Air Passenger Duty

Priti Patel Excerpts

Thursday 1st November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel (Witham) (Con)]

I beg to move,

That this House believes that the UK’s air passenger duty acts as a barrier to economic growth and deters both inward investment and inbound tourism; notes the financial impact on families of the rising costs of air passenger duty; further notes the impact on British businesses wishing to export and take advantage of business opportunities overseas; notes that the current air passenger duty regime is the highest air passenger tax in the world, which makes the UK less competitive than countries with lower aviation taxes; further notes that over 200,000 members of the public are calling for a review of the economic impact of air passenger duty; calls on HM Treasury to commission a comprehensive study into the full economic impact of air passenger duty in the UK, including the effects on jobs and growth, reporting in advance of the 2013 Budget; and calls on the Government to use the evidence from the study to inform future policy-making.

I am grateful to members of the Backbench Business Committee for granting this timely debate in advance of the autumn statement next month, and I pay tribute to the outstanding efforts made by the fair tax on flying campaign in securing the support of more than 200,000 members of the public who have lobbied right hon. and hon. Members on the matter. The campaign has given families and businesses across the country a strong voice to express their opposition to air passenger duty.

I also pay tribute to colleagues on both sides of the House who have supported the call for this debate, including my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley (Henry Smith) and the hon. Member for Blackley and Broughton (Graham Stringer), whose early-day motion influenced the wording of the motion. In addition, as part of its recent inquiry into the matter, the all-party aviation group, chaired by the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire (Mr Donohoe), has produced compelling evidence in support of an economic review into air passenger duty.

[Mr Tom Clarke (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) (Lab)]

Of late, I have received more representations on this issue than on any other. It is important that the hon. Lady has been able to raise this issue, and she can count on considerable support.

[Priti Patel]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his remarks. All hon. Members feel very strongly about the representations we have received. The purpose of the debate is to give the issue of APD a thorough airing and to make those representations to my hon. Friend the Minister.

The motion calls on the Treasury to respond to the concerns of 200,000 members of the public and business representatives about the air passenger duty system. It specifically calls on the Treasury to conduct a comprehensive study of the system’s full economic impact and urges the Government to use the evidence gathered from the study to inform future policy making on aviation taxes.

The evidence that I have seen, the views of families and businesses in my constituency, and views from the aviation sector, suggest it is time that the Government considered aviation taxes.

[Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)]

I commend my hon. Friend for introducing the debate. Is it not a question of making the UK competitive around the world? In the previous debate, the Minister said that if we cut taxes on one thing, it will mean either more spending cuts or increases in taxes elsewhere, but should not the message be, “Let’s cut air passenger duty and cut spending”? After last night’s vote, perhaps the Government could start with the EU.

[Priti Patel]

APD has a detrimental impact on our competitiveness, which is why we are calling for the economic impact. I will come to competitiveness later.

I hope my hon. Friend the Minister will be open-minded to the concept of looking at the financials and to doing an economic impact assessment, because families and businesses feel that APD is a punitive tax. Research demonstrates that the costs to the wider economy are far greater than tax receipts for the Treasury. The World Travel and Tourism Council estimates that the cost to the economy in 2012 will be £4.2 billion, and as many as 91,000 jobs.

[Sir Malcolm Bruce (Gordon) (LD)]

I commend the hon. Lady for introducing this extremely important debate. I represent Aberdeen airport. We are doubly disadvantaged, first because we are much more dependent on air travel—it takes seven and half hours to get from Aberdeen to London by train—and secondly, we must pay tax twice if we inter-line in London. That gives us an incentive to use continental rather than UK airports.

[Priti Patel]

The right hon. Gentleman touches on both the cost of APD and our competitiveness. A 2011 York Aviation report estimated that Scotland would lose 1.2 million passengers, 148,000 tourists and around £77 million in the period up to 2014.

[Sandra Osborne (Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock) (Lab)]

Is the hon. Lady aware that the Scottish airports consortium has published a report today that says that Prestwick airport, which is in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Central Ayrshire (Mr Donohoe), and which is very important to the whole Ayrshire economy, is the worst affected in Scotland in percentage terms? It will lose 14% of the traffic it currently hosts.

[Priti Patel]

The hon. Lady demonstrates the scale of the challenge, and why we need a review.

I am sure right hon. and hon. Members are aware that Britain has been ranked 134th out of 138 by the World Economic Forum on air taxes and airport charges. We clearly have a major problem. I am unapologetic in my belief in lowering taxes, which is the most effective way in which to promote sustainable growth in the economy. The figures demonstrate how damaging and counter-productive air passenger duty is becoming to the Government’s growth agenda.

