Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government’s running costs are reported in the annual consolidated accounts in note 5f Outturn Income and Expenditure - Operating Costs (2019-20: note 6f). The consolidated accounts can be found here: Financial reports and accounts - Government finance - gov.scot.

The table within the 2022-23 annual consolidated accounts restates the 2021-22 figures, therefore this should be used instead of the data in note 5f to the 2021-22 accounts.

Information is provided on a financial year basis which is consistent with our annual accounts publications. Therefore, the running costs for 2025-2026 will be published in the same location when available.

In 2019-20, a change in approach to operating costs was implemented, which means that comparable figures for earlier years cannot be provided. Previously, costs, including staffing, were held centrally as part of the administration budget and also as part of portfolio budgets for staff who were implementing and delivering specific public services. Since 2019-20, Total Operating Costs have been aligned with the portfolio budgets they support, replacing the dual system where both administration and portfolio budgets funded operating costs.

Scottish Government issued a consultation on ‘Reforming the non-domestic rates system: proposals, the draft valuation roll, content of valuation notices, etc.’ in 2021. Views were sought on a range of changes to the system including the introduction of a disposal deadline for revaluation proposals on 31 July of a revaluation year, or four months after the valuation notice is received, whichever is later.

A full consultation analysis is available on the Scottish Government website. The Scottish Government published a ‘We asked, You said, We did’ in 2022, available at: Consultation on reforming the non-domestic rates system: proposals, the draft valuation roll, content of valuation notices, etc. - Scottish Government consultations - Citizen Space.

The suggested time period for lodging a revaluation proposal was adopted on the basis that this provides proprietors, tenants and occupiers with a period of eight months to scrutinise their rateable value and consider whether they want to lodge a proposal - four months between the publication of their draft rateable value (30 November the year before revaluation) and revaluation (1 April), and four months after revaluation (1 April to 31 July in the year of revaluation).

The timeous lodging and resolution of proposals is paramount in a three-year revaluation cycle which was introduced at the 2023 revaluation following a recommendation by the independent Barclay Review of Non-Domestic Rates.

The Scottish Government collects and publishes quarterly statistics on proposals and appeals against non-domestic rates revaluations. The publications present the position up to the end of each quarter (end of June, September, December and March).

As a result, the Scottish Government does not yet hold information on the number of appeals against non-domestic property valuations that have been lodged following the most recent (2026) revaluation. The first statistics relating to the 2026 revaluation (providing the position as at 30 June 2026) are currently planned for publication in Autumn 2026.

The value of each property for the purposes of non-domestic rates is assessed by the local independent Scottish Assessor, and referred to as its “rateable value”. There is a right of appeal against the Assessor’s determination of rateable value.

Following recommendations of the independent Barclay Review of Non-Domestic Rates, from 1 April 2023, a new two-stage appeals process was introduced with an initial evidence-based proposal stage. Proposals can typically be made within four months of a revaluation or 31 July in a revaluation year. Ratepayers may then, in prescribed circumstances, appeal against the outcome of the proposal to the Local Taxation Chamber, first-tier Tribunal.

Appeals are reported when they are first notified to the Assessors by the Scottish Tribunals. As a consequence of the lodging and disposal deadlines, it is unlikely that any revaluation 2026 appeals will have been received by 30 June 2026.

Statistics on proposals and appeals against non-domestic revaluations are routinely published (updated quarterly) on the Scottish Government website and are available at: Proposals and appeals against non-domestic revaluations.

As at 1 June 2025, there were 116,100 properties receiving any amount of Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) relief. In 2026-2027, we estimate that SBBS relief will be awarded to around 115,500 properties. Table 1 shows a breakdown of these figures by council area and valuation joint board.

Whilst the figures above represent the number of properties, the number of businesses or ratepayers receiving SBBS relief will typically be lower: one ratepayer can be liable for multiple properties, and receive SBBS relief on multiple properties. The currently available data does not allow us to reliably estimate the number of businesses or ratepayers benefitting.

Additional information on SBBS relief awards as at 1 June 2025 is available in Non-domestic rates relief statistics 2025.

Table 1: Number of properties receiving SBBS relief as at 1 June 2025, and estimated number likely to receive in 2026-2027.

Figures are rounded to the nearest 100, and may not sum due to rounding. Figures for 2025-2026 are based on the billing snapshot as at 1 June 2025. Figures for 2026-2027 are estimates based on the available valuation data.

