Questions and answers

Question reference: S6F-00399

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 November 2021

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-00400

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 01 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 November 2021

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-03479

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much non-domestic rates income has been forgone in 2021-22 where Small Business Bonus Scheme rates relief has been claimed for self-catering units broken down by (a) 100%, (b) 25% and (c) 0% (where they were not eligible due to having a number of properties with a combined rateable value of £35,000) of income forgone, also broken down by (i) assessor and (ii) local authority.

The following tables presents the estimated value of Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) relief as at 1 June 2021, awarded to self-catering properties, broken down by assessor and local authority, for properties receiving 100% SBBS, 25% SBBS, and other percentages of SBBS (e.g. when combined with other reliefs). These tables include all self-catering properties in receipt of SBBS relief. The Scottish Government cannot reliably estimate the cumulative rateable value for each ratepayer and can therefore not state the number of self-catering units with a combined rateable value of £35,000 in receipt of the Small Business Bonus Scheme relief. However, ratepayers with a combined rateable value of £35,000 may still be eligible for SBBS relief where the individual property has a rateable value up to £18,000.

Table 1: Value (£ thousands) of SBBS relief awarded to self-catering properties by assessor area and SBBS rate, as at 1 June 2021

Valuation Joint Board	SBBS awarded at 25%	SBBS awarded at 100%	Other SBBS percentages	Total
Ayrshire	2	853	0	855
Central	12	605	-	617
Dumfries & Galloway	4	1,084	-	1,089
Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute	41	2,070	-	2,111
Fife	7	785	1	793
Glasgow	8	304	-	311
Grampian	20	1,212	1	1,233
Highland & Western Isles	76	6,174	1	6,251
Lanarkshire	2	88	-	91
Lothian	77	3,460	7	3,544
Orkney & Shetland	-	497	-	497
Renfrewshire	-	19	-	19
Scottish Borders	3	793	-	796
Tayside	18	1,507	-	1,525
Scotland	271	19,452	10	19,733

Source: Valuation Roll as at 1 June 2021; local authority reliefs information as at 1 June 2021.

Figures rounded to the nearest £1,000. Actual zeros are represented as “-“, while figures greater than zero but lower than 500 are represented as “0”.

Table 2: Value (£ thousands) of SBBS awarded to self-catering properties by local authority and SBBS rate, as at 1 June 2021

Local authority	SBBS awarded at 25%	SBBS awarded at 100%	Other SBBS percentages	Total
Aberdeen City	-	19	-	19
Aberdeenshire	9	754	1	764
Angus	3	249	-	251
Argyll & Bute	39	2,000	-	2,039
City of Edinburgh	76	3,016	7	3,099
Clackmannanshire	-	31	-	31
Dumfries & Galloway	4	1,084	-	1,089
Dundee City	-	92	-	92
East Ayrshire	-	41	-	41
East Dunbartonshire	-	12	-	12
East Lothian	1	311	-	312
East Renfrewshire	-	5	-	5
Falkirk	-	78	-	78
Fife	7	785	1	793
Glasgow City	8	304	-	311
Highland	74	5,501	1	5,576
Inverclyde	-	11	-	11
Midlothian	-	62	-	62
Moray	11	439	-	450
Na h-Eileanan Siar	2	673	-	675
North Ayrshire	2	566	0	567
North Lanarkshire	-	30	-	30
Orkney Islands	-	328	-	328
Perth & Kinross	15	1,167	-	1,182
Renfrewshire	-	4	-	4
Scottish Borders	3	793	-	796
Shetland Islands	-	169	-	169
South Ayrshire	-	246	-	246
South Lanarkshire	2	58	-	61
Stirling	12	496	-	508
West Dunbartonshire	2	59	-	60
West Lothian	-	71	-	71
Scotland	271	19,452	10	19,733

Source: Valuation Roll as at 1 June 2021; local authority reliefs information as at 1 June 2021.

Figures rounded to the nearest £1,000. Actual zeros are represented as “-“, while figures greater than zero but lower than 500 are represented as “0”.

