BALPPA Is heavily involved in lobbying the Government on behalf of our Members. Currently hot on our political agenda are the triennial review of Machine Gaming Duty, as well as our campaign to cut tourism, bringing it firmly into line with mainland Europe.
GREAT NEWS! BALPPA is pleased to announce that as a direct result of the work carried out by the Association and its supporters in relation to the proposed amendment to school holidays, the Department of Education confirmed in September 2015 that the Deregulation Act 2015 which would give schools the power to set their own term dates will not be commenced. This is an extremely positive result for the industry and demonstrates the importance of our lobbying activities.
Members can log in and view the latest lobbying updates from BALPPA, however, as is the norm in the lobbying arena, situations shift and change continuously and with the recent changes to the cabinet, the tides have shifted yet again!
Please contact the BALPPA Secretariat should you wish to receive more of an update on our political activity.
The Issue: The seasonal nature of many attractions, especially those outdoors, means that they are closed during periods of the year when it’s not economical to open. The tourism industry is at its best in the summer months – when families get time off and choose to enjoy it together.
In 2013, at a Spectator Magazine conference, the then Education Secretary, Michael Gove, made a speech in which he announced he wanted to abolish the traditional summer holiday, by shortening the break from six weeks to four. Weeks later, the Deregulation Bill was published, containing within it clauses that would make it possible to achieve this. The Government has defended the plans by saying they are giving every individual school the power to set its own unique term times, but it in January 2014 a source close to Michael Gove admitted “the government was encouraging schools to have longer days and terms.”
No impact assessment has been done on the clause’s effect on the industry and there is no strategy for how businesses affected by the change can be consulted, Additionally it will cause chaos for parents who have children at different schools.
Evidence from around the world shows that reducing the length of summer holidays is devastating for tourism, which is reliant on trade in peak periods to offset tougher winter months. Reducing this length – or moving holidays outside of the peak period – has a huge impact on these businesses and the local economies of areas that rely on tourism spending.
BALPPA is campaigning on behalf of its members to persuade Parliament not to pass legislation that hasn’t been considered properly; to this end we are continuing our engagement at all levels of Government, Parliament and the civil service.
The Issue: The use of Zero Hours Contracts (ZHCs) has risen substantially in recent years and this had led to concern about some firms using them exploitatively. BALPPA is completely against the exploitative use of ZHCs, however we do support the responsible use of them. We have been in conversation with the Government about the benefits of flexible working for employers and employees, while at the same time highlighting that BALPPA members use the contracts responsibly.
The Current Status: The Government and political parties across the spectrum have acknowledged that Zero Hour Contracts have a role to play in the labour market and that they help keep unemployment low and for many people they work well.
The Issue: Like other sectors, the attraction industry are affected by ‘no win, no fee’ personal injury claims.
The Current Status: The Government has separately announced that they intend to, ‘at the earliest opportunity’, introduce legislative measures aimed at tackling unjustified personal injury claims.
The Issue: SARAH, as Chris Grayling affectionately called the Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill in a ConHome blog, is designed to “put a bit of common sense back into health and safety legislation”.
The Current Status: The premise is that no one should be deterred from ‘doing the right thing’ through the fear that they could face a charge of negligence. For example, not clearing snow from their front door for fear someone could slip on the ice or members of the emergency services who can’t come to the rescue of someone in difficulty because they have not had the correct health and safety training.
The Issue: EU regulations stipulate a minimum 15% rate of VAT across all member states – however they allow an exception for tourism which can be reduced to 5%. The UK is almost unique in that it does not take advantage of this flexibility, meaning major tourist attractions, that work internationally, are not competing on a level playing field. BALPPA has long supported the Cut Tourism VAT campaign, which aims to persuade the Government of the merits of reducing tourism VAT.
The Status; The campaign is continuing apace and there have been a number of notable success. Firstly when meeting with the treasury the VAT Campaign demonstrated, with the Government’s own model, that a reduction in VAT would, in fact, generate revenues for the treasury in the long term.
There are plenty of benefits of BALPPA Membership. Are you missing out?
Sponsorship opportunities are available exclusively to BALPPA Trade Members at most of our events. Please contact events@balppa.org for more information.
