Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 18 March 2026 [Draft]
18 Mar 2026 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Portfolio Question Time
Non-domestic Rates (Business Confidence and Investment)
The number of businesses in critical distress in Scotland is rising faster than anywhere else in the United Kingdom—it has gone up more than 80 per cent in a year. The Fraser of Allander Institute reports that each of its headline business confidence indicators has been negative for five consecutive quarters, and 15,000 fewer people are on Scottish business payrolls than was the case a year ago. When the minister stands to defend frozen rates thresholds that have barely moved in half a decade, does he not see that as part of a wider picture—a Scottish National Party Government that has squeezed businesses from every direction and is now watching them close?
In the same item of business
1. Sharon Dowey (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on business confidence and investment of non-domestic rates thresholds having limite...
The Minister for Public Finance (Ivan McKee)
SNP
Annual decisions on non-domestic rates are made in the context of prevailing economic conditions and Government priorities at the time. Our budget supports b...
Sharon Dowey
Con
The number of businesses in critical distress in Scotland is rising faster than anywhere else in the United Kingdom—it has gone up more than 80 per cent in a...
Ivan McKee
SNP
As I indicated, many factors are impacting on the situation, not least the UK Government’s action on employer national insurance contributions.I remind the m...
Bill Kidd (Glasgow Anniesland) (SNP)
SNP
According to the Bank of Scotland and the “Business Barometer”, business confidence in Scotland is continuing its upward trend as firms embrace new tech and ...
Ivan McKee
SNP
Bill Kidd has raised an important point about the fact that Scotland’s business confidence is continuing its upward trend on that measure. Although cost pres...