Question reference: S6W-03459

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much revenue it has raised from properties subject to the Higher Property Rate poundage for non-domestic rates in each local authority area in the North East Scotland region in each of the last five years, also broken down by industry sector.

The following tables show estimates of the additional income arising from the Large Business Supplement (up to 2019-20) and the Higher Property Rate (from 2020-21) in the Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee City, and Moray local authority areas. Please note that the Large Business Supplement applied to properties with a rateable value above £51,000, while the Higher Property Rate applies to properties with a rateable value above £95,000.

Table 1: Estimated net income arising from the Large Business Supplement or the Higher Property Rate, in Aberdeen City, 2017-18 to 2021-22, by property class (£ thousands)

CLASS	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22
Shops	1,990	1,998	1,942	111	732
Public Houses	141	135	117	7	7
Offices	3,962	4,044	3,818	3,371	3,247
Hotels	537	556	527	50	56
Industrial Subjects	3,115	3,105	3,096	2,661	2,653
Leisure, Entertainment, Caravans etc.	190	200	190	159	204
Garages and Petrol Stations	109	101	96	57	42
Cultural	7	7	7	-	20
Sporting Subjects	8	8	8	-	-
Education and Training	503	502	501	433	430
Public Service Subjects	388	445	447	334	246
Communications	54	77	50	50	39
Quarries, Mines, etc.	3	3	3	2	3
Petrochemical	21	20	20	20	19
Religious	12	12	12	6	6
Health and Medical	367	370	353	327	334
Other	174	192	178	143	134
Care Facilities	10	14	10	3	3
Advertising	7	5	8	5	5
Statutory Undertaking	50	50	50	57	59
All	11,649	11,843	11,431	7,796	8,237

Source: Valuation Roll as at 1 July 2017, 30 May 2018, 3 June 2019, 1 July 2020 and 1 June 2021. Relief data as at 1 June 2018 (incl. for 2017, as 2017 reliefs data is not available), 31 May 2019, 1 July 2020, and 1 June 2021.

Table 2: Estimated net income arising from the Large Business Supplement or the Higher Property Rate, in Aberdeenshire, 2017-18 to 2021-22, by property class (£ thousands)

CLASS	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22
Shops	567	567	551	3	365
Public Houses	29	29	28	-	-
Offices	715	727	724	634	651
Hotels	124	138	143	-	3
Industrial Subjects	2,121	2,211	2,165	1,878	1,889
Leisure, Entertainment, Caravans etc.	47	42	42	-	28
Garages and Petrol Stations	37	38	37	-	6
Cultural	5	5	2	-	-
Education and Training	400	413	409	349	353
Public Service Subjects	179	183	188	155	141
Communications	129	165	131	124	129
Quarries, Mines, etc.	25	25	25	15	15
Petrochemical	423	421	419	414	399
Religious	-	-	-	-	-
Health and Medical	62	62	61	57	58
Other	19	19	19	-	-
Care Facilities	7	7	6	2	-
Statutory Undertaking	47	52	64	61	64
All	4,935	5,104	5,012	3,691	4,100

Source: Valuation Roll as at 1 July 2017, 30 May 2018, 3 June 2019, 1 July 2020 and 1 June 2021. Relief data as at 1 June 2018 (incl. for 2017, as 2017 reliefs data is not available), 31 May 2019, 1 July 2020, and 1 June 2021.

Table 3: Estimated net income arising from the Large Business Supplement or the Higher Property Rate, in Angus, 2017-18 to 2021-22, by property class (£ thousands)

CLASS	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22
Shops	211	207	205	-	135
Public Houses	6	6	4	-	-
Offices	25	23	21	17	18
Hotels	25	25	23	-	-
Industrial Subjects	230	230	230	179	189
Leisure, Entertainment, Caravans etc.	37	36	35	-	-
Garages and Petrol Stations	15	11	11	3	8
Cultural	-	-	-	-	-
Education and Training	183	183	182	161	167
Public Service Subjects	131	112	111	100	98
Communications	2	2	2	-	-
Quarries, Mines, etc.	10	10	10	4	-
Petrochemical	59	57	57	56	50
Religious	-	-	-	-	-
Health and Medical	59	58	57	39	39
Care Facilities	3	3	3	3	3
Statutory Undertaking	43	61	49	47	46
All	1,040	1,025	1,001	609	753

Source: Valuation Roll as at 1 July 2017, 30 May 2018, 3 June 2019, 1 July 2020 and 1 June 2021. Relief data as at 1 June 2018 (incl. for 2017, as 2017 reliefs data is not available), 31 May 2019, 1 July 2020, and 1 June 2021.

