Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Department for Education

Oral Answers to Questions

Tracey Crouch Excerpts
Thursday 15th January 2015

(9 years, 3 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Sajid Javid Portrait Sajid Javid
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My hon. Friend raises an important point. He will be aware that Gatwick is already a major local economic driver, generating some 23,000 jobs at the airport alone, and he is right to ask what more it could do to attract visitors to Crawley and Sussex. He will be aware of Visit Sussex, and I encourage the town to work more closely with that and with Tourism South East, to see what more it can do to show its local attractions.

Tracey Crouch Portrait Tracey Crouch (Chatham and Aylesford) (Con)
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The Secretary of State will be aware that across Kent tourism accounts for the direct employment of nearly 65,000 people. Tourism VAT rates across the EU are much lower than in the UK, and if VAT on accommodation was reduced to 5% that would boost jobs and bring a further £1 million into Kent. What conversations has he had with the Treasury about the benefits of a future cut to VAT, as that would bring jobs and growth into Kent and the UK as a whole?