The Non-Domestic Rates (Liability for Unoccupied Properties) (Scotland) Bill - Equality Impact Assessment

The Scope of the EQIA

The scope of the EQIA is to assess and highlight the direct or indirect impact of the Bill on persons who fall within the terms of the protected characteristics groups (Age, Disability, Sex, Pregnancy and Maternity, Gender Re-Assignment, Sexual Orientation, Race, Religion or Belief and Marriage or Civil Partnerships) as identified in the Equality Act 2010.

Key Findings

The valuation roll is used by local authorities as the source of information for identifying non-domestic property for the purposes of charging NDR.

As this policy relates to NDR, a tax on property, it is not possible to distinguish any potential differential impact on different sectors of society based on protected characteristics.

Characteristics of property owners or occupiers are not included on the valuation roll, as these are not relevant for rating, nor do councils generally collect or hold information on the characteristics of property owners or occupiers – protected or otherwise. It is therefore not possible to appraise the impact of a policy related to NDR on protected characteristics and to attempt to engage councils in collecting such data for this Bill would not be proportionate to the purpose or impact of the Bill.

Notwithstanding the lack of availability of data on protected characteristics, given that this is a universal tax on non-domestic premises (in the sense all rateable non-domestic premises are liable for NDR), it can be assumed that there is generally a low risk of a policy in this area having a disparate or adverse effect, direct or indirect, on protected characteristics.

Also, this Bill is concerned with instating the law regarding payments of NDR by owners of unoccupied properties as it existed prior to 1 April 2023, and as it was intended to operate and has been effectively operating in practice since 1 April 2023. If passed, it will maintain the status quo as regards payment of NDR by the owners of these properties.

Stakeholder engagement

No engagement has been carried out given the need to bring forward remedial legislation as quickly as possible following identification of the error in the 2020 Act, and given the Bill is intended to bring the law into alignment with the position as intended, as understood by local authorities and ratepayers, and as operated in practice by local authorities since 1 April 2023.