Table 4: Estimated net income arising from the Large Business Supplement or the Higher Property Rate, in Dundee, 2017-18 to 2021-22, by property class (£ thousands)

CLASS	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22
Shops	1,141	1,161	1,148	18	572
Public Houses	39	40	31	-	3
Offices	333	353	339	252	257
Hotels	88	100	101	-	4
Industrial Subjects	507	499	500	366	355
Leisure, Entertainment, Caravans etc.	82	82	84	12	70
Garages and Petrol Stations	23	23	21	-	7
Cultural	2	1	1	-	-
Sporting Subjects	5	5	4	-	3
Education and Training	286	292	267	252	258
Public Service Subjects	91	90	87	61	73
Religious	3	3	3	3	3
Health and Medical	163	163	164	149	152
Other	38	37	39	30	30
Care Facilities	6	8	7	-	-
Advertising	2	2	2	-	-
Statutory Undertaking	57	73	55	46	43
All	2,867	2,930	2,853	1,188	1,829

Source: Valuation Roll as at 1 July 2017, 30 May 2018, 3 June 2019, 1 July 2020 and 1 June 2021. Relief data as at 1 June 2018 (incl. for 2017, as 2017 reliefs data is not available), 31 May 2019, 1 July 2020, and 1 June 2021.

Table 5: Estimated net income arising from the Large Business Supplement or the Higher Property Rate, in Moray, 2017-18 to 2021-22, by property class (£ thousands)

CLASS	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22
Shops	298	299	302	4	147
Public Houses	9	9	9	-	-
Offices	53	52	50	37	38
Hotels	35	35	37	-	7
Industrial Subjects	911	931	1,145	1,075	1,115
Leisure, Entertainment, Caravans etc.	11	12	10	-	13
Garages and Petrol Stations	11	11	11	-	-
Cultural	1	1	-	-	-
Education and Training	131	142	143	121	124
Public Service Subjects	308	308	302	287	296
Communications	40	50	40	39	32
Quarries, Mines, etc.	5	5	5	-	-
Petrochemical	18	17	17	15	16
Religious	-	-	-	-	-
Health and Medical	42	42	44	29	29
Other	3	3	3	-	-
Care Facilities	-	-	-	-	-
Statutory Undertaking	42	41	104	101	103
All	1,918	1,960	2,222	1,707	1,920

Source: Valuation Roll as at 1 July 2017, 30 May 2018, 3 June 2019, 1 July 2020 and 1 June 2021. Relief data as at 1 June 2018 (incl. for 2017, as 2017 reliefs data is not available), 31 May 2019, 1 July 2020, and 1 June 2021.

Question reference: S6W-03821

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 18 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 1 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with high street banks regarding reports that they do not recognise its COVID-19 support grants as income in the context of business loan applications.

The regulation of financial services is reserved to the UK Government and as such Scottish Ministers are unable to directly intervene in the commercial decisions made by financial services companies or comment on individual complaints. Scottish Ministers engage regularly with their UK counterparts and we engage with the industry via the Financial Services Industry Advisory Board (FiSAB) as well as meeting regularly with representative bodies.

The Scottish Government stands ready to work constructively with the UK Government, banks and other stakeholders to ensure that customers, local communities and businesses have access to the banking facilities they require.

Question reference: S6W-03565

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 1 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) the UK Government and (b) relevant professional and trade bodies on improving the quality and safety of electrical installations in buildings.

The Electricians Working Group was established in 2017 with a membership reflective of industry, safety, and consumer interests. This group has explored the challenges of ensuring the safety of electrical installation and discussed proposals that aim to protect consumers, protect scrupulous traders, and maintain an environment that allows competition within the provision of electrical services in Scotland.

