Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of reducing VAT on supplies relating to the hospitality sector.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government has published the Tourism Recovery Plan to help the sector return to pre-pandemic activity levels as quickly as possible. Since the start of the pandemic, over £37 billion has been provided to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks.
The previous VAT relief for tourism and hospitality cost over £8 billion. Reintroducing it would come at a significant further cost, reducing the money available to help fund key spending priorities, including important public services, such as the NHS, education and defence.
While there are no plans to reduce the rate of VAT paid by hospitality businesses, the Government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: David Warburton (Independent - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent steps she has taken to help support (a) recruitment and (b) retention in the hospitality sector.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is in regular dialogue with the hospitality and tourism sectors and is aware of the recruitment and retention challenges facing businesses. The Hospitality Sector Council is actively looking at this issue and the Hospitality and Tourism Skills Board, which comprises businesses across both sectors, is considering ways to strengthen training.
We are also helping to fill vacancies through our Plan for Jobs programmes, which use work coaches to help match local talent with jobs in hospitality. Our sector-based work academy programme and flexible support fund, and various initiatives, are also encourag-ing jobseekers to look for opportunities in the sector. In addition, on 1 April 2023, the Gov-ernment increased the National Living Wage by 9.7% to £10.42.
The Government is also supporting six Private Member’s Bills which will improve workers’ rights and encourage more people into work. The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act has now achieved Royal Assent meaning more than 2 million workers will have their tips protected when the measures come into force. This package of Bills will help new parents, unpaid carers, hospitality workers, and give employees better access to flexible working.
The Government is continuing to improve apprenticeships, making them more flexible and making it easier for employers to make greater use of their levy funds. The catering and hospitality sector serves up a host of different apprenticeships in restaurants, cafés, pubs, bars, nightclubs and hotels, including for example chef de partie.
Asked by: David Warburton (Independent - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking with industry representatives to address labour shortages in the (a) hospitality and (b) tourism sectors.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is in regular dialogue with the hospitality and tourism sectors and is aware of the recruitment and retention challenges facing businesses. The Hospitality Sector Council is actively looking at this issue and the Hospitality and Tourism Skills Board, which comprises businesses across both sectors, is considering ways to strengthen training.
We are also helping to fill vacancies through our Plan for Jobs programmes, which use work coaches to help match local talent with jobs in hospitality. Our sector-based work academy programme and flexible support fund, and various initiatives, are also encourag-ing jobseekers to look for opportunities in the sector. In addition, on 1 April 2023, the Gov-ernment increased the National Living Wage by 9.7% to £10.42.
The Government is also supporting six Private Member’s Bills which will improve workers’ rights and encourage more people into work. The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act has now achieved Royal Assent meaning more than 2 million workers will have their tips protected when the measures come into force. This package of Bills will help new parents, unpaid carers, hospitality workers, and give employees better access to flexible working.
The Government is continuing to improve apprenticeships, making them more flexible and making it easier for employers to make greater use of their levy funds. The catering and hospitality sector serves up a host of different apprenticeships in restaurants, cafés, pubs, bars, nightclubs and hotels, including for example chef de partie.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to reduce the level of VAT applying to the hospitality sector; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The previous VAT relief for tourism and hospitality cost over £8 billion.
The Government has been clear that this was a temporary measure designed to support the cash flow and viability of sectors that have been severely affected by COVID-19.
We have continued to support and encourage the hospitality sector through other measures since then. At Autumn Statement 2022, the Government announced a package of changes and cuts to business rates worth £13.6 billion over the next five years, including an increased 75 per cent relief for retail, hospitality and leisure properties, up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business for 2023-2024. This is a tax cut worth over £2 billion for around 230,000 RHL businesses, to support the high street and protect small shops.
The introduction of a small profits rate of Corporation Tax, from April, keeps the rate at 19 per cent for companies with profits of £50,000 or less. This means around 70 per cent of actively trading companies will not see an increase in their Corporation Tax rate. The availability of marginal relief for companies with profits of between £50,000 and £250,000 means only around 10 per cent of actively trading companies will pay the full 25 per cent.
While there are no plans to reduce the rate of VAT paid by hospitality businesses, the Government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Kevin Foster (Conservative - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on energy costs for the hospitality and tourism sectors.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
I would like to thank my hon Friend the Member for Torbay for his tireless work to support the hospitality and tourism sector across his constituency.
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme has provided much needed support with high energy costs over the winter. We continue to work closely with the sector, including through the newly-established Hospitality Sector Council and across Government to ensure a successful future for these important industries.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment on the potential merits of reducing the rate of VAT paid by hospitality businesses.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The previous VAT relief for tourism and hospitality cost over £8 billion. Reintroducing it would come at a significant further cost, reducing the money available to help fund key spending priorities, including important public services, such as the NHS, education and defence.
The Government has been clear that this was a temporary measure designed to support the cash flow and viability of sectors that have been severely affected by COVID-19.
