EU Withdrawal: Tourism and Hospitality Industries
Debate between Earl of Courtown and Lord Harrison
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, the noble Earl is well informed on matters of the arts. The actual exchange is very important; visitors come to this country and visit art galleries, and people of all nations of the European Union are enabled to come to this country on tourist visas.
Lord Harrison (Lab)
My Lords, given that tourism and hospitality is the quintessential single market industry, could the Government not do more, for instance by reviewing the decision on air passenger duty and the moneys given to VisitEngland and other organisations that help to promote this most dynamic of all industries?
The Earl of Courtown
The noble Lord, Lord Harrison, is quite right about the dynamism of this industry. He also mentioned the VisitEngland programme, which tries to ensure that more people come to visit the United Kingdom and that once they come to the United Kingdom, particularly to the capital, London, they venture outside London to visit attractions all over the United Kingdom.
Tourism
Debate between Earl of Courtown and Lord Harrison
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, the noble Lord took most of my answers. He is quite right: everyone who works in Visitor Services does a great job. As the noble Lord suggested, last week I went to have a look at the education centre in Black Rod’s Garden, where I was told that 100,000 children will visit each year and how they have the different rooms available to look at. I very much recommend that all noble Lords go and take a look.
Lord Harrison (Lab)
Given the importance of the tourism and hospitality industries to the United Kingdom, and the importance of the free movement of people and services within the single market of 28 countries in which we prosper, has the department made any analysis of the jobs that would be lost and the businesses that would close as a result of our absenting ourselves from that crucial market?
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, the noble Lord made a point about how important the entertainment industry and those supporting it are to the economy as a whole and to all those who work in it—what a great job they do. I cannot say whether there has been any assessment of the situation to which the noble Lord referred, but I congratulate all those who work in that area on the work they do.
Commercial Debt: Late Payments
Debate between Earl of Courtown and Lord Harrison
Lord Harrison
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take, in the light of the report by the Groceries Code Adjudicator regarding Tesco’s supplier payment policy, to address the late payment of commercial debt.
The Earl of Courtown (Con)
My Lords, the Government are implementing a package of measures to help create a responsible payment culture, where larger companies recognise the benefits of having a sustainable and robust supply chain and smaller businesses feel able to challenge poor behaviour. A new reporting requirement on the UK’s largest companies this year will compel larger companies to report on payment practices and policies. Our proposed Small Business Commissioner will help small businesses resolve payment disputes with larger businesses.
Lord Harrison (Lab)
Given that the Groceries Code Adjudicator found in one case that a supplier was owed a multimillion pound payment for two years, and given that many smaller suppliers find the risible Prompt Payment Code entirely useless when it comes to getting their rights, will the Minister say what powers and resources both the adjudicator and the newly created commissioner will be given to help the 5.4 million small businesses, which have laboured for too many years under this imposition of slow and late payment of commercial debt?
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, the noble Lord is quite right in what he says about late payment to SMEs. From my own experience in that area, having jointly run an SME, I know how difficult it is for a profitable and competitive SME if you get late payment from your customers and have to pay early to your suppliers. I should also make the noble Lord aware that the Government are taking significant steps to tackle late payment. In addition to the measures I have already outlined, we have strengthened the Prompt Payment Code to promote 30-day payment terms as a norm. The code will also enforce maximum 60-day payment terms for all signatories. At the moment, there are over 1,700 signatories to the Prompt Payment Code, many of which are some of our largest companies.
Tourism
Debate between Earl of Courtown and Lord Harrison(8 years, 10 months ago)
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Lord Harrison
My Lords, given that tourism is an important economic industry, rather than fiddling around with existing successful structures, would the Government not be better advised to place tourism under the aegis of BIS or, at the very least, to include it in the title of the department where it currently finds itself, that of Culture, Media and Sport? Why not add tourism to the title to give it the energy that is required to treat it seriously?
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, we do treat tourism extremely seriously, as was made apparent in the recent spending review. DCMS takes 1% of spending but contributes a sixth to the UK economy. We must also remember that employment in the UK tourism industry has increased from 2.66 million to 2.81 million jobs; that is almost twice the rate of non-tourist-related industries. I listened carefully to what the noble Lord said about where tourism’s natural home is, and must admit that I feel it is in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Armenia: 1915 Atrocities
Debate between Earl of Courtown and Lord Harrison
Lord Harrison (Lab)
My Lords, it is true that it was genocide that was practised on the Armenians and other peoples in 1915. Will the Minister reply on the necessity of bringing together the Armenians and our colleagues in Turkey in order to find reconciliation? Will he also report on the conversations that HMG have had with our Armenian colleagues about the renewal of their application for closer relations within the European Union?
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for that question. He mentioned negotiations and conversations with Armenia on the European Union. I am not aware of those at present but I shall write to the noble Lord if there is any further information that I can give him. He also mentioned bringing together the two different parties, the Armenians and the Turks, to get some kind of reconciliation going. We are trying to promote links between Turkey and Armenia in a number of ways. We have had a successful exchange of Turkish and Armenian Chevening alumni, who have visited each others’ countries for the first time. We have also targeted funding on projects such as CivilNet TV, which is a media source for Turkey-related news in Armenia.