To date, this work has culminated in the publication of the Regulation of Electricians in Scotland: Research Report (7 June 2019), the Consultation (23 November 2020), and the Consultation Analysis (23 March 2021). Throughout these discussions, the UK Government has been informed of the proposals developed by the Scottish Government. Further detail on these discussions and the outcomes of the consultation are contained within responses to related questions S6W-03566, S6W-03567, and S6W-03568 on 29 October 2021

The Scottish Government continues to hold discussions with key stakeholders in relation to the improvement of the quality and safety of electrical installations in buildings. In addition to the above, officials have maintained robust engagement with Certification Scheme Providers who provide optional certification of electrical installations subject to a building warrant. In June 2021, a certification strategy was approved through the Building Standards Futures Board . Working with delivery partners, including the Electrical Contractors' Association of Scotland (SELECT) and the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (NICEIC), we will encourage greater uptake in use of certification of construction as a further means of supporting improvement to the quality and safety of electrical installations in Scotland.

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

Question reference: S6W-03717

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 1 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when the provisions in sections 5 to 7 of the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act 2019 are due to come into force.

The Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act 2019 received Royal Assent on 20 July 2019. Since then a number of sections have been commenced (3, 4, 8, 9,15,40-43, 45-47, 50(3), 52, 53(2) and 3(b), 54, 16(1) partially, 17-39, 44, 48, 49, 50(1)(2)(4), 53 (1) and (3)(a), 55-57, 59-61 and schedule 1 (paragraphs 1, 3, 4 and 5).

The provisions in section 5-7 relate to making electronic monitoring a condition of licence. Electronic monitoring is already a feature of post-release sentence management as a condition of licence, for uses such as Home Detention Curfew. The Parole Board currently have an ability to recommend licence conditions which can include an element of electronic monitoring. These sections of the Act consolidate existing legislation in this area to allow for a continuation of these uses, with the addition of a new use of monitoring of temporary release licence.

The next set of commencement regulations planned for the Act will likely now be early 2022. The provisions for sections 5-7 will be given a commencement date at that point. Those commencement regulations will also bring into force some of the court based uses of electronic monitoring already included in section 3 of the Act. A range of justice partners, including: COPFS, Police Scotland, justice social work and SCTS have been taking forward preparations for those uses and the exact list of disposals and timing of regulations will be dependent on partner operational readiness.

Question reference: S6W-03481

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many self-catering (a) units on the non-domestic rates roll and (b) unit owners received Small Business Bonus Scheme rates relief in 2021-22 at (i) 100%, (ii) 25% and (iii) 0% (where they were not eligible due to having a number of properties with a combined rateable value of £35,000), also broken down by (A) assessor and (B) local authority.

The following table presents the estimated number of self-catering units receiving Small Business Bonus Scheme(SBBS) relief as at 1 June 2021, broken down by assessor and local authority, for properties (unit owners cannot be reliably identified from the information held) receiving 100% SBBS, 25% SBBS, and other percentages of SBBS (e.g. when combined with other reliefs). These tables include all self-catering properties in receipt of SBBS relief. The Scottish Government cannot reliably estimate the cumulative rateable value for each ratepayer and can therefore not state the number of self-catering units with a combined rateable value of £35,000 in receipt of the Small Business Bonus Scheme relief. However, ratepayers with a combined rateable value of £35,000 may still be eligible for SBBS relief where the individual property has a rateable value up to £18,000.

Table 1: Number of self-catering properties receiving SBBS as at 1 June 2021, by percentage of SBBS and assessor area.

Valuation Joint Board	Self-catering properties	Not receiving SBBS	SBBS awarded at 100%	SBBS awarded at 25%	Other SBBS percentages	Total SBBS recipients
Ayrshire	836	110	720	10	0	730
Central	618	60	530	30	-	560
Dumfries & Galloway	1,395	150	1,220	20	-	1,240
Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute	2,359	470	1,770	120	-	1,890
Fife	703	70	610	20	0	640
Glasgow	197	40	150	10	-	160
Grampian	1,153	100	1,020	30	0	1,050
Highland & Western Isles	5,609	530	4,910	170	0	5,080
Lanarkshire	123	10	100	10	-	110
Lothian	1,842	620	1,150	70	0	1,220
Orkney & Shetland	695	60	640	-	-	640
Renfrewshire	77	50	30	-	-	30
Scottish Borders	812	90	710	20	-	720
Tayside	1,440	210	1,190	40	-	1,230
Scotland	17,859	2,560	14,740	550	10	15,300

Source: Valuation Roll as at 1 June 2021; local authority reliefs information as at 1 June 2021.

