Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke MP Pamela Nash is urging the Scottish Government to ensure pubs, social clubs and live music venues in Scotland receive the same business rates support as those in England.
Nash has joined 25 other Scottish Labour MPs to issue a joint letter to Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth calling for the Scottish Government to match both the 15 per cent business rates reduction introduced in England this year and the further 20 per cent reduction announced by Prime Minister Andy Burnham from April 2027.
The MPs say businesses in their local constituencies should not miss out on support that has generated consequential funding for the Scottish Government’s budget, warning that Scotland’s hospitality sector has fallen around £200 million behind England in state support while pubs continue to close at an alarming rate.
Nash said: “Pubs, clubs and live music venues are at the heart of communities across Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke, providing good jobs and boosting our economy. But alarmingly, in 2025, one pub every single week in Scotland permanently closed its doors.
“The UK Labour Government has stepped in with business rates support, and businesses in this constituency deserve to benefit from the same support as those elsewhere in the UK.
“There is simply no reason local venues should be disadvantaged because the Scottish Government hasn’t passed these savings on.”
The letter asks the Deputy First Minister to confirm that the Scottish Government will match both business rates reductions in full and meet with the MPs to discuss the importance of the decision for hospitality businesses across Scotland.
New business rate cuts will benefit nearly 32,000 pubs, clubs and live music venues in England saving the typical pub an estimated £1,100 in the next financial year, providing much-needed certainty for businesses looking to invest, grow and create jobs.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “For too long, governments have stood by while cherished venues have disappeared from our local high streets.
“This government will back the businesses that people want to see in their communities. I said I would protect pubs and local high streets – the beating heart of our communities – and that’s what we will do.
“What we’re announcing is just the start as we work to bring back hope across the country.”
Responding, Minister for Public Finance Hannah Mary Goodlad said the 2026-27 Scottish Budget “supports business and communities with a package of reliefs worth in excess of an estimated £870 million” and that almost all – “96% of retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in Scotland” – can benefit from some form of rates relief.
She said more than 100,000 properties are eligible for the Small Business Bonus Scheme, which “remains the most generous scheme of its kind in the UK”.
She added that the Deputy First Minister has “recently announced a comprehensive review of non-domestic rates”, which will look at “improvements and reforms that can be made to the system, working closely with business to ensure the system provides the clarity, incentive, and transparency which businesses need”.
The Scottish Government is “seeking clarity from the UK Government on how their announcement will affect funding for Scotland’s block grant”, with its own decisions on rates and reliefs to be set out “in the normal way as part of the Scottish Budget”.
Ms Goodlad said tackling the cost of living crisis is “top of the Scottish Government’s agenda”, citing plans to “ensure essential food items in supermarkets are affordable”, expand childcare support “to all children from nine-months to the end of primary school”, and introduce “a £2 nationwide cap on bus fares to lower the cost of people’s commute”.
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