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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 26 April 2025
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Displaying 1225 contributions

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Economy and Fair Work Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2024-25 (Tourism and Hospitality)

Meeting date: 24 January 2024

Kevin Stewart

On the VAT threshold and folk choosing not to trade up beyond £85,000, do you have any idea how many of the businesses that you represent fall into that bracket?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2024-25 (Tourism and Hospitality)

Meeting date: 24 January 2024

Kevin Stewart

Please, convener.

Colin Wilkinson talked about being hit by legislation and gave the example of the low-emission zone in Glasgow. It would be interesting to see the figures from the LEZ, particularly as we move forward with change. What other legislation, Colin, do you think is having an impact?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2024-25 (Tourism and Hospitality)

Meeting date: 24 January 2024

Kevin Stewart

What legislation is that?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2024-25 (Tourism and Hospitality)

Meeting date: 24 January 2024

Kevin Stewart

Many other parts of the world have tourism levies that have worked and have not had an impact. How would a tourism levy coming into play here be different from the tourism levies that exist in other parts of the world, such as Spain, Germany and across Europe?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2024-25 (Tourism and Hospitality)

Meeting date: 24 January 2024

Kevin Stewart

I thank the panel members for joining us. We have spent a lot of time on business rates. I have to say that I get folk at me about business rates—you could probably name the folk from among your members—but there are not as many at me about that issue as about certain other things. You mentioned high energy prices. From conversations that I have had over the past year or 18 months, I know that additional business costs as a result of energy prices have been way up there. You might want to comment on that.

The other issue that comes up again and again is VAT. Some changes were made to VAT during the pandemic that were beneficial, but some structural elements have remained the same for a long while. For example, the other week, the Federation of Small Businesses called on the UK Government to uplift the VAT threshold by the rate of inflation, which has not happened since 2017. There have been calls from others in the industry for different VAT rates for hospitality, including pubs and hotels. What would you do on that front? Do you back the FSB’s call on the threshold? What else would you do to change the VAT regime to make it easier for your members?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Petroineos Grangemouth

Meeting date: 17 January 2024

Kevin Stewart

I can give you jurisdictions such as Germany, for example, where they are injecting hydrogen into the natural gas supply. There are many examples out there, minister, as I say, and I am sure that we could give you more.

You said in one of your answers that the UK imports 81 per cent of its jet fuel, which, as my colleague Gordon MacDonald says, does not seem to ensure energy security. There has been a lot of talk about sustainable aviation fuel. How quickly can the UK Government move forward on the regulatory regime for SAF? Are there opportunities for Grangemouth or elsewhere in the production of SAF, once we get those regulatory regimes right?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Petroineos Grangemouth

Meeting date: 17 January 2024

Kevin Stewart

Okay. I want to follow up on the questions about hydrogen that Colin Beattie has just asked. One of the difficulties in moving forward with hydrogen, whether at Grangemouth or elsewhere, is the snail’s pace of the UK Government in setting out the regulatory regime for the production, transportation and even use of hydrogen and injecting it into the natural gas supply. When will the UK Government be in a position to have those regimes in place so that we can get on with it like some of our competitors?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Petroineos Grangemouth

Meeting date: 17 January 2024

Kevin Stewart

Good morning, minister. Would the UK Government be so hands-off if it were the Fawley refinery in Hampshire that was earmarked for closure and job losses?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Petroineos Grangemouth

Meeting date: 17 January 2024

Kevin Stewart

We can perhaps send you some of that detail, Mr Stuart. Again, you said that—

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Just Transition (North-east and Moray)

Meeting date: 10 January 2024

Kevin Stewart

I hope that you will.