New Deal for Business NDR sub group minutes June 2025

Attendees and apologies

• Ivan McKee, Minister for Public Finance (chair)
• Liz Cameron, Scottish Chambers of Commerce
• David Lonsdale, Scottish Retail Consortium
• David Melhuish, Scottish Property Federation
• Mike Grieve, Night Time Industries Association
• Barry McEwan, Newmark (formerly Gerald Eve)
• Paul Togneri, Scottish Beer and Pub Association
• Jamie Mackie, Scottish Grocers’ Federation
• Fiona Campbell, Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers
• Heather Honeyman, Scottish Assessors Association
• William McFarlane, Scottish Assessors Association
• Brian Rout, Scottish Assessors Association
• Robert Nicol, Scottish Assessors Association
• Les Robertson, Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation
• Stephen Montgomery, Scottish Hospitality Group
• Garry Clark, Federation of Small Businesses Scotland
• Leon Thompson, UK Hospitality Scotland
• Gareth Dixon, COSLA
• Mark Boyd, North Ayrshire Council
• Colin Wilkinson, Scottish Licensed Trade Association
• Scottish Government officials

Apologies

• Ellen Leaver, Scottish Government
• Stacey Dingwall, Federation of Small Businesses Scotland
• Graham Howarth, Newmark (formerly Gerald Eve)
• Marc Crothall, Scottish Tourism Alliance

Items and actions

Welcome and Update

The Minister welcomed members to the meeting and noted the apologies received. The Minister thanked Alan Puckrin from Inverclyde Council and Jonathan Sharma for their input into this group, and welcomed Mark Boyd from North Ayrshire Council and Gareth Dixon from COSLA to the group in their place. The minutes of the last meeting on 26 February were agreed, and the group agreed to adopt the new name of NDR Consultative Group.

Hospitality

The Minister noted the delays to software updates from one specific supplier which has meant some councils have been unable to apply the new 40% hospitality relief for 2025-26, and advised officials have been informed by the supplier of its intention to resolve this next month.

The Minister noted that the Programme for Government 2025-2026 committed to commissioning an independent review of the valuation of licensed hospitality properties, acknowledging the concerns raised by some in the sector. He advised that the terms and membership of the review will be confirmed in due course. The review is expected to report by the end of 2026 and any findings or recommendations will be considered in advance of the 2029 revaluation cycle.

The Minister also noted the issues reported by the self-catering sector regarding submission of evidence of letting to Assessors, and that he was meeting with Fiona Campbell and Liz Cameron next week to discuss this further. Members of the group congratulated Fiona Campbell on her recent MBE.

Stephen Montgomery welcomed the announcement of the review of the valuation of licensed hospitality premises. He asked why this was not announced when the New Deal for Business was announced, and asked if there is a budget available for the review. The Minister noted that he could not answer for announcements made when he was not part of the government. SG officials noted that there is a budget allocated for the work including research and expenses, and advised that there is an existing framework for remuneration of independent chairs which widens the pool of potential chairs.

Leon Thompson asked if the remit of the review would look at the UK Government’s approach with variable multipliers from 2026-2027. The Minister stated that any decisions on reliefs or rates would be considered at budget, not in the review which would focus on valuation methodology. Paul Togneri stated that his members welcome the review and look forward to engaging with it, and he also advised that support in the interim period from 2026-2029 would be vital to incentivise investment.

Liz Cameron asked if the Scottish Government could produce a comparative analysis ahead of the review between Scotland and other European nations.

Fiona Campbell noted the stress for self-catering businesses whose properties are being moved from the valuation roll to the council tax list despite evidence that they were let for 70 nights or more in the financial year, and advised that a solution had to be found at pace. She also noted that the assessors were considering introducing a new methodology for self-catering accommodation, and was looking forward to working with them on this.

Les Robertson noted that the administration of self-catering premises was a challenge for councils too as it affects not only billing and collection, but also domestic refuse collections and Scottish Water liabilities.

SAA Update

Heather Honeyman provided an update on the progress to the next revaluation taking effect from 1 April 2026. She noted that Assessor Information Notices had been issued and urged owners/occupiers to respond timeously. She also noted that Assessors were working on clearing proposals against the 2023 revaluation by 30 September, and that cases progressing to appeal were being listed by the Tribunal Service. She also noted that a new SAA hospitality property committee headed up by the Ayrshire Assessor had been set up.

