Committee
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee 04 March 2026 [Draft]
04 Mar 2026 · S6 · Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Item of business
Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
Amendment 13 is about responsible flexibility. The bill—quite rightly—extends the scope for local authorities to modify their visitor levy schemes. That is consistent with the principle of local discretion, but discretion must sit alongside discipline. When a council proposes to modify a scheme in a way that increases the rate of the levy, that is not a minor technical adjustment; it has real-world consequences for accommodation providers, for pricing, for competitiveness and, ultimately, for visitor behaviour.Amendment 13 would simply require that such a step is accompanied by a clear and transparent assessment of business impact. Tourism in Scotland is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises. Many such businesses are family run and many operate seasonally. Many, particularly in rural and island areas, face structural cost pressures that their urban counterparts do not. An increase that looks modest on paper may be material in practice.At stage 1, we heard evidence that some councils paused their schemes in the light of concerns about implementation and proportionality. That was not obstruction; it was evidence of responsiveness.Amendment 13 would build that responsiveness into statute by ensuring that any increase is based on evidence and publicly justified. It would not prevent a council from increasing the levy. If the case is strong and the impact manageable, the evidence will demonstrate that. It would prevent an increase being made without a structured understanding of an economic impact. That is good governance. It strengthens accountability and gives businesses clarity and confidence that changes will not be made lightly.If the levy is to endure, it must command on-going consent. Consent depends on transparency and proportionality. Amendment 13 reinforces both, and I invite colleagues to support it.
In the same item of business
14:53
The Convener
Green
Agenda item 2 is stage 2 consideration of the Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill. I thank members for accommodating the last-minute scheduling changes....
The Convener
Green
The first group is on the setting of fixed amounts of levy per room or area, per night. Amendment 1, in the name of the minister, is grouped with amendments ...
The Minister for Public Finance (Ivan McKee)
SNP
Amendments 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8 relate to setting the levy on a fixed-amount basis. The bill as introduced sought to modify the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024 ...
The Convener
Green
The next group is on modification of visitor levy schemes. Amendment 4, in the name of the minister, is grouped with amendments 13, 6 and 11.
Ivan McKee
SNP
Amendment 4 responds to feedback from local government, industry and committee members on the implementation periods that may be applied to visitor levy sche...
Stephen Kerr
Con
Amendment 13 is about responsible flexibility. The bill—quite rightly—extends the scope for local authorities to modify their visitor levy schemes. That is c...
The Convener
Green
I call the minister to wind up.
Ivan McKee
SNP
I have nothing to add, convener.Amendment 4 agreed to.
The Convener
Green
The next group is on the application and effect of the levy on rural and island communities. Amendment 12, in the name of Stephen Kerr, is grouped with amend...
Stephen Kerr
Con
I will confine my remarks to amendment 12, which is about recognising something that ought to be self-evident—that Scotland is not economically uniform. A po...
Tim Eagle (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
I draw members’ attention to my entry in the register of members’ interests. I am a small farmer and therefore operate a business in a rural area, albeit tha...
Ivan McKee
SNP
Amendment 12, in the name of Stephen Kerr, would prevent a local authority from imposing a visitor levy“if that levy would worsen geographic disadvantage fel...
Stephen Kerr
Con
Would you not accept that all that amendment 12 seeks to do is to guarantee that the voices of those very business that the minister has just described are h...
Ivan McKee
SNP
I will come on to cover the point that the member raises later in my remarks.Amendment 12 refers to a standard that mixes subjective and objective criteria b...
Stephen Kerr
Con
I listened to your concerns about the wording of the amendment. If we talked about changing the wording, so that the concerns that are reflected in amendment...
Ivan McKee
SNP
As I have said, there is already a mechanism to enable that to happen, through the community impact assessments and through the work that the local authority...
The Convener
Green
Stephen Kerr to wind up and press or withdraw amendment 12.
Stephen Kerr
Con
I intervened on the minister because I thought that he had found something in the substance of my amendment 12 that he felt was lacking and that could be att...
The Convener
Green
The question is, that amendment 12 be agreed to. Are we agreed?Members: No.
The Convener
Green
There will be a division.
ForKerr, Stephen (Central Scotland) (Con)Stewart, Alexander (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)AgainstBurgess, Ariane (Highlands and Islands) (Green)Coffey, Willie...
The Convener
Green
The result of the division is: For 2, Against 5, Abstentions 0.Amendment 12 disagreed to.Section 2 agreed to.After section 2Amendment 13 moved—Stephen Kerr.
The Convener
Green
The question is, that amendment 13 be agreed to. Are we agreed?Members: No.
The Convener
Green
There will be a division.
ForKerr, Stephen (Central Scotland) (Con)Stewart, Alexander (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)AgainstBurgess, Ariane (Highlands and Islands) (Green)Coffey, Willie...
The Convener
Green
The result of the division is: For 2, Against 5, Abstentions 0.Amendment 13 disagreed to.
The Convener
Green
Group 4 is on the use of levy proceeds. Amendment 14, in the name of Stephen Kerr, is grouped with amendments 15 to 18.
Stephen Kerr
Con
The next three groups consist entirely of my amendments. I will comment on them as swiftly as I can.Amendments 14 to 18 go to the very heart of public confid...
Ivan McKee
SNP
This group of amendments seeks to modify section 19 of the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024. Section 19 requires net proceeds to be used to facilitate the ac...