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The Herald Scotland
18-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Tourist chiefs call out Edinburgh on 'unworkable' levy
Businesses are expected to begin displaying an accurate levy to all guests on October 1 this year for all stays starting from July 24, 2026. However, with less than three months to go until October, tourism bosses says businesses are still waiting for the guidance they need. In a letter to the leader of City of Edinburgh Council, Jane Meagher, and all council members, a range of groups representing the Scottish tourism industry warn that the timeline for implementing the new levy 'remains unworkable at present'. 'The current roll-out timeline for business required to apply the levy places unnecessary and avoidable strain on the sector,' the letter states. 'With less than three months remaining before accommodation providers must begin displaying levy-inclusive pricing, there is still no practical or technical guidance from the council or VisitScotland, despite assurances this would be received like the guidance that was published for local authorities back in October 2024. 'While the levy may appear simple, its application is complex - particularly given the intricacies of accommodation pricing and booking systems. These challenges have been clearly communicated to the Scottish Government, VisitScotland, and the council and are at the heart of why guidance is imperative ahead of implementation. With no guidance, there can be no successful implementation. We urge the council to recognise the serious risk this lack of guidance poses - especially as [[Edinburgh]] leads the way as the first to charge a levy in Scotland.' I love Scotland but returning from holiday made my heart sink Edinburgh firm outguns forecasts after snubbing £1bn takeover approach 'We believe in Glasgow': Developer gives city huge vote of confidence Scots legal giant cites 'resilience and ambition' as latest results revealed The industry's frustration over the lack of guidance is the latest in a series of concerns business groups have highlighted over the operation of tourism taxes in Scotland. In May, nearly 80 groups representing thousands of tourism and hospitality businesses wrote to Minister for Public Finance Ivan McKee to underline their fears about the implementation of the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act. In the letter, business chiefs stated that the legislation as it stands will place the burden for collecting the tax on companies already under pressure from protracted cost inflation, and warned that operating the levy could tip many small operators over the value-added tax (VAT) threshold. This could lead to some withdrawing from the accommodation market because it would be financially prohibitive, the letter stated. Industry groups called for the legislation to be changed to make the system more workable. A proposal was tabled to replace the current model of charging tourists a percentage on the cost of an overnight stay with a fixed fee, and for a digital QR system to be introduced to remove the responsibility of collecting the tax from businesses. More generally, tourism chiefs have expressed concern that adding a tax to overnight stays in Edinburgh could undermine its competitiveness on the global tourism stage. The letter to City of [[Edinburgh]] Council, which was signed by bodies such as the Scottish Tourism Alliance, UK Hospitality (Scotland), [[Edinburgh]] Hotels Association, the Association of Scotland's Self Caterers, and the Association of Scotland's Visitor Attractions, adds: 'To be clear, as an industry we are not trying to halt the levy being applied in [[Edinburgh]] by July 24, 2026, but are asking for a realistic timeline for implementation ahead of this date to comply with what is legally required of us. 'This constitutes a new era for how accommodation is priced in Edinburgh and Scotland more broadly, and the levy will likely be with us for many years to come – it's therefore critical that the implementation is handled in a way that ensures long-term functionality and credibility.'
Daily Record
13-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Scottish Government accused of trying to 'railroad through' Flamingo Land resort
Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie said SNP minister Ivan McKee was treating local opponents to the controversial £43.5million bid with 'disdain'. The Scottish Government has been accused of trying to 'railroad through' Flamingo Land's Loch Lomond resort. Labour MSP for Dumbarton Jackie Baillie said SNP minister Ivan McKee was treating local opponents to the controversial £43.5million bid with 'disdain' and added he should not be allowed to decide the case. It comes after the proposed Lomond Banks resort in Balloch by Yorkshire theme park firm Flamingo Land was rejected by Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park last year. The SNP sparked an outcry when in May its Reporter David Buylla overruled them and green-lit the resort – a decision initially backed by public finance minister McKee. Last month McKee was forced into a U-turn amid local opposition and the threat of a parliamentary defeat led by Baillie and has 'called in' the appeal, meaning it must be directly considered by ministers. Baillie has warned Holyrood chiefs against trying to rush through a decision while MSPs are on holiday – as the Sunday Mail can reveal officials set out a speeded-up six-week timeline. The Scottish Labour deputy leader said: 'David Buylla, the original Reporter, already made a decision and Ivan McKee has already taken a view in Parliament. In the interests of fairness neither should have anything further to do with this application." The planned holiday resort in Balloch - long opposed by local and green campaigners - would see a waterpark, a monorail, hotels, a brewery, 104 woodland chalets and more built along the iconic loch. Developers insist it will bring jobs and investment to the area. We told last week of Buylla's continued involvement in the appeal despite previously backing the bid, with activists branding the process a 'sham'. Further questions have been raised after new correspondence from Buylla set out a new six-week timeline for developers, with input from the National Park, to produce a key planning agreement needed if the bid goes ahead. After his initial decision, Buylla had set out a six-month timeline, with no explanation provided about why this has been so drastically shortened. It's raised fears the government could dodge parliamentary scrutiny on the issue given MSPs don't return from summer recess until August 31. Buylla has set a 'target date' of September 11 to produce his final report for ministers. Baillie added: 'The SNP Government must not rush this through without public hearings on key concerns. 'This lack of accountability is a democratic outrage. "The SNP must stop railroading this application through and respond to the public concerns in an open and transparent manner or leave themselves open to judicial review." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. Green MSP Ross Greer said: 'The future of the gateway to Loch Lomond cannot be decided behind closed doors. "The National Park's board held a full public hearing before unanimously rejecting Flamingo Land's destructive plans. The Scottish Government must do the same. 'The Reporter made a huge mistake at the appeal stage by refusing to speak to groups like the National Park's planning experts or community representatives. Ministers cannot repeat that mistake as they try to rush this to a conclusion." The Scottish Government said: 'Ministers have not reached or expressed a view on this proposed development, and any claim to the contrary is false. As this is a live planning appeal it would not be appropriate to comment further.'
