The consequentials associated with the UK Government’s policy of extending the 75% business rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure premises in England in 2023-24 were confirmed in the Autumn Statement on 17 November 2022.

Unite’s Fair Hospitality Charter contains many important elements which the Scottish Government continues to promote through Fair Work First, such as payment of at least the Real Living Wage, appropriate channels for effective workers’ voice through trade union recognition and no inappropriate use of zero hours contracts.

Everyone should expect to be properly rewarded for their work and treated correctly with respect, free from any forms of harassment. The Scottish Government is committed to working with trade unions and industry to ensure Scotland is the best place to live, work, invest and do business, and Fair Work is the foundation to this.

There remain many challenges in our key sectors, therefore it is essential that we all work together – Government, employers, employees and trade unions – to create a hospitality industry with fair work at its heart and for all. The industry-led National Tourism Strategy; Outlook 2030 commits to support and enable the adoption of fair work practices in Scotland’s tourism and hospitality sector.

The outcomes and recommendations of the independent Fair Work Convention inquiry into hospitality, due in Spring 2024, will be reviewed to provide further insight into how we can increase the adoption of fair work practices for the sector.

The Scottish Government looks forward to continuing partnership working with unions and industry.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting strong Trade Unions in Scotland for the benefit of workers and our economy. Trade unions are key social partners in delivering our economic and social aspirations and we are committed to working in partnership with the STUC and affiliates to promote and support trade union membership in the hospitality sector.

I meet with Tourism and Hospitality Trade Unions biannually to discuss current issues within the sector and the representatives have been engaged in a number of policy developments, including our National Strategy for Economic Transformation and being part of the Tourism and Hospitality Leadership Group.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the hospitality and night-time industry, having been the hardest hit of all sectors from the Covid-19 pandemic and cost crises.

The Scottish Budget 2023-24 ensures the lowest poundage in the UK for the fifth year in a row and supports a package of rates relief worth an estimated £749 million, including the Small Business Bonus Scheme. Around half of properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors are eligible for 100% relief this financial year. Decisions on non-domestic rates for 2024-25 will be made as part of the Scottish Budget, which will be published on 19 December.

The Scottish Government is also supporting the sector through the Tourism and Hospitality Industry Leadership Group and through the New Deal for Business Group. In addition, the Town Centre Action Plan aims to revitalise our towns and town centres, which contributes to supporting the night-time economy.

Our recent request of the UK Government for a reduced rate of VAT for the hospitality sector was rejected.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23787 on 12 December 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The accreditation scheme is managed by Living Wage Scotland, where individual employers go through an application process to obtain accredited status. A directory for all currently accredited employers is available to view on the Living Wage Scotland website at the below page, and can be filtered by Local Authority:

https://scottishlivingwage.org/employer-directory/

The Scottish Government has no single metric for measuring the diversity of land ownership. Our approach is to examine the evidence of patterns of ownership structures in the context of the different concerns that may be raised, in relation to land ownership and control.

Diversity may be measured at national, regional or local scale, and/or may seek to assess the extent, value or type of land owned (or controlled) by public, private or third sector organisations respectively. Within the private sector, the extent/value/type of land owned can be linked to the number and/or types of owners (individuals, trusts, companies/shareholders, overseas investors, unlisted companies, pension funds, etc.) A company, trust or pension fund could be a single entity, but benefit a number of individuals.

The expansion of community ownership is a key priority for us and we monitor the progress made by the community ownership sector in terms of acquiring land and land assets, see Community Ownership in Scotland 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Our position on the current picture with regard to diversity of land ownership in Scotland is set out in the second and third principles of our Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement:

2. There should be a more diverse pattern of land ownership and tenure, with more opportunities for citizens to own, lease and have access to land.

3. More local communities should have the opportunity to own, lease or use buildings and land which can contribute to their community's wellbeing and future development.

Finally, we set out in our consultation on the forthcoming Land Reform Bill, Land Reform in a Net Zero Nation , our commitment “to making reforms that will contribute to the diversification of ownership of land in Scotland.”

Scotland has one of the lowest levels of low pay, insecure work and low paid insecure work across all UK regions, however with 17% of workers in Scotland classed as being in insecure work (which is deeply connected to low pay), we are not complacent. Although employment law is reserved to the UK Government, we are committed to mainstreaming Fair Work throughout Scotland. Our Fair Work Action Plan aims to use the levers that we have control over to ensure that all parts of the Scottish Government set out collectively what we can do to discourage the use of precarious contracts. Our Fair Work First criteria have been applied to over £4bn of public sector funding since 2019 – driving fair work practices across the labour market. For public sector grants awarded on or after 1 July 2023 we have introduced a requirement to pay at least the real Living Wage to all employees, and provide appropriate channels for effective voice, within the bounds of what we can do within devolved competence.

On 6 November 2023, the Scottish Government announced its accreditation as a Living Hours employer, the first government in the UK to do so. The Living Hours scheme recognises that in addition to payment of the real Living Wage, number and frequency of work hours are critical to tackling in-work poverty. Criteria to accredit also includes providing a contract reflecting accurate hours worked, a guaranteed minimum of 16 hours a week (unless the worker requests otherwise), and at least 4 weeks’ notice of shifts and guaranteed payment if shifts are cancelled within this period.

The Scottish Government has developed guidance to ensure that Bills can operate effectively in the wider policy and regulatory framework into which they will be introduced. As part of the development of the Bill this may (where relevant) require formal impact assessments to be carried out. These are:

• Business and regulatory impact assessment (BRIA)
• Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA)
• Data Protection Impact Assessment
• Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA)
• Fairer Scotland Duty assessment
• Future proofing legislation
• Human rights in policy making
• Islands Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA)
• Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA)

Where appropriate, issues raised in relation to housing, jobs, food production and rural depopulation will be addressed through these formal impact assessments.

We set out in our consultation document, Land Reform in a Net Zero Nation , ( Land Reform in a Net Zero Nation - Scottish Government consultations - Citizen Space ), our proposals for measures to be included in the next Land Reform Bill, and sought views on their impact in the areas listed above. In addition to taking account of the responses to this, and other questions in the consultation, officials continue to engage with internal and external stakeholders with interests in housing, jobs, food production and rural depopulation.