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09 December 2009
SCOTLAND OFFICE CALLOUSLY DISMISSES BORDERS TOURISM JOBS
SNP CANDIDATE SLAMS LABOUR’S “APPALLING IGNORANCE” OVER 6000
THREATENED WORKERS IN SCOTLAND
Paul Wheelhouse, SNP candidate for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and
Selkirk has slammed the Scotland Office’s “appalling ignorance” of
the impact of the UK Government’s policy on Scotland’s rural
economy.
Reviewing the transcript of the most recent Scottish Questions on
25th November highlighted that Labour Minister, Ann McKechin
dismissed the problems facing small self-catering businesses by the
proposed withdrawal of Furnished Holiday Letting Relief.
Under the Furnished Holiday Letting Relief scheme people who rent
out chalets and self-catering homes are eligible for a range of tax
concessions.
Abolishing this vital tax break could have a massive impact on
tourism business across the Borders.
Commenting, Paul Wheelhouse said:
“It’s appalling that the UK Minister would be so scathing about
the livelihoods of 6000 tourism workers and their families.
“She seemed to believe that because relatively few people were
involved, it was OK to undermine their businesses. I don’t think the
6,000 people who own self catering businesses across Scotland, many
of whom live in this area, would agree. These businesses are the
bottom line for many families and the Minister’s disregard for their
livelihoods will not sit well.
“Small holiday letting businesses are a vital part of our local
economy and the accommodation mix and, particularly where they make
use of otherwise redundant buildings, they can provide employment
and custom to other small businesses.
“The UK Minister needs to get her facts straight and look at the
sensible tax neutral alternative proposals being proposed by the
SNP’s Mike Weir, FSB and national tourism bodies before these
changes cause irreparable damage to the rural economy of Scotland.
“Is she prepared to throw away thousands of jobs in the teeth of
a recession rather than consider alternative views?”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
This is the exchange between the SNP’s Mike Weir MP and Labour’s
Anne McKechin, as reported in Hansard,:
Mike Weir MP (SNP):
The Minister will be aware that many groups including the
Association of Scotland’s Self-caterers and FSB Scotland have raised
concerns as to the impact of the proposed abolition of furnished
short holiday letting lease. Alternative solutions have been
proposed which would be tax neutral and support the industry. Would
she ask the Treasury to look again at this matter to avoid serious
damage to the economy of many areas of rural Scotland, including my
own?
Ann McKechin MP (Labour):
As the Honourable Gentleman will be aware the current rules were
understood not to be compliant with EU law and I don’t think they
were fair either to other residential landlords. It’s also likely
that if we had set the rules as they stood, it would have had a
negative impact on tourism both in Scotland and the UK. There are
only 60 thousand individuals throughout the UK who are claiming this
benefit but in fact there were 15 million overnight visits in
Scotland as part of tourism last year so we consider that the
problem will not have any major impact on tourism.
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