Meeting of the Parliament 24 March 2026 [Draft]
Before I get to my points about the bill, I will say a few words about some of my colleagues who are speaking in the chamber for the final time. I came to know Evelyn Tweed as a member of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee, specifically by observing her determination to ensure fairness in the approach that the Scottish Housing Regulator takes to all forms of social housing, especially community‑led housing. I learned a lot from her approach and the tenacity that she showed in that work.
I will also express gratitude to Sarah Boyack, who has been a consistent and constructive voice for climate action on the Labour benches. Again, I have learned from her approach and hope to bring what I have learned into session 7.
The debate on the bill has been constructive and important. Although this is an amending bill, it speaks to a much bigger question of how we properly resource local government in Scotland. The changes before us today—particularly the addition of a flat rate option—are sensible. They give councils more flexibility to design a visitor levy that works in their area, and they reflect engagement with the industry to make the policy more practical and deliverable.
However, we should see the bill in its wider context. For far too long, local authorities in Scotland have been asked to do more with less, and they have had limited powers to raise revenue locally. That has had real consequences for services, infrastructure and the resilience of our communities. The Scottish Greens have been clear that that needs to change. Through successive budgets and negotiations, we have pushed to expand the fiscal powers that are available to councils. That has included council tax reforms—new bands will be introduced in 2026-27 to make the system fairer and more progressive. We have also supported measures that represent a shift in approach, such as the visitor levy, and we recognise that local areas should be able to generate revenue in ways that reflect local pressures and opportunities. That is exactly what the bill supports.
The reality is that tourism brings both benefits and costs. Although it supports jobs and local economies, it also places demands on roads, waste services, public spaces and local infrastructure. Giving councils the ability to respond to those demands and to reinvest in their communities is not only reasonable but necessary. It is about moving away from a system in which local government is overly dependent on central funding and towards a more balanced, empowered and resilient model. The bill alone does not solve that challenge, but it is part of a broader direction of travel that signals that we trust local authorities and are willing to give them the tools that they need. Importantly, that has been done in a way that reflects what has been learned. The original legislation set the framework; this bill improves it and makes it more flexible, responsive and more likely to succeed in practice.
The bill is not only a technical amendment; it is another step towards a fairer and more sustainable system of local government finance—one in which communities are better supported, local decisions can be made locally, and the success of places, including their success as visitor destinations, helps them to sustain themselves into the future. Once again, I am pleased to support the bill on behalf of the Scottish Greens.