Hospitality Industry: VAT
Debate between Lord Pitt-Watson and Lord Johnson of Lainston(2 weeks, 2 days ago)
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Lord Pitt-Watson (Lab)
I will try to answer more broadly about employment. The UK employment rate is in the top half of OECD economies. It is above the G7 average. Unemployment is in the bottom half of the OECD. Participation among 16 to 64 year-olds is higher than the average participation rate in every year but one of the last 50 years. The Government are increasing funding for employment support to more than £4 billion a year, including £2.5 billion investment in the youth guarantee and the growth and skills levy in the next three years, supporting 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn in the hospitality industry and all other industries. As I say, we are faced with many challenges ahead of us, but I believe that what the Government are doing in this area is correct.
Lord Johnson of Lainston (Con)
My Lords, the Minister raised the importance of copying Europe with the tourist tax, but many European countries—all of them, I think—have a VAT discount on tourist shopping, one of the things the last Government sadly did away with. This has a huge impact on the retail, hotel and hospitality sectors. The Minister is not going to give me a sneak preview of the Budget, but can the Government at least look imaginatively at trying to find a way to attract tourists back into this country to spend their money? Then socialist mayors around the country can charge them even more for their hotel tax.
Lord Pitt-Watson (Lab)
As the noble Lord says, I am not going to give him a sneak preview of the Budget.