General Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 4 December 2025.
Murdo Fraser
Conservative
To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of the impact of the visitor levy on businesses operating in the hospitality and tourism sectors. (S6O-05247)
Ivan McKee
Scottish National Party
The Scottish Government recognises the importance of supporting Scotland’s visitor economy while enabling councils to invest in local services. The Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024 requires local consultation with businesses before any scheme is introduced.
Responding to feedback from industry and others, earlier this week, we lodged a Government-initiated question signalling our intention to introduce a bill early in the new year to provide additional flexibility, such as allowing flat-rate models as an alternative to the current percentage-based approach. If passed, the bill will further enable councils to design fair and practical schemes that protect the competitiveness of our hospitality and tourism sectors and generate revenue to support local tourism economies.
Murdo Fraser
Conservative
I welcome the dramatic U-turn from the Scottish Government to allow councils extra flexibility in future, following sustained pressure from the Scottish Conservatives and the tourism industry. In the meantime, however, councils are continuing to progress plans for a visitor levy. In Perth and Kinross, in the region that I represent, a public consultation disclosed 68 per cent Opposition to a visitor levy, with just 29 per cent in favour. Given that overwhelming rejection of the notion of a visitor levy in Perth and Kinross, will the Minister join me in calling on Scottish National Party and Liberal Democrat councillors on Perth and Kinross Council to ditch those plans and join Conservative councillors in calling for them to be put in the bin, where they deserve to be?
Alison Johnstone
Green
Please answer on matters of devolved responsibility, Minister.
Ivan McKee
Scottish National Party
I salute Murdo Fraser for being a trier, if nothing else.
The Government listens to and engages with the industry on an on-going, regular and thorough basis. As a responsible Government, we listen to concerns and make changes to legislation when that is in the best interests of all concerned, including those in business and local government.
It is up to local authorities, as it should be, to take forward proposals that they believe best suit their local economies and local tourism sector, following engagement with businesses and other interested parties. It is not the Government’s role to tell local authorities how best to run that process. We are making a range of options available to them, and they can decide on the best way to proceed based on local circumstances.
Question Time is an opportunity for MPs and Members of the House of Lords to ask Government Ministers questions. These questions are asked in the Chamber itself and are known as Oral Questions. Members may also put down Written Questions. In the House of Commons, Question Time takes place for an hour on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays after Prayers. The different Government Departments answer questions according to a rota and the questions asked must relate to the responsibilities of the Government Department concerned. In the House of Lords up to four questions may be asked of the Government at the beginning of each day's business. They are known as 'starred questions' because they are marked with a star on the Order Paper. Questions may also be asked at the end of each day's business and these may include a short debate. They are known as 'unstarred questions' and are less frequent. Questions in both Houses must be written down in advance and put on the agenda and both Houses have methods for selecting the questions that will be asked. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P1 at the UK Parliament site.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
The Conservatives are a centre-right political party in the UK, founded in the 1830s. They are also known as the Tory party.
With a lower-case ‘c’, ‘conservative’ is an adjective which implies a dislike of change, and a preference for traditional values.
The Opposition are the political parties in the House of Commons other than the largest or Government party. They are called the Opposition because they sit on the benches opposite the Government in the House of Commons Chamber. The largest of the Opposition parties is known as Her Majesty's Opposition. The role of the Official Opposition is to question and scrutinise the work of Government. The Opposition often votes against the Government. In a sense the Official Opposition is the "Government in waiting".
