Leases (Automatic continuation etc.) (Scotland) Bill: island community impact assessment

Step two – Gather your data and identify your stakeholders

What data is available about the current situation in the islands?

Most businesses, large or small, operate at least to some extent from let premises, entering into leases for a variety of uses and for widely differing durations. They are an essential building blocks of the Scottish economy and a key driver of growth and productivity, taking up 44% of all non-domestic premises that pay rates and the rateable value from those premises (which is based upon annual rent), comes to about £2.6 billion.

It has not been possible to find any data that would disaggregate this information in terms of whether let property is situated on an island or the mainland. For instance, the Registers of Scotland “Property Market Report” published in 2020-21 discusses non-residential commercial property in the context of Scotland as whole, and in the context of Scotland’s cities.

Do you need to consult?

No. Given the nature of the reforms and the fact that these would apply to commercial property held anywhere in Scotland in the same way, it is considered that there is no need to consult further.

How does any existing data differ between islands?

N/A

Are there any existing design features or mitigations in place?

The policy impact will be no different between the island community and mainland Scotland and, as a consequence, there is no need for mitigations.