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No, and there are clear lines that we need to observe in terms of corporate hospitality. [Laughter.]

Yes. There are two points to make about that. There is a tool for calculating what a business thinks that it is eligible for, and there is the process of applying for the relief. I will let Anouk Berthier answer on the specifics of applying for reliefs.

The terminology is laid out by the Scottish Government, but if councils are choosing to call the reliefs something different, we can advise them that that is not helpful. The Scottish Government uses the terminology that is used in the Budget (Scotland) Bill and the instruments that we are taking forward. We produce guidance for local authorities that sets out how they should communicate on the issue.

I go back to the point about complexity. We do not make things complex because we enjoy complexity. The complexity is a result of the fact that we have responded to businesses that have asked for reliefs in various different circumstances that they judge to be important. At the end of the day, it is fairly straightforward: a business will receive a rates bill and it will pay its rates. The relief package—which, as I have said, is extensive and is worth more than £800 million—has been provided to support businesses and to allow them to pay less. That is what is important to them.

Anouk Berthier can talk about the guidance that is issued to councils.

That is a good question. I will ask my officials to check whether we have that number to hand.

As I said, we have been very engaged with the sector and in particular, the licensed hospitality sector’s concerns about methodology. I have raised the issue a number of times with the NDR group, which represents several sectors. I said that I am very open to suggestions if it wants to come forward with proposals on how to spend the £750 million of reliefs—that was the figure for last year—which we are increasing to £830 million this coming year. However, as I have said, no matter how much we charge for rates, there will always be people who say that they are too much—of course there will be, because that is the nature of doing business.

We are taking significant steps and putting in significant amounts of money to support the sector. The Gill review has been set up specifically to assess whether alternative methodologies can be used. As I say, whatever we come forward with, I am sure that there will be people who say that it should be done in a different way.

There are two separate issues there. We have done extensive work on the UK Government’s measures on increases to employers’ national insurance contributions, including on the impact on different parts of the private sector, on the third sector and on the public sector. That work was done when those measures were taken forward. The increases have had a significant impact on businesses, particularly in the sectors that we are talking about today.

The Gill review will focus on the best methodology for licensed hospitality. It is taking extensive input from the sector. The review is staffed by individuals who have extensive experience in assessing businesses for rates, so it will be interesting to see what they come back with, and we look forward to seeing their recommendations.

A lot of this stuff happened as we made the budget announcements and as we heard from the UK Government what its changes were and how much we had to allocate through those additional reliefs. The team has therefore worked at pace to put ready reckoners out there so that businesses in a particular situation can log on or dial in, put their numbers in, and see what the impact on their individual circumstances is.

The methodology is there. However, you cannot have it both ways. You cannot ask for targeted reliefs and reliefs that support businesses in transition and, at the same time, say that there are too many reliefs. As I said, if anyone has a proposal on how to simplify it, I would be keen to hear it. However, I think that if we were to make any changes, we would, rightly, have sectors or businesses in particular circumstances raising issues about the fact that they were losing out on some of those reliefs.

Thank you, convener. I am pleased to join the committee today to assist in members’ scrutiny of the Non-Domestic Rates (Levying and Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2026.

The regulations provide for a range of non-domestic rates measures in 2026-27 that were introduced in the budget, including the setting of the supplements on top of the basic property rates, which create intermediate and higher property rates that apply to properties with rateable values of more than £51,000 and more than £100,000 respectively; the continuation of the small business bonus scheme and fresh start reliefs; and the introduction of the new 10-year electric vehicle charging point relief.

From 1 April 2026, shootings and deer forests will be excluded from eligibility for small business bonus scheme relief and fresh start relief, subject to some exemptions. I met members of the non-domestic rates consultative group immediately after the UK and Scottish budgets to hear their views and suggestions. In the development of the regulations, careful consideration was given to any concerns raised by businesses, including those in the rural sector, about the risks of unintended consequences.

I am happy to answer any questions that the committee might have.

It is not normal to consult when we are making changes to the small business bonus scheme. That has not happened in the past. We will of course listen to the committee through this formal consultation process, and we engage closely with sector representatives on an on-going basis. As I mentioned, I worked with members of the NDR consultative group, which has a range of businesses on it, to get a sense of their thoughts on NDR matters. The Government also engaged with businesses in the rural sector following the initial budget announcement, and we made some changes as a consequence.

All those definitions are clear. Shootings are clearly specified on the NDR roll. Crofts are specified on our list of what is and is not a croft, and it is a long-established principle that agricultural landholdings do not pay NDR in any event. We believe that the regulations are clear, and the non-statutory guidance on the regulations that we will publish will clarify that further. We are happy to engage with anyone who thinks that more needs to be clarified in the guidance to make that crystal clear.