NCTA England’s Coast February Update

Read the newsletter here"It was encouraging to see North Devon MP Selaine Saxby table a Westminster Hall debate on 22 February on Fiscal support for tourism and hospitality coastal areas. Selaine has been an advocate of coastal issues in the House of Commons tabling a number of questions on water quality and levelling up in coastal communities.

We forwarded NCTA statistics to coastal MPs giving the value of the coastal visitor economy pre- and post-Covid along with a series of suggested initiatives that could support coastal communities and drive growth. Selaine Saxby gave a barnstorming speech outlining the crisis faced by hospitality businesses particularly on the coast, the 17% increase in staff costs from April, tight margins, lack of chefs causing some pubs and businesses to open only at weekends, not least in her North Devon constituency, along with many other significant challenges.

Amongst her asks of the Chancellor for the Spring budget, she called for a permanent reduction in VAT for hospitality businesses to 12.5%. Read the full debate here.

We will continue to work with coastal MPs to level up investment and address the unique issues facing coastal tourism businesses."

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