Hansard

It is my pleasure to speak on behalf of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee in the stage 1 debate on the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill. I thank all those who took the time to provide evidence to us. We received more than 370 responses to our formal consultation, with a similar number engaging via our more informal online forum.

As part of our scrutiny, the committee visited Orkney and Aviemore to listen to the views of local stakeholders, including councils. In addition, parliamentary officials supported several engagement workshops that were held in Edinburgh and across the Highlands in order to hear the views of local communities. I thank all those who contributed to our scrutiny of the bill.

Turning to our stage 1 report, it is perhaps worth highlighting that, while the full committee signed up to many of the recommendations, there were a significant number from which Conservative members of the committee dissented. I am sure that they will elucidate their reasons for that later in the debate, and I look forward to hearing their contributions.

Given the time available, I intend to focus my comments on three key themes of consideration for the committee: the appropriateness of a significant degree of local autonomy around whether and how to implement the levy; the issue of whether a percentage rate or flat-rate charge would be most appropriate; and the ways in which revenues that are raised from a levy should best be invested to the benefit of visitors and local communities alike.

As members will know, similar levies have been in place for some time throughout Europe and in other parts of the world and appear to have been successful in generating revenues to help to improve the experience of visitors to popular destinations. It was suggested by some stakeholders that the introduction of a levy in Scotland could deter tourists from visiting, but, having reflected on the evidence in detail, the committee considered that, on balance, the introduction of a levy at a modest rate would be unlikely to have a significant deterrent effect on visitors, given the unique nature of Scotland as a destination and the experiences of other jurisdictions where a levy has been introduced.

It is worth noting that, given that the bill is enabling legislation, local authorities would not be obliged to introduce the levy. Indeed, it appears likely that only relatively small numbers of councils would do so in the first instance. The bill also provides for a high degree of flexibility in how a levy could be implemented, should a council choose to do so. That approach was broadly supported by local authorities as being in keeping with the principles set out in the Verity house agreement. However, representatives of the tourism and accommodation sectors generally preferred national consistency, with one stakeholder suggesting that parts of the bill amounted to “localism for localism’s sake”.

Having considered those opposing perspectives in detail, the committee recognised that there were persuasive arguments in favour of a local approach as well as for national consistency. However, on balance, the majority of members of the committee were persuaded that local government should have the flexibility to design an approach that is best suited to local circumstances. Remaining mindful of the concerns of many stakeholders, we highlighted the importance of robust monitoring to ensure that negative impacts for businesses and others can be addressed, should the need arise. We welcome the Scottish Government’s recognition of the benefits that a co-ordinated monitoring approach could bring and its commitment to discussing the matter further with local government.

Turning to the rate at which a levy would apply, the bill provides that it would be a percentage of the total accommodation cost, which would be set by the local authority. Again, many local authorities welcomed the flexibility that that would bring to councils, although others preferred a flat rate for administrative ease. The tourism and accommodation sectors overwhelmingly favoured a flat rate, with the Scottish Tourism Alliance arguing that a percentage model would be overly complex and excessively burdensome for certain types of accommodation providers and visitors. Conversely, we heard compelling arguments about proportionality from other witnesses, with the European Tourism Association suggesting that it is hard to justify someone who is staying in budget accommodation paying the same amount as someone who is staying in high-end accommodation.

As is noted in our report, deciding what is the right approach was perhaps the most challenging aspect of our consideration of the bill. We recognise that there are strong arguments for and against having a percentage or having a flat rate, and we note that both approaches would inevitably bring their own benefits and challenges. For that reason, we invited the Scottish Government to undertake further work with stakeholders before stage 2 to reach an agreed solution. I welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment—which we heard from the minister—to reflect on that further ahead of stage 2. However, I would welcome hearing from the minister in summing up that such further reflection will involve consultation with all the key stakeholders.

The third and final theme that I intend to discuss today relates to how any revenues raised through a levy should be invested. The bill provides that any funds raised from a visitor levy should only be used to support the objectives of a visitor levy scheme, which

“must relate to developing, supporting or sustaining facilities or services which are substantially for or used by persons visiting the scheme area for leisure purposes.”

Again, it would be for local authorities, in consultation with local stakeholders, to decide exactly how revenues are spent to support those objectives. The tourism sector broadly welcomed that definition, and the Scottish Tourism Alliance explained that

“it is only fair that the money raised is reinvested in tourism.”

Of course, there are many facilities that are used by visitors to an area and local residents alike. The committee supports decisions on spend being taken at a local level and agrees that the definition is broad enough to allow flexibility in spending priorities, following consultation with local stakeholders, while ensuring that investment corresponds to the priorities of local tourism and accommodation businesses.

However, although we generally support the criteria for investing revenues, we also listened to stakeholders who highlighted the economic importance of business visitors. The Edinburgh Hotels Association told us that business events alone are worth £2 billion to the Scottish economy. I am pleased that the Scottish Government has committed to amending the bill so that funds can be invested in services or facilities that are used by visitors travelling for business purposes as well as by those doing so for leisure.

I want to add another note on the berthing and mooring position in the bill. I am glad to hear that the minister has taken that point on board.

Time does not allow me to cover all the areas that the committee considered at stage 1, but I look forward to the contributions of other members in the debate. I conclude by noting that the majority of members of the committee supported the general principles of the bill and stand ready to work constructively with the minister at stage 2, should the Parliament approve the bill’s general principles at decision time.