Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Wales Office

Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Williams Excerpts
Wednesday 25th May 2016

(8 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Guto Bebb Portrait Guto Bebb
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The hon. Gentleman should be aware that the Wales Office is working very closely with the Treasury to develop a Swansea city deal, which will include the electrification of the main line to Swansea. We are also proposing a review of the Swansea bay tidal lagoon in order to look at its viability and to ensure that it will provide value to the taxpayer if it is developed.

Mark Williams Portrait Mr Mark Williams (Ceredigion) (LD)
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Some 242,000 jobs are directly or indirectly dependent on a successful tourism industry. Will the Minister concede that we could boost those small businesses either by reducing VAT on hospitality and tourism or by raising the threshold on which they pay VAT?

Guto Bebb Portrait Guto Bebb
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The hon. Gentleman is a champion of this issue and has been ever since I have been in this place. I share his view of the tourism industry in Wales: it is a success story of which we should be justly proud. It is important that the case is made to the Treasury, but I stress that the tourism industry in my constituency and in that of the hon. Gentleman is doing extremely well at present, regardless of any changes to VAT.