The Herald Scotland
09-07-2025
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
We need a different approach to the delivery of public services
Chief among them was Scotland's Public Services Reform Strategy – Delivering for Scotland. In his foreword to it, Ivan McKee, Minister for Public Finance, acknowledges that Campbell Christie's vision has not been delivered to its full potential. Some might argue that those words underplay the scale of the deficit. Whatever the truth, it is unarguable that nowhere is the gap between ambition and progress more acutely felt than in relation to health inequalities. In its 2023 report, Leave No One Behind, the Health Foundation asserted that the persistence of health inequalities in Scotland over the previous decade was related to three underlying factors – the accumulation of severe multiple disadvantage, a stagnation in living standards and, tellingly, the fragility of public services in the wake of austerity. It is welcome therefore that the Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework and the Population Health Framework were also published as the recess approached. While the former is concerned with health and social care delivery, the latter recognises that progress on improving health and reducing inequalities requires action beyond those services. In doing so it echoes Leave No One Behind's focus on the socio-economic determinants of health – income, housing, education, employment. While early health interventions matter, it is prevention which will determine whether Scotland can reverse the tide of worsening health inequalities – among the worst in western Europe – over the next decade. But in their response to the Population Health Framework, analysts at the Scottish Health Equity Research Unit, funded by the Health Foundation, have questioned how far its specific actions reach beyond health and social care. While welcoming the framework's focus on prevention, they point out that actions in crucial areas such as housing are more limited. They call for a broader range of cross-government actions, clearer implementation plans and robust monitoring and evaluation. However, they also recognise that the Public Services Reform Strategy shines a light on the very things which need to happen to ensure intention is met with action – clearer leadership, greater accountability and, critically, budget processes that enable the long overdue shift to preventative spend. Despite fiscal challenges, funding can and must be reshaped to support a different approach to the delivery of hard-pressed public services. Campbell Christie died just four months after his landmark report was published. For those living in Scotland's most deprived communities, where the gap in healthy life expectancy compared to those in the least deprived reaches 25 years, the changes he called for cannot come a moment too soon. Chris Creegan is Director of the Health Foundation's Improving Health and Reducing Inequalities in Scotland Programme Agenda is a column for outside contributors. Contact: agenda@
Daily Record
06-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Scots Gov official who approved Flamingo Land will lead the review into decision
Angry activists have blasted the process "a sham". A review of the Scottish Government's widely criticised move to approve Flamingo Land's Loch Lomond resort will be led by the same official who gave it the green light. The Sunday Mail has learned Scottish Government Reporter David Buylla – who gave the controversial £43.5million project in Balloch planning permission – will now advise SNP ministers who have been forced to call in the decision for reappraisal. Furious activists say it showed the process was a 'sham'. The government was forced to U-turn on the initial backing for the lochside resort by Buylla – a top civil servant – amid local opposition and the threat of a parliamentary defeat. Community councillor Lynne Somerville said: 'It beggars belief they're allowing the same man that caused this outrage in the first place to write this new report. There's a complete conflict of interest and I think that really needs to be recognised by the Scottish Government.' Board members of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park are also opposed to the development. Dubbed ' Lomond Banks', the resort by Yorkshire theme park operator Flamingo Land would see a waterpark, a monorail, hotels, restaurants, a brewery and 104 woodland chalets built. After 50,000 people signed a petition urging ministers to reconsider the decision, Public Finance Minister Ivan McKee 'called in' the appeal last month, meaning ministers will consider it directly. But we can reveal the same Reporter, Buylla, is tasked with writing a new report including recommendations to inform McKee's decision. Somerville said: 'Why does Ivan McKee or anyone else think it's appropriate the same man is being asked to produce the report that will influence, guide and steer the outcome? "It's like they are trying to hide behind him and he is being used as the proverbial scapegoat. It does not paint the Scottish Government in a good light.' Scottish Government Reporters are civil servants within the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) who decide on planning appeals. Buylla is one of five principal reporters at the DPEA, which also has a chief reporter and three assistant chief reporters. Alannah Maurer, campaigner with the Save Loch Lomond campaign, said: 'You'd assume someone else would have been assigned. You have to consider professional integrity because how does he say anything other than what he previously said? 