Greyhound Racing (Offences) (Scotland) Bill - Financial Memorandum - Scottish Parliament

Contact

Joanne McNaughton

(Clerk for the Committee)

Finance and Public Administration Committee

0131 348 5000

Overview

About the Bill

The Bill will make it illegal for someone who owns, or is responsible for, a greyhound or a racetrack, to race, or allow the racing of, a greyhound on an oval racetrack in Scotland.

Most tracks used for greyhound racing are oval in shape. The Bill also allows the Scottish Government to regulate to make it illegal to race greyhounds on other types of tracks. For example, this could include making it illegal to race greyhounds on a straight track.

If someone is convicted of an offence under the terms of the Bill they may be subject to a fine or prison sentence. The court may also impose other penalties. These include:

preventing someone from owning, or keeping a greyhound that was present, when the offence was committed;
banning someone from owning, keeping, or working with a greyhound for a period of time;
taking a greyhound away from someone who has been previously banned from owning, keeping, or working with a greyhound, but who has continued to do so.

Current Status of the Bill

This Bill was introduced in the Scottish Parliament by Mark Ruskell MSP on 23 April 2025.

Read and find out more about the Bill: Greyhound Racing Offences (Scotland) Bill.

Stage 1

The Rural Affairs and Islands Committee has been designated as the lead Committee for the Bill and details of that Committee’s consideration can be found on the Bill’s page on the Parliament’s website by expanding the section “Stage 1: General Principles”.

Financial Memorandum

As with all Bills, the Finance and Public Administration Committee invites written evidence on the estimated financial implications of the Bill as set out in its accompanying Financial Memorandum (FM).

Read the FM published alongside this Bill

Making a Submission

Before making a submission, please read our Privacy Notice about submitting your views to a Committee. This tells you about how we process personal data.

Please note that in most cases your submission will be published on the Scottish Parliament's website and may be quoted in the Committee's report or in Committee meetings (which are public and broadcast).

Questions in this call for views Questions in this call for views

Did you take part in any consultation exercise preceding the Bill and, if so, did you comment on the financial assumptions made?
If applicable, do you believe your comments on the financial assumptions have been accurately reflected in the FM?
Did you have sufficient time to contribute to the consultation exercise?
If the Bill has any financial implications for you or your organisation, do you believe that they have been accurately reflected in the FM? If not, please provide details.
Do you consider that the estimated costs and savings set out in the FM are reasonable and accurate?
If applicable, are you content that your organisation can meet any financial costs that it might incur as a result of the Bill? If not, how do you think these costs should be met?
Does the FM accurately reflect the margins of uncertainty associated with the Bill’s estimated costs and with the timescales over which they would be expected to arise?

The deadline to submit your views is Monday 11 August 2025.

We welcome written views in English, Gaelic, Scots or any other language. Due to the time required to process and analyse evidence, late submissions will only be accepted with the agreement of the Committee Clerk.

Submit your views

Click here to complete the submission form

Greyhound Racing (Offences) (Scotland) Bill - Financial Memorandum