Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 10 October 2019.

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Photo of Alexander Stewart Alexander Stewart Conservative

I am pleased to take part in today’s debate on the Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Bill.

As a member of the Local Government and Communities Committee, I thank all those who have supported us during our evidence sessions and given us information.

As a former councillor, I am aware of the impact and importance of non-domestic rates. The Conservatives welcome many parts of the bill. However, we also have to think of the consequences that councils are suffering because of the budget reductions from Government. In this financial year alone, they have already had a real-terms budget cut of £168 million. The Scottish Government is making political choices, and that is the context in which we should see the bill. Many changes are proposed; some go far but some do not go far enough and will not address the chronic underfunding of our councils.

Scotland has one of the lowest growth rates of any country in the European Union and a lower employment rate than other part of the United Kingdom. If Scottish employment had grown at the same rate as the UK’s over the previous 10 financial years, more than 300,000 more people would be in work in Scotland today. That is a staggering and sobering statistic.

On our high streets, retail has been hit particularly hard; Scotland continues to fall behind the rest of the United Kingdom. The committee visited some locations and it was harrowing to hear views from retailers about how they cope with the demands in city centres.

There has already been talk this afternoon about online businesses. As we go forward, they need to be looked at.

When we looked at the amounts that are being ploughed into rates, we found that the hotel and hospitality sector are finding the situation difficult. The renewables sector is also suffering. In Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, the Government had to support businesses because their rates bill had doubled, trebled or, as we heard, gone up by 1,000 per cent. It is unsustainable for businesses to be put in that situation. I am delighted that the Scottish Conservatives were one of the groups that forced a U-turn, as result of which £40 million was put into the hospitality sector in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.