Chamber and committees

The timing of rating revaluations in England and Wales are a matter for the UK and Welsh Governments.

The independent Barclay Review of Non-Domestic Rates highlighted the importance of more frequent revaluations but also identified the risks associated with system shocks occurring between the tone date and the revaluation date. The Scottish Government has taken no decisions regarding the date of the next non-domestic rates revaluation but, in light of the current crisis, we are keeping all options open. We are aware that a number of sectors have differing opinions on the timing of the revaluation and we will continue to seek the views of the business community on this matter.

The Scottish Government does not directly fund Scottish Assessors to perform their statutory duties.

Each of the 32 local Councils within Scotland is a valuation authority and responsible for appointing an Assessor who must in turn compile and maintain a Valuation Roll and a Council Tax Valuation List. There are however only fourteen Assessors in Scotland, four are appointed directly by a single Council and the remaining ten are appointed by Valuation Joint Boards comprising elected members appointed by two or more Councils.

Assessors’ budgets are approved by either the VJB, or local authorities. The relative cost of valuing non-domestic subjects across Scotland is taken into consideration in the Scottish Government’s Grant Aided Expenditure methodology used to calculate the distribution of total revenue funding between Scotland’s 32 local authorities.

Additional funding of £3.3 million and £5.3 million was allocated in the Local Government settlement in 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively to reflect the additional costs associated with the implementation of the Barclay Review of Non-Domestic Rates and the Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Act 2020. Of this £2.498 million and £4.922 million was intended for distribution to Scottish Assessors.

The civil penalties associated with a failure to comply with an assessors information notice were debated during the parliamentary passage of The Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Act 2020, which was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 5 February 2020 and received Royal Assent on 11 March 2020.

There is currently no intention to review the penalties, which are intended to encourage provision of information and ensure ‘right-first-time’ valuations to reduce the need for ratepayers to appeal. They are not intended to be revenue raising, and there will be no penalty if ratepayers provide the legally required information as requested.

Furthermore, assessors may remit or mitigate any penalty, and will consider the circumstances of each case. In addition, a ratepayer may appeal against their penalty to a Valuation Appeal Committee.

The Scottish Government has received unprecedented levels of correspondence since March 2020 which led to a decentralised approach to the preparation of replies and associated data capture. The best available data available from these different systems confirm that I received 740 letters and e-mails in relation to COVID-19 between 20 March and 30 June 2020. All received a substantive reply.

The Scottish Government has received unprecedented levels of correspondence since March 2020 which led to a decentralised approach to the preparation of replies and associated data capture. The best available data available from these different systems confirm that the First Minister received 1153 letters and e-mails in relation to COVID-19 between 20 March and 30 June 2020. All received a substantive reply.

Officials regularly discussed CalMac’s proposals for amending timetables with them and other stakeholders on behalf of Ministers.

There are no plans for CalMac to temporarily suspend any other ferry services until Summer 2021.

Following engagement with local stakeholders, the difficult decision was taken to suspend the Ardrossan to Campbeltown ferry service until Summer 2021.

This was due to the need to deal with the significantly reduced connectivity to Arran, that shares this vessel with the Campbeltown service. Arran was facing high demand and severe capacity constraints exacerbated by physical distancing requirements, and this allows more sailings to be provided.

There were also other factors considered:

• there are alternative routes to Campbeltown including by road (including a bus service), alternative ferries across Arran or the Cowal and Dunoon peninsula, or by plane.
• passenger numbers on the service are relatively low.

We would stress that this is a temporary measure in unprecedented circumstances, in order to make most effective use of the vessels available for deployment. The Ardrossan – Campbeltown service will return in Summer 2021.

Police Scotland have enforcement powers under The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 as amended by the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 7) Regulations 2020.

The Amendment (No. 7) was laid before the Scottish Parliament on 9 July 2020 and came into force on 10 July 2020.

The Scottish Government has received unprecedented levels of correspondence since March 2020 which led to a decentralised approach to the preparation of replies and associated data capture. The best available data available from these different systems confirm that I received 933 letters and e-mails in relation to COVID-19 between 20 March and 30 June 2020. All received a substantive reply.