At Autumn Statement 2022, the Government announced an increased 75 per cent relief for retail, hospitality and leisure properties in England, up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business for 2023-24. This is a tax cut worth over £2 billion for around 230,000 businesses, to support the high street and protect small shops.
Business rates relief is a devolved policy area and the Welsh Government is responsible for business rates policy in Wales. Barnett consequential funding for any reliefs will be provided to the Devolved Administrations.
While there are no plans to reduce the rate of VAT paid by hospitality businesses, the Government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address labour shortages in the (1) road haulage, (2) tourism, and (3) hospitality, sectors in the (a) short term, and (b) long term.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is working to alleviate labour shortages in all sectors and is removing employment barriers by boosting wages via the National Living Wage, and furthering workers’ rights, which is particularly important for lower-paid sectors. The Government is also reforming the skills system to ensure an appropriately-skilled workforce.
To address haulage shortages, the Government took over 30 actions, including investing £34m in Skills Bootcamps to train over 11,000 people to become HGV drivers in England.
The newly-created Hospitality & Tourism Skills Board will focus on the medium-to-long term objectives of increasing recruitment, enhancing retention, and building an appropriately-skilled tourism workforce.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the use of hotels to accommodate asylum seekers on local businesses in the (a) hospitality, (b) tourism and (c) entertainment sectors in (i) the UK, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) Birmingham.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
For several years, record numbers of people cross the Channel in small boats, and this surge has placed the Home Office’s asylum support infrastructure and accommodation services under immense pressure. In order to meet our statutory obligations to accommodate asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute, we have been forced to temporarily house asylum seekers in hotels. The use of hotels is a short term solution and we are working hard with Local Authorities and our accommodation providers to find more appropriate accommodation.
We continue to work collaboratively with Local Authorities through the establishment of multi-agency forums to understand and address operational impacts on local areas. These regular forums include all key stakeholders and have been developed to mitigate and assure the on-going services provision within a local area.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2022 to Question 94773 on Prison Education Review, whether courses contracted under the Dynamic Purchasing System are subject to the same quality regime as those contracted under the Prison Education Framework.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) is designed to enable governors to commission innovative, local projects that meet the needs of their prisoners. The budget for the DPS in 2022-23 is £21.8 million. Allocation of the education budget is based on Prisoner population and the role of the individual prison. Governors have authority to move education funds between the Prison Education Framework (PEF) and the DPS pots on an annual basis, up to 5 per cent of the PEF contract value. The overall spend this financial year to date is £11.3 million, against the year-to-date budget of £12.6 million.
As these services involve local spending plans and courses commissioned, we do not keep central records of what each prison commissions, and it would not be possible to obtain the information requested on a prison-by-prison basis without approaching each prison individually, which would incur disproportionate cost.
95 suppliers are currently delivering DPS services, which include: Catering & Hospitality; Construction, Cleaning and Facilities Management; Engineering & Manufacturing Technologies; Retail & Commercial Enterprise; Health & Public Services and Care; Business, Leadership, Administration and Law; Arts, Media and Publishing; Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care; Sport, Leisure, Travel and Tourism; Information and Communication Technology (additional to the core curriculum); Life Skills; Services to support individuals with additional learning needs; Resettlement; Preparation for Work, Careers Information Advice and Guidance.
The success and value for money of local commissioning is evaluated at local level, with support from the central contract management team. For larger DPS contracts, additional assurance processes are put in place by the contract management team. In addition to the contract management process, DPS provision is subject to OFSTED scrutiny, as are PEF and Prison Education provision.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2022 to Question 94773 on Prison Education Review, which providers have been paid from the budget of the Dynamic Purchasing System in each prison in the most recent accounting period.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) is designed to enable governors to commission innovative, local projects that meet the needs of their prisoners. The budget for the DPS in 2022-23 is £21.8 million. Allocation of the education budget is based on Prisoner population and the role of the individual prison. Governors have authority to move education funds between the Prison Education Framework (PEF) and the DPS pots on an annual basis, up to 5 per cent of the PEF contract value. The overall spend this financial year to date is £11.3 million, against the year-to-date budget of £12.6 million.
As these services involve local spending plans and courses commissioned, we do not keep central records of what each prison commissions, and it would not be possible to obtain the information requested on a prison-by-prison basis without approaching each prison individually, which would incur disproportionate cost.
95 suppliers are currently delivering DPS services, which include: Catering & Hospitality; Construction, Cleaning and Facilities Management; Engineering & Manufacturing Technologies; Retail & Commercial Enterprise; Health & Public Services and Care; Business, Leadership, Administration and Law; Arts, Media and Publishing; Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care; Sport, Leisure, Travel and Tourism; Information and Communication Technology (additional to the core curriculum); Life Skills; Services to support individuals with additional learning needs; Resettlement; Preparation for Work, Careers Information Advice and Guidance.
The success and value for money of local commissioning is evaluated at local level, with support from the central contract management team. For larger DPS contracts, additional assurance processes are put in place by the contract management team. In addition to the contract management process, DPS provision is subject to OFSTED scrutiny, as are PEF and Prison Education provision.