Proposed Visitor Levy

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Clive Efford

Wednesday 25th March 2026 Westminster Hall

[Sir Julian Smith]

I am a big supporter of the hon. Lady, and I do not want to attack her personally, but we have a big issue in York and North Yorkshire. The Mayor is proposing this tax, which will clobber my constituents’ businesses in North Yorkshire. It may be a benefit for York, but it will cause a massive problem for rural North Yorkshire.

[Clive Efford (in the Chair)]

Order. Before you respond to that intervention, there are 10 Members on their feet and we have only just over half an hour for Back-Bench speeches, so that is roughly three and a half minutes each. Please bear in mind when you are speaking that the people behind you will have a three and a half minute limit—or less, if you speak for too long.

[Rachael Maskell]

I was coming to the point the right hon. Member for Skipton and Ripon (Sir Julian Smith) raises, because I believe that the levy should be collected by local authorities. If the mayor collects it, it should be hypothecated to local areas so that they can determine the spend of that resource. Certainly I would propose that half the money be spent directly on tourism, through work with the industry, but there is also the opportunity to invest back into our communities and in local projects.

I would put in place exemptions for children; I think that would be appropriate. I would exempt certain forms of accommodation, camping and hostel accommodation, because we know that those are used for budget holidays. Of course we need to respect the cultural need of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people for overnight stays in different areas, but I certainly would include in a levy scheme short-term holiday lets. I just met the Minister to raise again the issue of short-term holiday lets, and the proper licensing system that we need in that respect.

I believe that this should be a flat-rate levy. I have always said that the price of a cup of coffee could be the benchmark—people would not think twice about going and getting an extra coffee. If it were something like £4, we would bring £6.8 million into our city and that would help our local economy. We will struggle to support our tourism industry otherwise, so I would encourage that factor.

We could use the money to promote the local tourism offer, from which the industry would gain, and could gain substantially. I am talking about putting on events, ensuring that we have better facilities and better infrastructure in our city, and supporting our bid to become a UNESCO world heritage site. All that would benefit not just York, but North Yorkshire and the wider region. It could include putting on projects such as Wild in Art and so on, to draw in even more tourism. I believe that a measure such as that could be seen as an investment in our future.