There are currently a number of live industry consultations that impact on the UK’s tourism industry. UKinbound will be considering its position and submitting a response where appropriate but members should also consider responding.
Self Catering Operators
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has published a consultation (ending on 15 January 2019) on whether self-catering operators should be eligible for business rates, and therefore, Small Business Rate Relief. This has arisen from concerns that many owners of holiday homes are registering their property as a business to avoid paying council tax.
The proposed solution is to adopt the following criteria for eligibility:
- The property will be available for letting commercially as self-catering accommodation for short periods totalling at least 140 days;
- In the year prior, the property was available for letting commercially as self-catering accommodation for short periods totalling at least 140 days and actually commercially let for at least 70 days.
You can access further details about the consultation here.
The Landscapes Review
The Government has asked a range of experts to look at England’s National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty which are vital to the UK’s tourism offer. To feed in your thoughts to the Call for Evidence which ends on 18 December, please click here.
Shortage Occupation List
The Migration Advisory Council has an open Call for Evidence until 6 January for its review of the shortage occupation list (SOL). In order to assess which occupations and job titles should be added to the SOL, the MAC uses both national data and evidence submitted by stakeholders, considering both sets of evidence in combination. The MAC will focus on specific job titles rather than broader occupations and requires evidence that supports this approach. The evidence provided by stakeholders is very important in helping to assess which job titles are in shortage.
You can access the consultation here.
The Williams Review of Rail
The Keith Williams Rail Review consultation has launched and closes on 18 January. The focus is primarily on commercial models and rail industry structures, but there are two strands which are of importance to domestic and international tourists (namely its work into good value fares for passengers and the network’s ability to cope with future challenges and opportunities).
You can access the consultation here.
Funding for the Delivery of T Levels
Government is currently seeking views on how funding from 2020 onwards will be distributed to providers for the delivery of T Levels.
The consultation closes on 19 February and can be accessed here.
Regeneration of Seaside Towns
The Tourism Alliance have published their response to the Call to Evidence from the House of Lords Select Committee on Regenerating Seaside Towns and Communities. The response includes evidence on specific issues facing seaside towns such as transport and connectivity, housing stock and funding for domestic tourism.
A copy of their evidence is available to read here.
