Part of Finance and Local Government – in the Scottish Parliament at on 14 January 2026.
Liam McArthur
Liberal Democrat
Having lobbied the Minister for Public Finance over many months to maintain the 100 per cent rates relief for island-based hospitality and retail businesses, I welcome the confirmation yesterday of an extension to that provision in the budget. However, as my colleague Jamie Greene highlighted yesterday, further targeted support is still needed.
The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers has voiced serious concerns about the 2026 valuation model. In my Constituency, a local operator has reported a 270 per cent increase in its rateable value. The minister will understand that the situation is unsustainable and that, without further Intervention, many small businesses will face a cliff edge. Will he commit to engaging with the sector to put final protections in place?
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.
An intervention is when the MP making a speech is interrupted by another MP and asked to 'give way' to allow the other MP to intervene on the speech to ask a question or comment on what has just been said.
In a general election, each Constituency chooses an MP to represent them. MPs have a responsibility to represnt the views of the Constituency in the House of Commons. There are 650 Constituencies, and thus 650 MPs. A citizen of a Constituency is known as a Constituent
