Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's press release entitled Levy on overnight trips will help mayors invest in local growth of 25 November 2025, what assessment she has made of the cumulative impact of (a) VAT, (b) corporation tax, (c) National Insurance for employers, (d) business rates and (e) the overnight visitor levy on (i) the economic viability of the British hospitality sector and (ii) the cost of a domestic family holiday.

The impacts of visitor levies will largely be determined by local decisions.

Mayors will need to decide whether to implement a levy, and, if so, consult on specific proposals. Giving this power to local leaders who best understand their region enables them to tailor it to growing their local region.

Individuals and organisations will have the opportunity to engage with Mayors on these decisions throughout the consultation period and beyond.

The precise design and scope of the power for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy is still under development and the Government welcomes engagement from the hospitality sector through the consultation process.

On business rates, many hospitality businesses have seen their independent valuations go up since the pandemic. For properties seeing bills go up our support package will cap most increases at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest. We've also reduced tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties to rebalance the system for good.

On employer National insurance contributions, in the Government published a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) which set out the impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 changes. The Government decided to protect the smallest businesses from these changes by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change.