'It's absolutely clear there is no democracy, particularly where planning is concerned. The developer can appeal but the public has no right of appeal. 'Our best hope is that ministers will see sense, pay attention to the public – but it's clear public opinion counts for nothing.' Buylla's continued involvement in the appeal was first revealed by environmental campaigner and blogger Nick Kempe, who branded Scotland's planning system a 'farce'. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. He wrote last week: "It appears the DPEA is still very much in charge. 'Without any instructions/steer from Mr McKee about what he wishes Mr Buylla to reconsider, it is difficult to see why he would change anything substantial in his report.' Tory West Scotland MSP Pam Gosal said: 'Given the controversy surrounding the SNP's handling of this issue, serious questions must be answered about the appropriateness of this latest appointment. 'Instead of continually forcing solutions and railroading their plans through parliament, SNP ministers should instead heed the widespread concerns of locals who firmly oppose the Flamingo Land proposals at Loch Lomond.' Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer commented: 'Ministers cannot hide behind officials when the gateway to Loch Lomond is at stake. They need to take control of this process themselves. 'For a start, they must do what did not happen at the appeal stage; speak to the community, to myself and others like the Woodland Trust who submitted substantial evidence against Flamingo Land's destructive plans. 'They absolutely must speak to the National Park's own planning experts, whose report advising their board to reject the application was clearly badly misunderstood by Government officials.'The Planning Minister should call a public hearing and come to his own decision based on the evidence. Rehashing the same flawed report from officials and waiting until after next year's election to sign it off would be totally unacceptable." Last month, developers Lomond Banks criticised the decision to recall the decision to approve and hit out at "hysteria" over the proposals which they say will bring much-needed jobs and investment to the area. A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: 'Ministers decided to recall the Lomond Banks appeal as the proposed development raises issues of national significance in view of its potential impact on Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. 'As this is a live planning appeal it would not be appropriate to comment further.'
The National
26-06-2025
- Business
- The National
No changes to council tax 'in this decade', says Scottish Government
Ministers won't undertake a 'revaluation' of Council Tax as there is not a 'broad political consensus' in favour of one, a spokesperson for the government said. It comes after Public Finance Minister Ivan McKee told BBC Scotland that a revaluation of council tax bands in Scotland was 'absolutely needed'. McKee said plans were being worked on but there would be 'winners and losers'. READ MORE: YouGov poll predicts result in every Scottish seat – see the full map Currently, council tax bands are based on property values from 1991, but since then house prices have surged. Revaluation could see some homes put into more expensive bands, while others would see cuts in council tax bills. However, the Scottish Government poured cold water on any imminent changes, and said its talks with Cosla, the local government body, were intended to 'inform public debate'. McKee told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that it was important to get 'political consensus' in Holyrood. 'There's absolutely a need for revaluation, and plans for that are being worked on just now,' he said. "That creates a lot of issues if people are changing the value of their property significantly in a very short period of time. "That's going to impact how you do the transition." Following the interview, a Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'We will not undertake a Council Tax revaluation. 'Ministers believe any suggestion of a revaluation could only proceed if a broad political consensus in favour existed. READ MORE: Patrick Harvie and Angus Robertson face-off over Israel divestment 'They do not believe that consensus currently exists. 'Any changes to Council Tax must also be informed by robust evidence and wide public consultation. 'Our joint programme of engagement with Cosla on options for reform is intended to inform that public debate. 'This process will run for a number of years. Ministers believe any plan for substantial reform thereafter, including any suggestion of revaluation, would require a mandate from a Scottish Parliament Election and that this will not be possible this decade.' We previously told how analysis carried out by the Commission on Local Tax Reform suggested that over half of all properties in Scotland would have changed band if there had been a revaluation in 2014. And, a budding MSP has drawn up draft legislation for replacing council tax and allowing local authorities to replace it with a property tax based on the real market value of homes.
