Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

VAT: Tourism and Hospitality

Tuesday 20 October 2020 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The temporary reduced rate of VAT for tourism and hospitality was introduced on 15 July 2020 to support over 150,000 businesses and safeguard 2.4 million jobs.
  • The VAT reduction scheme was extended to end on 31 March 2021.
  • An additional 465 million has been committed to local authorities through the tiering scheme to support high alert areas.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Mary Robinson Con
Taxation
Context

The temporary reduced VAT rate for tourism and hospitality was introduced in July 2020 to support businesses and jobs, but concerns have arisen about its extension and effectiveness.

Question

What recent assessment has been made of the effect of the temporary changes in VAT on businesses in the tourism and hospitality sectors?

Answer from Jesse Norman

The temporary reduced rate for tourism and hospitality came into effect on 15 July 2020, helping over 150,000 businesses and protecting 2.4 million jobs. The scheme was extended to end on 31 March 2021.

Answered
Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q2 Mary Robinson Con
Taxation
Context

Cheadle's hospitality sector faces further restrictions under tier 3, despite the reduced VAT rate being beneficial. The questioner seeks an extension of the scheme in these areas.

Question

Will the Minister consider extending the reduced VAT scheme further in areas that go into tier 3 so they can benefit from it as businesses in other parts do?

Answer from Jesse Norman

We have extended the VAT reduction and introduced a payment process for those with VAT debt. Additionally, £465 million has been committed to local authorities through the tiering scheme to support high alert areas.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer does not directly address extending the reduced VAT scheme specifically for tier 3 areas.

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)