Figures may not sum due to rounding. Some figures are rounded to the nearest 10 for data protection reasons. Rounded figures greater than 0, but lower than 5, are displayed as “0”, while actual zero figures are displayed as “-“.

Table 2: Number of self-catering properties receiving SBBS as at 1 June 2021, by percentage of SBBS and local authority.

Local authority	Self-catering properties	Not receiving SBBS	SBBS awarded at 25%	SBBS awarded at 100%	Other SBBS percentages	Total SBBS recipients
Aberdeen City	25	20	10	-	-	10
Aberdeenshire	663	60	590	10	0	600
Angus	253	40	210	0	-	210
Argyll & Bute	2,280	460	1,710	120	-	1,820
City of Edinburgh	1,487	580	840	70	0	910
Clackmannanshire	33	10	30	-	-	30
Dumfries & Galloway	1,395	150	1,220	20	-	1,240
Dundee City	89	10	80	-	-	80
East Ayrshire	36	10	30	-	-	30
East Dunbartonshire	11	-	10	-	-	10
East Lothian	241	30	210	0	-	220
East Renfrewshire	11	0	10	-	-	10
Falkirk	92	10	90	-	-	90
Fife	703	70	610	20	0	640
Glasgow City	197	40	150	10	-	160
Highland	4,892	480	4,250	170	0	4,420
Inverclyde	16	0	10	-	-	10
Midlothian	55	10	50	-	-	50
Moray	465	30	420	20	-	440
Na h-Eileanan Siar	717	50	660	10	-	670
North Ayrshire	498	20	470	10	0	470
North Lanarkshire	37	0	30	-	-	30
Orkney Islands	430	20	410	-	-	410
Perth & Kinross	1,098	160	900	40	-	940
Renfrewshire	50	40	10	-	-	10
Scottish Borders	812	90	710	20	-	720
Shetland Islands	265	40	230	-	-	230
South Ayrshire	302	80	230	-	-	230
South Lanarkshire	86	10	60	10	-	80
Stirling	493	50	410	30	-	450
West Dunbartonshire	68	10	60	0	-	60
West Lothian	59	10	50	-	-	50
Scotland	17,859	2,560	14,740	550	10	15,300

Source: Valuation Roll as at 1 June 2021; local authority reliefs information as at 1 June 2021.

Figures may not sum due to rounding. Some figures are rounded to the nearest 10 for data protection reasons. Rounded figures greater than 0, but lower than 5, are displayed as “0”, while actual zero figures are displayed as “-“.

Question reference: S6W-03480

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many self-catering units have been registered on the non-domestic rates roll on 30 September in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) assessor and (b) local authority.

The following tables presents the number of self-catering properties on the Valuation Roll as at 1 October 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 (30 September data is not available), broken down by assessor and local authority.

Table 1: Number of self-catering properties as at 1 October 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, by assessor area.

Valuation Joint Board	01 October 2017	01 October 2018	01 October 2019	01 October 2020	01 October 2021
Ayrshire	640	721	764	792	828
Central	456	510	575	625	651
Dumfries & Galloway	1,179	1,255	1,311	1,381	1,414
Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute	1,896	2,015	2,103	2,323	2,419
Fife	519	550	587	663	745
Glasgow	152	216	201	198	198
Grampian	867	983	1,065	1,088	1,230
Highland & Western Isles	4,443	4,736	5,181	5,513	5,814
Lanarkshire	76	110	117	126	128
Lothian	1,591	1,800	2,020	1,978	1,831
Orkney & Shetland	632	689	726	696	714
Renfrewshire	36	48	64	59	76
Scottish Borders	604	644	707	756	849
Tayside	1,086	1,197	1,322	1,421	1,485
Scotland	14,177	15,474	16,743	17,619	18,382

Source: Valuation Roll as at 1 October 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Figures may not sum due to rounding. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Figures greater than 0, but lower than 5, are displayed as “0”, while actual zero figures are displayed as “-“.