I recognise that the current APD system was introduced by the previous Government and note that it raises £2.9 billion for the Treasury, which is a significant sum of money. I do not doubt that it is an essential contributor to removing and reducing the Government’s deficit, but when taxes cause more harm than good, they need to be reviewed and reformed.

[Mark Garnier (Wyre Forest) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on introducing the debate. Does she agree that APD can act as a barrier to expansion for some regional airports? Were it not for the high level of APD, they could attract other carriers, thereby rebalancing our economy.

[Priti Patel]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. That is part of the challenge of our wider aviation policy and strategy.

Already in this Parliament, the Government have rightly recognised a number of counter-productive and damaging taxes, and scrapped a number of them, including the cider tax, the jobs tax and the broadband phone tax, and the planned increase to the small profits rate was replaced with a cut. On that basis, I urge the Minister to consider the economic impact of APD.

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who is being generous in giving way. APD will be considered by the Select Committee on Transport when we begin our aviation inquiry. APD has an economic impact, but it is critical to the debate on the UK’s aviation capacity. Perhaps she will refer to that later in her speech.

[Priti Patel]

The Davies commission has a role. When considering the future of APD, we must remember where we stand internationally in terms of competitiveness. Britain is in a global race, and competing in a global environment that is tougher and more competitive than ever before. Foreign businesses, which can bring much needed investment to our economy, can relocate to other countries. Our competitors in Europe and throughout the world are all too ready to recognise that. Prior to being elected to the House, I saw how our competitors were on standby to welcome new investment, particularly from emerging markets.

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

Businesses in Slough tell me that they have invested in the town I represent because of its proximity to Heathrow. Some international companies are thinking of disinvesting because of the insecurity of Heathrow’s future. That is a classic example of the importance of airports to inward investment in the UK, and particularly the importance of what used to be the premier airport in Europe.

[Priti Patel]

The hon. Lady makes a valid point. I have no doubt that right hon. and hon. Members recognise the global trends and the direction of travel when they see the rise of super-hubs and big business destinations, such as Singapore, Dubai and Mumbai. There is certainty around their aviation and economic strategies, and we are competing against many big international centres. We must remain competitive to survive. Tax rates that are higher than those in other economic centres put businesses off when they are making investment choices and decisions. Attracting foreign direct investment is an essential component of the Government’s plan for growth, and current APD rates are a barrier to foreign investors who are looking to expand into the UK.

[Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP)]

The hon. Lady is making a great speech. Does she agree that APD, as a gateway tax, sends a signal and puts down a marker, and leaves a bad taste in the mouth for many who are thinking of coming to the UK? Their first taste of the UK, and the first piece of information they have about it, is the very high-tax regime to get into the country.

[Priti Patel]

The hon. Gentleman makes a valid point on how counter-productive taxes such as APD are when it comes to inward investment and the attraction of Britain as a place to do business.

Martin Craigs, chief executive of the Pacific Asia Travel Association, has stated:

“The UK is an island trading nation, air services are the vital lifeblood of modern global commerce. The UK Air Passenger Duty is now the world’s highest by a wide margin. It is certainly turning away tourism and trade from the world’s fastest growing economic region”,

which, of course, is Asia-Pacific.

APD also acts as a deterrent to British businesses that are looking to exploit lucrative business opportunities elsewhere in the world, and particularly in emerging markets. Businesses in my constituency, including small and medium-sized enterprises, provide more than 80% of local jobs. They are hit hard by APD. They want to export more, but APD is a barrier.

[Dr Phillip Lee (Bracknell) (Con)]

Many of the businesses in my constituency are based there because of the proximity of Heathrow airport, like the businesses in the constituency of the hon. Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart). Many of my constituents who work at Heathrow are concerned about the level of APD. It seems perverse that, at a time when our trade is becoming more non-EU, we are discouraging or making it more difficult to trade with those parts of the world that continue to grow.

[Priti Patel]

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. As I said earlier, this tax is seen as counter-productive when it comes to inward investors, and we have to tackle that. One business man has written to me saying that the tax is having a major impact on both new business opportunities and maintaining current business. A reduction in it would bolster the aviation industry in the United Kingdom. Another has commented:

“I am a frequent business traveller trying my damndest to provide export business for this country and it grieves me to be paying such a punitive tax to travel on behalf of the country.”

A review of the economic impact of APD would show the true extent of the cost to businesses. In fact, the Government previously looked at the impact of APD on the Northern Irish economy and reduced APD to band A—currently, the standard rate is £26 and the reduced rate is £13—to ensure that Belfast could compete with Dublin’s air travel tax, which is just €3. Just as APD needed to be reformed to help Belfast compete with Dublin, APD should be reduced to help London’s airports compete not just with Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt and Madrid, but with many of the Asia-Pacific and other international hubs.

