Part of General Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 8 January 2026.
Ivan McKee
Scottish National Party
It is not unexpected, but Roz McCall has hugely misrepresented the situation. The Government takes the issue very seriously and engages extensively with the hospitality sector. I met Stephen Montgomery and others in the sector on 22 December, and I met the Federation of Small Businesses on the issue just yesterday. There is also the Government’s NDR consultative group, which had its pre-budget meeting in November, and we will meet again immediately after the budget. I have met representatives of other sectors on the issue, too.
I am very well aware of the situation regarding Bills that individual businesses have received. There is a process for working through that with assessors, and I urge businesses and sectors to continue—as I know many of them have—to engage with assessors on the process of revaluation. We have set up an independent group under BJ Gill KC to look at the valuation methodology for the hospitality sector, and that group will report later this year.
Of course, the bills that businesses face are a consequence not just of the valuation but of the transitional reliefs and other reliefs—
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.
A proposal for new legislation that is debated by Parliament.
