The Scottish Parliament

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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for ��˿�� to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6O-05696

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 March 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how the £9 million being invested in the Food and Drink Processing Scheme Scotland will help businesses to increase productivity, improve efficiency, and invest in new equipment and technology.

Question reference: S6O-05622

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the CashBack for Communities programme as it enters Phase 7.

Question reference: S6F-04717

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 February 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 February 2026

To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of warnings from industry leaders that high transmission charges are making wind farms in the north of Scotland uncompetitive, including any implications for its work to grow the renewable energy sector.

Question reference: S6F-04672

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 February 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 February 2026

To ask the First Minister how often he or the Scottish Ministers engage with the Scottish Government’s Washington DC International Office regarding the Scotch whisky industry and other economic interests in the United States.

Question reference: S6W-43351

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 5 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact might be for retail properties that are liable for the (a) basic and (b) intermediate rate in each of the next three years as a result of the proposed retail, hospitality and leisure sectors rates relief from April 2026, which was set out in its draft Budget 2026-27.

Internal Scottish Government estimates are that up to 37,000 properties could benefit from the proposed retail, hospitality and leisure sectors reliefs set out in the draft Budget 2026-27, subject to take-up and the business level cap of £110,000. Table 1 provides a further breakdown by sector and by liability for the Basic Property Rate (BPR) and Intermediate Property Rate (IPR) respectively.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission forecasts this relief to be worth £44m in 2026-27. This figure accounts for both the business level cap and the overall assumed take-up.

The cap of £110,000 per business on the annual value of non-domestic rates reduction that a business can benefit from thanks to retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) on its properties in Scotland is set across all properties that a business is liable for and that qualify for the relief. The cap is, therefore, dependent on the combined value of RHL relief awarded to properties in these sectors. As some businesses have properties in multiple sectors or that are liable for different rates, it is not possible to accurately estimate a breakdown of the value of the proposed relief between sectors and rate liable.

Table 1: Number of properties that could benefit from the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief in 2026-27 by sector and rate

	Retail	Hospitality	Leisure	All
of which BPR	17,500	13,400	2,200	33,100
of which IPR	1,600	1,600	300	3,500
Total	19,100	15,000	2,500	36,600

See Figure S4.23, Tax Supplementary Figures, .

These figures are subject to take-up and the application of the £110,000 business level cap. They have been estimated using data from the Scottish Assessor’s Association’s draft roll for 2026-27 as at 11 December 2025

Question reference: S6W-43353

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 5 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many retail properties that are liable for the (a) basic and (b) intermediate property rate in 2026-27 will receive support from the proposed retail, hospitality and leisure sectors rates relief, which was set out in its draft Budget 2026-27.

Internal Scottish Government estimates are that up to around 19,100 retail properties could benefit from the proposed retail, hospitality and leisure sectors reliefs set out in the draft Budget 2026-27, subject to take-up and the business level cap of £110,000. Based on draft valuations by Scottish Assessors, of these, around 17,500 will be liable for the Basic Property Rate (BPR) and 1,600 will be liable for the Intermediate Property Rate (IPR) in 2026-27.

The identification of retail properties is based on property classifications, as industry sector classifications are not available.

Property classifications used by the Scottish Assessors to describe the type of a property may not accurately reflect its use. For example, a property classified as a ‘shop’ may in fact be used to offer financial services.

These figures have been estimated using data from the Scottish Assessor’s Association’s draft roll for 2026-27 as at 11 December 2025.

Question reference: S6W-43352

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 5 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has received from representatives of the retail industry in response to the proposed retail, hospitality and leisure sectors rates relief from April 2026, which was set out in its draft Budget 2026-27.

Question reference: S6O-05371

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the current status is of its plans to add sex to the characteristics covered by the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021.

Question reference: S6O-05329

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 December 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its provision of funding for humanitarian aid, what representations it has made to the UK Government in relation to humanitarian issues arising in Ukraine as a result of landmines and other explosive threats.

Question reference: S6W-42496

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Gillian Martin on 11 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how the money allocated in the Grangemouth Just Transition Fund is being used to support the acceleration of new employment and industrial opportunities across the industrial complex.

This morning, I will visit the site of MiAlgae’s new bio-reactor project Grangemouth, which will see omega-3 being produced and sold at scale. The construction of the new plant at Grangemouth is being made possible as a direct result of up to £3 million in grant funding being allocated by the Scottish and UK Governments, with £1.5 million coming from the Scottish Government’s Grangemouth Just Transition Fund.

Subject to final negotiations and confirmation of public funding conditions, we are also allocating up to £6.23 million from the Grangemouth Just Transition Fund to Celtic Renewables to support pre-construction costs associated with its at scale ABE bio-refinery project at Grangemouth.

A further additional £595,000 from the Fund to be utilised by Scottish Enterprise to progress essential enabling activities that will make progress towards Grangemouth’s transition.

I look forward to providing a fuller update to Parliament later today on the progress being made by this Government to support Grangemouth’s Just Transition to Net Zero.