The Scottish Government collects and publishes quarterly statistics on proposals and appeals against non-domestic rates revaluations. The publications present the position up to the end of each quarter (end of June, September, December and March). As a result, the Scottish Government does not hold data on the number of appeals that were specifically lodged against non-domestic valuations at the end of May following the last three valuations. The earliest data held is the position as at 30 June following each of the last three revaluations.

The value of each property for the purposes of non-domestic rates is assessed by the local independent Scottish Assessor, and referred to as its “rateable value”. There is a right of appeal against the Assessor’s determination of rateable value.

Following recommendations of the independent Barclay Review of Non-Domestic Rates, from 1 April 2023, a new two-stage appeals process was introduced, with an initial evidence-based proposal stage. Proposals can typically be made within four months of a revaluation or 31 July in a revaluation year. Ratepayers may then, in prescribed circumstances, appeal against the outcome of the proposal to the Local Taxation Chamber, first-tier Tribunal.

Appeals are reported when they are first notified to the Assessors by the Scottish Tribunals. As a consequence of the lodging and disposal deadlines, no appeals were reported as lodged between the 2023 revaluation on 1 April 2023, and 30 June 2023.

There was no proposal stage prior to 1 April 2023 and therefore direct comparisons between revaluations are not feasible.

In some cases, there may be multiple proposals and/or appeals lodged against the valuation of a single property, for example where both the proprietor and the tenant submit a proposal. To account for this this, table 1 shows both the total number of subjects with at least one proposal or appeal, as well as the total number of all proposals/appeals, in the period between revaluation and 30 June of the same year.

Table 1: Number of subjects with at least one proposal or appeal, and total number of proposals and appeals lodged against non-domestic valuations in the period between the valuation and 30 June that same year, following each of the last three revaluations. Figures are reported to the nearest ten.

As our national development agency, Scottish Enterprise is responsible for delivering the Scottish Government’s economic development priorities as set out by ministers.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-00442 on 5 June 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Government supports the development of integrated smart ticketing across bus and rail, including in the Strathclyde area, as part of its wider commitment to improving public transport.

As set out in the Smart, Digital, Integrated Ticketing and Payments Delivery Strategy (2024), the Scottish Government’s vision is To increase the use of sustainable public transport by providing smart and integrated ticketing, payment, and journey planning data enhancements, contributing to a healthier, fairer and more prosperous Scotland.

In the Strathclyde area, multi-modal flexi-tickets, including one-day capped tickets based on the zones travel will take place in, are already available through Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT). These are available to download onto any compatible smartcard and covers travel by ScotRail, Subway and most buses in the SPT area.

At the national level, the National Smart Ticketing Advisory Board (NSTAB), established in 2023, brings together operators, local transport authorities and passenger representatives to provide strategic advice to Ministers on smart ticketing, including the technological standard for smart ticketing.

NSTAB will also support improvements to smart ticketing and progression for development of options for a new national integrated ticketing system, reflecting passengers’ desire for integrated contactless payment and digital ticketing. Its first recommendations were laid before Scottish Ministers in October 2025, in the form of the STAR (Standards and Technology Advisory Report), which was approved at a strategic level by Ministers in January 2026.

The delivery of a Scotland wide integrated ticketing system is, however, dependent on future funding allocation and any legislation that may be required.

Thanks to investment from the Scottish Government, the East Kilbride line has recently been electrified, with the majority of services now operated by modern electric trains - delivering enhanced reliability, comfort and excellent value for money for passengers, further strengthened by our decision to remove peak fares for good and a 12-month ScotRail fare freeze from 1 April 2026.

This investment also included double tracking of part of the line which enables the resilient delivery of 4 trains per hour in the peaks.

The current timetable provides 2 trains per hour throughout the day, all week, increasing to 4 trains per hour in the peaks. Since December, the evening service has been increased to 2 trains per hour, taking it back to pre-Covid levels. The current provision meets passenger demand well.

ScotRail monitors patronage on individual routes on an ongoing basis and adjusts services accordingly, where resources allow.

Timetable development is a complex and iterative process and primarily a matter managed by ScotRail working in collaboration with Network Rail and other passenger and freight operators. Network Rail considers key constraints such as headways (safe spacing between trains), junction margins, and platform availability (headways, junction margins, and platform availability can be particular constraints on the approaches to and inside in busy stations such as Glasgow Central). Transport Scotland ensures that Scottish Government policies and strategies inform service planning decisions.