Heather also noted that work was underway to analyse the returned information to determine appropriate rates for the next revaluation, and that the SAA are aware of which practice notes rating agents wish to engage on. She highlighted that the pre-agreement window is now open, running to 20 February 2026, and also that the 2024-25 audit of self-catering properties had commenced, and she encouraged operators to respond as soon as possible. Fiona Campbell confirmed that she was communicating actively with self-catering operators.

Liz Cameron asked if there was a short paper that could be shared with their members to reinforce messaging on revaluation timelines, and whether the sub-group could see the remit of the new SAA committee. Heather advised that the remit of SAA committees wouldn’t usually be shared but confirmed that the committee is responsible for considering the valuation of hospitality properties, and would report to Assessors and the SAA. SG officials noted that a revaluation timeline was shared with the group previously, but would be recirculated.

Fiona Campbell asked if all Assessor Information Notices were being issued via tracked delivery given the repercussions if operators did not respond, and noted that the ASSC were doing everything they can to encourage proactive provision of information. Heather confirmed that Assessors had to be mindful of budgets, and could not guarantee that requests would be sent out via tracked delivery. She also noted that cases were proceeding to Scottish Tribunals on these matters, and also that as this process of auditing self-catering properties becomes further embedded, it should become understood as a requirement.

Colin Wilkinson asked that if the UK Government introduces different poundage rates, would the Scottish Government follow. The Minister confirmed that any decision on rates and reliefs would be part of budget considerations. David Lonsdale noted that the UK Government’s proposed rates also applies to retail and leisure, and that the Welsh Government had recently announced their own thinking with a focus on retail. He asked if the Scottish Government had any insight into the UK Government’s next steps. SG officials confirmed that they didn’t expect to see anything further on this from the UK Government until the Autumn Budget.

Task Team Update (Devolution of Empty Property Relief)

SG officials confirmed that the Task Team met on 25 March to discuss an analytical paper produced by the Scottish Government on Empty Property Relief (EPR). The paper confirmed that based on billing snapshot data (which is likely an underestimate of spend for the year), expenditure on EPR in 2023-24 was 77% of the funding provided by the Scottish Government for EPR, and 23% in 2024-25. The paper also set out analysis of the impact of EPR policies on long-term empty properties but noted that as devolution of this policy was fairly recent, it was too early to identify any impact. The task team discussed calls for more support to bring listed buildings into use, issues with planning, and amendments to the valuation roll where a property is under refurbishment/reconstruction.

David Melhuish thanked the Scottish Government for their support to the task team, and advised that some stakeholders believe there is a tension in the system due to local authorities being responsible for both the planning process and charging empty property rates. Some stakeholders believe there is little incentive for local authorities to progress planning applications quickly, and that this can be a disincentive for investors.

Next Steps and Future Focus

The Minister suggested that the next meeting of this group should be scheduled for September to provide an opportunity for members to share their budget asks and priorities, followed by another meeting post-Budget for direct feedback on the Budget package. He noted that following the last meeting, members were invited to share their views on the future focus of the group and no further feedback was provided. 

David Melhuish suggested that every quarter was a reasonable timeframe for future meetings, but expressed concerns about the timing of a post-Budget meeting. The Minister confirmed that the timings would be considered when the budget timetable is known.

Liz Cameron noted that the remit of the group would be key to set expectations, and suggested that the group should consider how it interacts with the independent review of the valuation methodology of hospitality properties.

Les Robertson suggested that the group should consider looking at alternative taxes/evening the burden between businesses that pay non-domestic rates and businesses with no properties that pay no rates. He recognised this may be an issue being considered at a UK level. The Minister noted that he would be happy to consider the principle of discussing these issues in this group, but noted that what is devolved/reserved in this space would need to be unpicked.

David Lonsdale asked if there was any interaction with the Tax Advisory Group on NDR, and noted that COSLA were looking at other revenue raising options for local authorities, and that there was also a review of Council Tax. The Minister agreed that the group should be kept updated on other work happening in the tax space.

Stephen Montgomery flagged ongoing confusion from some members in relation to the 40% hospitality relief for properties with rateable values up to £51,000, and stated that some businesses were not aware they had to apply for the relief. He noted that the Scottish Hospitality Group were trying to ensure information on the relief reached their members.