Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 19 March 2026 [Draft]
19 Mar 2026 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3
There is a massive, gaping hole in the minister’s argument where he said that Parliament agreed the schemes and therefore we should stick with them. The reason that the bill is in front of us is that we accepted that the original legislation was deeply flawed and we had to bring it back to amend it, which is what we are trying to do. His logic fails him on that particular aspect.
We have lodged the amendments in this group in response to requests from the industry, which sees this as a major challenge. People are booking in advance without realising what the final cost is going to be. As we have heard, people who are coming to Scotland are booking overseas tours with tour operators. They are planning well in advance—sometimes a year or two years in advance—and the operators do not know the total cost that they will pass on to their clients. It is a major burden, and that is why industry is concerned.
I press amendment 12.
In the same item of business
15:00
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
The next item of business is stage 3 proceedings on the Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill. In dealing with the amendments, members should have the bil...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
Group 1 is entitled “Visitor levy scheme modifications: basis and setting of levy”. Amendment 1, in the name of the Minister for Public Finance, is grouped w...
The Minister for Public Finance (Ivan McKee)
SNP
Amendments 1, 2, 3 and 17 to 20 are technical amendments in connection with the bill’s provisions that introduce a new basis for setting the visitor levy and...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
No other members have asked to speak. Is there anything else that you would like to add, minister?
Ivan McKee
SNP
I have nothing to add.Amendment 1 agreed to.Amendments 2 and 3 moved—Ivan McKee—and agreed to.After section 1
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
Group 2 is on visitor levy schemes. Amendment 4, in the name of the minister, is grouped with amendments 8 to 11, 14 to 16 and 23.
Ivan McKee
SNP
Group 2 contains nine amendments that provide for an explicit power to allow local authorities, if they choose to do so, to permit the accommodation provider...
Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
I will comment briefly on the group. I welcome the amendments. They deal with an issue that has been raised by many accommodation providers, which is that th...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
I call Ivan McKee to wind up and to press or withdraw amendment 4.
Ivan McKee
SNP
I agree with Murdo Fraser that it is important to ensure, as we have done throughout this process, that the administrative burden on and costs for businesses...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
Amendment 5, in the name of Murdo Fraser, is grouped with amendments 6, 25, 26 and 32.
Murdo Fraser
Con
The Scottish Conservatives support the bill, which makes much-needed corrections to the original flawed legislation. I will say more about that context in th...
Stephen Kerr (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
As Murdo Fraser has said, the amendments in this group relate to the practical application of the visitor levy and whether the legislation will properly reco...
Mark Griffin (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I take on board the points that Murdo Fraser and Stephen Kerr are making. My concern is whether we should not give local authorities the flexibility to ultim...
Stephen Kerr
Con
I understand Mark Griffin’s argument. However, when it comes to the introduction of any new taxation, particularly given the straitened financial affairs of ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
I call Tim Eagle to speak to amendment 26 and other amendments in the group.15:15
Tim Eagle (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
I do not intend to speak for very long.At stage 2, I brought to the committee a concern and a national exemption on health grounds. My theory is that, in the...
Ivan McKee
SNP
The Scottish Government will oppose all the amendments in the group.Amendments 5 and 6, in the name of Murdo Fraser, seek to adjust the definition of “overni...
Jamie Halcro Johnston (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
Does the minister accept that, if patients from Orkney, Shetland or somewhere else go down to a council area in the central belt—perhaps with family or someb...
Ivan McKee
SNP
The key point is local flexibility and allowing local authorities the ability to manage the scheme as they see fit. I am sure that councils are perfectly cap...
Tim Eagle
Con
I want you to reconsider that position. I am not sure that I understand what the objection is to having such exemptions, because it seems perfectly right to ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
Always speak through the chair.
Ivan McKee
SNP
As I have already said, the scheme is deliberately designed to give local authorities the ability to tailor it to suit local circumstances.Amendment 32, in t...
Stephen Kerr
Con
Does the minister accept that an unintended consequence of not putting such an assessment in the bill might be that that this important part of the tourism e...
Ivan McKee
SNP
I am sure that local authorities will consider that point carefully, because they understand the local circumstances and the business profile of such provide...
Murdo Fraser
Con
I will respond briefly to the points that have been made, and I will begin with the points that were made by Tim Eagle and by Jamie Halcro Johnston in his in...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
The question is, that amendment 5 be agreed to. Are we agreed?Members: No.
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
There will be a division.As this is the first division of stage 3, I will suspend the meeting for around five minutes to allow members to access the digital ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
We come to the division on amendment 5. Members should cast their votes now.