Penrose: VAT cut off the agenda
A VAT cut for the leisure sector is off the agenda for the next three years — that's according to tourism minister John Penrose as he unveiled the Government's new tourism strategy.
Creating an industry-led task force to cut red tape, shifting the May bank holiday to later in the year and helping the hospitality sector improve the professionalism of staff are all proposed.
However, the rumoured proposal to shift daylight hours is not included in the Government's long-awaited new Tourism Policy.
Penrose told a press conference that the state of Government finances makes it "extremely difficult for anyone to start dishing out VAT reductions to anybody in the short to medium term".
He said the Treasury is "determinedly.. playing a very, very straight bat" to such any proposals "just because we've got to sort out the economic mess that we've inherited first".
When asked if a VAT cut is off the agenda, Penrose replied: "For the short term, absolutely".
He alluded to the Chancellor's prediction from his last Budget that it would take four years until the Budget will be back in balance in four years.
"Come back in about three years time," Penrose added.
It's a blow to the trade bodies and campaigners, including the Morning Advertiser, which have been calling for VAT to be cut to 5% on food and drink in pubs.
Red tape and bank holidays
A key proposal is to create a task force led by senior industry figures to propose specific regulations that can be cut.
Penrose said the plan is "off to a running start" because the Tourism Alliance has already sent him a list of examples.
There are no details of who will be on the task force or its specific plans, but he stressed that cutting red tape is "a particular passion of mine".
Similarly, the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) will work with the Department for Communities and Local Government to "help local authorities develop local plans which allow tourism businesses to expand and flourish".
The Policy commits the Government to consult on whether to move the first Bank Holiday in May to create either a new St George's Day holiday in England (St David's Day in Wales), or a Trafalgar Day bank holiday in the autumn half term.
The aim is to "lengthen the tourism season". Penrose said: "At the moment, frankly the tourism season for many of our traditional resorts and attractions starts to wind down by the time you get into September."
Daylight saving
Penrose urged people not to "read too much" into the fact that the plan to shift daylight hours is excluded from the Policy.
Recent media reports indicated that the Government wanted to put clocks forward two hours in summer meaning there would be lighter evenings but darker mornings.
Penrose said the Government's view on the plan had not changed and it was for the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills to explain the "nuances".
The tourism plan commits DCMS to worth with People 1st, the National Skills Academy for Hospitality and the industry to "improve the behaviours, personalities and skills of tourism sector staff" further than current industry initiatives - "so we can deliver a consistently higher standard of professional welcome".
Other proposals include driving tourism away from London by encouraging visitors to so-called "super destinations" such as the Peak District and Cornwall.
There are plans to create a £100m marketing fund with national and international businesses to "take advantage of the unique opportunities" afforded by the 2012 Olympics.
Turning Tourist Boards into smaller, industry-led partnerships between tourism firms and Government is also planned, as is a proposal to simplifying tourist visas to the UK.