Table 2: Number of self-catering properties as at 1 October 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, by local authority.

Local authority	01 October 2017	01 October 2018	01 October 2019	01 October 2020	01 October 2021
Aberdeen City	32	32	26	25	25
Aberdeenshire	505	551	612	627	699
Angus	171	202	223	248	264
Argyll & Bute	1,840	1,947	2,026	2,243	2,338
City of Edinburgh	1,327	1,505	1,688	1,629	1,473
Clackmannanshire	24	25	31	35	35
Dumfries & Galloway	1,179	1,255	1,311	1,381	1,414
Dundee City	27	45	66	84	97
East Ayrshire	19	25	27	30	39
East Dunbartonshire	5	9	11	11	11
East Lothian	190	216	233	240	246
East Renfrewshire	4	5	9	10	11
Falkirk	24	42	62	85	99
Fife	519	550	587	663	745
Glasgow City	152	216	201	198	198
Highland	3,930	4,151	4,503	4,801	5,053
Inverclyde	14	22	22	16	16
Midlothian	35	35	49	50	54
Moray	330	400	427	436	506
Na h-Eileanan Siar	513	585	678	712	761
North Ayrshire	417	456	475	485	490
North Lanarkshire	10	32	34	40	40
Orkney Islands	383	421	439	431	448
Perth & Kinross	888	950	1,033	1,089	1,124
Renfrewshire	18	21	33	33	49
Scottish Borders	604	644	707	756	849
Shetland Islands	249	268	287	265	266
South Ayrshire	204	240	262	277	299
South Lanarkshire	66	78	83	86	88
Stirling	408	443	482	505	517
West Dunbartonshire	51	59	66	69	70
West Lothian	39	44	50	59	58
Scotland	14,177	15,474	16,743	17,619	18,382

Source: Valuation Roll as at 1 October 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Figures may not sum due to rounding. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Figures greater than 0, but lower than 5, are displayed as “0”, while actual zero figures are displayed as “-“.

Question reference: S6W-03458

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many properties in each local authority area in the North East Scotland region are subject to the Higher Property Rate poundage for non-domestic rates, also broken down by industry sector.

There are a total of 2,603 properties in the Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee City, and Moray local authority areas subject to the Higher Property Rate. Please note that this includes the entire local authority areas, as data by parliamentary constituency or region is not available.

Table 1 presents a breakdown of this figure 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 classes may be eligible for rates reliefs which may reduce or eliminate their rates liability.

Table 1: Number of properties liable for the Higher Property Rate by property class in Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee City, and Moray

Property class	Aberdeen City	Aberdeenshire	Angus	Dundee City	Moray	North East Scotland
Shops	220	54	24	122	32	452
Public Houses	15	5	-	4	1	25
Offices	370	61	4	39	7	481
Hotels	56	17	3	16	7	99
Industrial Subjects	425	280	32	66	85	888
Leisure, Entertainment, Caravans etc.	37	12	11	26	3	89
Garages and Petrol Stations	14	5	3	3	1	26
Cultural	3	2	-	6	-	11
Sporting Subjects	1	-	-	1	-	2
Education and Training	68	52	31	39	20	210
Public Service Subjects	33	25	11	19	16	104
Communications	6	11	-	-	6	23
Quarries, Mines, etc.	1	5	-	-	-	6
Petrochemical	2	11	2	-	1	16
Religious	1	-	-	1	-	2
Health and Medical	29	14	8	16	3	70
Other	17	1	-	6	-	24
Care Facilities	21	11	6	4	2	44
Advertising	1	-	-	-	-	1
Statutory Undertaking	5	6	9	7	3	30
All classes	1,325	572	144	375	187	2,603

Source: Valuation Roll as at 1 October 2021.

Chamber and committees