The BRIS is focussed on incentivising local authorities to maximise their existing NDRI and also to grow their local business tax base. This is achieved by the Scottish Government setting annual locally based targets. All local authorities that exceed their annual target retain half the extra income achieved from growth in their tax base until the next NDR revaluation assuming they maintain the extra income in the subsequent years. The amounts to be retained are calculated from local authorities’ audited annual non domestic rates returns. The information requested is set out in the following table.

Local Authority	2012-13	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19
Aberdeen City		533,291	3,370,582
Aberdeenshire	188,983	471,198	932,087	79,448	241,742
Angus			70,615
Argyll & Bute				38,799		101,983
Clackmannanshire	1,231,686
Dumfries & Galloway					1,481,766	1,592,095
Dundee City					233	517,668
East Ayrshire						307,944
East Dunbartonshire
East Lothian	544,319					723,912
East Renfrewshire	173,278	187,702		124,893
Edinburgh, City of					387,292
Eilean Siar	57,384		71,571			17,707
Falkirk				272,112
Fife	2,483,663	891,764
Glasgow City			1,513,758
Highland	1,295,595	213,923	370,902		1,095,060	227,963
Inverclyde				59,075
Midlothian	365,758			111,361	176,277
Moray	1,267,263	136,837	16,243	299,153		1,858,975
North Ayrshire	860,843			239,573
North Lanarkshire
Orkney Islands
Perth & Kinross	148,371			42,276
Renfrewshire		68,427
Scottish Borders	385,084
Shetland Islands
South Ayrshire			30,166		163,086
South Lanarkshire					8,568
Stirling				118,841		291,594
West Dunbartonshire					55,313
West Lothian					144,494
Scotland	9,002,227	2,503,142	6,375,925	1,385,531	3,753,831	5,639,841

Following the introduction of the scheme the Scottish Government and COSLA agreed to undertake a joint review of the scheme to take into account the lessons learned from the first year of operation, as a result the amounts to be retained in 2012-13 were provided as one-off retention sums and as a result could not be retained in subsequent years.

The Deputy First Minister announced details of the revised BRIS to the Scottish Parliament on 11 December 2014. The details of the revised scheme together with the 2014-15 targets and the provisional 2015-16 targets were published in the Local Government Finance Circular 9/2014 published the same day.

Due to the impact of COVID-19 on Non Domestic Rates Income, the operation of the BRIS has been temporarily suspended.

Question reference: S6W-00127

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage local authorities to use their powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to vary business rates, and which local authorities have used these powers since 2015, broken down by year.

The Scottish Government granted local authorities the autonomy to introduce local reliefs schemes through the Community Empowerment Act 2015. The Scottish Government continues to encourage local authorities to use these powers where they may deem it appropriate. Local Authorities are independent bodies, democratically elected and accountable to their local electorate, and the administering of all reliefs under these powers is a matter for them.

The following table sets out spend on local reliefs from 2016-17 to 2019-20:

Local Rates Relief (£000s)	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20
Aberdeen	-	1,740	-	-
Aberdeenshire	-	2,140	-	39
Perth & Kinross	124	-	30	-
Scotland	124	3,880	30	39

The Scottish Government will receive provisional outturn figures from councils on the level of any local reliefs awarded for 2020-21 under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 later this summer.

Question reference: S6O-00001

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to provide support with the phasing out of gas-fired boilers in homes.

Question reference: S6W-00130

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 1 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the introduction of Gaelic medium education in Edinburgh will have on the (a) funding and (b) timing of the proposed New Liberton High School.

Question reference: S6W-00129

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 27 May 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering a high street voucher scheme, as is being implemented in Northern Ireland.

Question reference: S5W-35182

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 1 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much in total was allocated from its Budget in 2019-20 to non-governmental organisations, including those designated as charities.

Chamber and committees