To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact that replicating the non-domestic rates relief available to businesses in England would have in Ayrshire, including in relation to job creation. (S6O-03563)

The Scottish Government has a long-standing commitment to delivering a competitive rates regime that supports businesses and communities, including in employment. The Scottish budget delivers a non-domestic rates relief package, which is worth an estimated £685 million in 2024-25 and includes a number of reliefs that are not available elsewhere in the UK, as well as up to 100 per cent relief for hospitality businesses on islands including Arran and Cumbrae in the member’s constituency.

Due to the generous small business bonus scheme and other reliefs, we estimate that, as at 1 July 2023, more than half of properties in Ayrshire do not pay any rates at all. Although the Scottish ministers are sympathetic to calls to replicate the rates relief that is available in England in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, doing so would have meant that the Scottish Government could not provide the national health service, schools or emergency services with the funding that they require.

In the year ending December 2023, across Scotland 74.7 per cent of people aged from 16 to 64 were employed. However, in South Ayrshire, the figure was significantly lower, at just 65.2 per cent. South Ayrshire is home to fantastic businesses that have much to offer, but they face multiple challenges, including high business rates, that leave them at a disadvantage. Given that the average pub is now paying £15,000 more in tax than its counterparts in the rest of the United Kingdom, does the minister agree that that money could have been better used by small businesses to hire more staff—in particular, young people?

If Sharon Dowey is advocating for cuts to the NHS or to the education budget, that needs to be considered as the context of the proposal, or choice, that she is advocating.

The Scottish Government works hard to support employment prospects across the country, including in Ayrshire. My economy minister colleagues do so every day. It is worth remembering that half of businesses in Ayrshire do not pay any rates at all. In Scotland, 95 per cent of non-domestic properties continue to be liable for lower property tax rates than properties elsewhere in the United Kingdom. A number of reliefs are available in Scotland that are not available in England, including day nursery relief, fresh start relief, hydro relief and others. Half of properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors are eligible for 100 per cent relief in Scotland in the current financial year.

Thanks to the Scottish Government’s budget decisions, businesses across Scotland continue to benefit from the most generous small business bonus scheme in the UK. Can the minister provide any update on the Scottish Government’s assessment of the number of businesses that the scheme supports?

Information from the last snapshot date, which was 1 July 2023, showed that more than 114,000 properties had been taken out of paying rates altogether as a result of the Scottish Government’s policies, with at least 98,000 of them having benefited in some form from the small business bonus, which, as Gordon MacDonald acknowledges, is the most generous scheme of its type in the UK.

I am unable to call question 8 because Mr Golden is not in the chamber. I have not received an explanation for that. I will expect one, along with an apology.

With that, portfolio question time is concluded. There will be a brief pause before we move to the next item of business, to allow front-bench members to change places.