[Naomi Long (Belfast East) (Alliance)]

The hon. Lady is making a compelling case. The Irish Republic has announced that despite the fact that its APD equivalent is only €3, it intends to scrap it, because it believes it is an impediment to growth in the economy.

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[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. We have a lot of Members who wish to speak and they should recognise that if they have already intervened, they will go down the list—and not be upset about that.

[Priti Patel]

I take on board the hon. Lady’s point.

As well as compromising trade, the cost of APD is felt by the aviation and tourism sector across the country. Last year, more than 30 million visitors came to Britain and spent £18 billion in our economy. We all want to see that number increase, and I want to see more foreign tourists flying to our international airports and travelling to see attractions elsewhere in the country—including the county of Essex, where the tourist sector supports 54,000 jobs and adds £3 billion to our local economy.

[Heather Wheeler (South Derbyshire) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. She talks about Essex with passion, which is fantastic. In South Derbyshire we are equidistant from East Midlands airport and Birmingham airport and we have a huge amount of tourism, as well as many jobs based in the airport industry. I hope that Ministers listen to my hon. Friend and think again about a tax that is holding back growth.

[Priti Patel]

I thank my hon. Friend for her comments.

We would all like to see travellers from Brazil, Russia, India, China and a range of emerging markets choose to spend their dollars, rupees and other currencies here, but the current rates of APD are deterring inbound tourism, especially from developing countries with a growing middle class. Why would a family of four from China wishing to take a holiday in Europe come to Britain where APD would add a further £324 to their travel costs when they could hop on a flight to France and pay aviation taxes totalling £36 or to Germany where they would also pay less? The Government’s tourism strategy clearly warns that we are pricing ourselves out of the mass or middle market and will swiftly relegate Britain from being the sixth most popular destination in the world to the margins of the industry. The aviation sector supports more than 900,000 jobs and contributes more than £50 billion to GDP. I urge the Government to consider how APD can be reformed to support tourism as well as business.

In 1994, modest levels of £5 for short-haul travel in the EU and £10 for destinations beyond the EU were introduced. APD is now having a negative impact on our economy. When the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Minister without Portfolio, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), announced the introduction of APD in November 1993, he said it was a small duty on all air passengers from United Kingdom airports. The predicted revenue was £330 million a year. It now raises 10 times more than that, and a family of four travelling economy class to Florida this winter will pay £260 in APD.

[Mr David Hamilton (Midlothian) (Lab)]

That figure would be a lot higher if the family were going via one of the regional airports and could not get the same carrier, because they would pay two lots of APD. It is now proving very difficult for many families to have a decent holiday abroad.

[Priti Patel]

The hon. Gentleman makes his point clearly. APD is having a wider multiplier effect.

If that same family of four were travelling to Australia, they would have to fork out £368. Those figures are not small and are having a severe effect on households with modest incomes throughout the country, including pensioners who wish to visit relatives living abroad. We have all had correspondence from our constituents, and one of mine wrote to me on this point to say that she supports this campaign because both of her children and her grandchildren live overseas and flying is the only way to visit them.

Another has written:

“Having friends and family in the Caribbean we have to pay even more of this excessive tax than flying to the west coast of the USA although the distance flown is less.”

This tax is clearly having a negative impact on families. It is deterring foreign direct investment, it is holding back our businesses, and it is making our country less competitive. For those reasons, I hope that colleagues will support the motion and I urge the Minister to take on board the remarks that I have just made.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

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[Priti Patel]

I thank all right hon. and hon. Members for their contributions to this powerful debate in which we have heard about the impact of this tax on hard-pressed families and businesses, and about its counter-productive nature. I thank my hon. Friend the Minister for his remarks. I hope that he and the Treasury will keep a very open mind about the call in the motion for an economic assessment and a full review and will not rule it out, because, as we have heard, this tax is having a counter-productive impact on the economy. All Members present will continue to press him and the Treasury to secure a review in future.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House believes that the UK’s air passenger duty acts as a barrier to economic growth and deters both inward investment and inbound tourism; notes the financial impact on families of the rising costs of air passenger duty; further notes the impact on British businesses wishing to export and take advantage of business opportunities overseas; notes that the current air passenger duty regime is the highest air passenger tax in the world, which makes the UK less competitive than countries with lower aviation taxes; further notes that over 200,000 members of the public are calling for a review of the economic impact of air passenger duty; calls on HM Treasury to commission a comprehensive study into the full economic impact of air passenger duty in the UK, including the effects on jobs and growth, reporting in advance of the 2013 Budget; and calls on the Government to use the evidence from the study to inform future policy-making.