Meeting of the Parliament 05 March 2026 [Draft]
With the greatest respect to Mr Lumsden, I think that the issues in relation to BrewDog’s situation have a great deal more to do with other factors than with business rates levied by the Scottish Government.
On the question of business rates, however, in the budget that was passed last week—which Mr Lumsden did not support—the Government put in place support and reliefs totalling, if my memory serves me right, more than £900 million in relation to business rates relief. We are supporting transitional relief as part of that figure to assist businesses in the hospitality sector.
The Government will, of course, engage closely with the BrewDog employees. I am deeply concerned about the way in which they have been treated. It is appalling for members of staff to be treated in this fashion. The partnership action for continuing employment initiative that the Government puts in place to support employees who lose their jobs will be available to help those from BrewDog who have lost their jobs.