Debate contribution: VAT for Hospitality
Debate contribution by Mr Paul Frew on .
- MLA
- Mr Paul Frew
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 13 May 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Opposition Business
- Heading
- VAT for Hospitality
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4489441
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I echo what my colleague Diane Forsythe said. My constituency colleague from North Antrim walked you through how important tourism and hospitality is to North Antrim. You will excuse me, Mr Deputy Speaker and the House, if we who represent the constituency feel a bit more qualified to talk about our tourism offer in Northern Ireland. Also, our party has worked very well over the past four to five years in supporting businesses. Not only did we produce the high street voucher scheme, which did not just help consumers but actually helped businesses to get people through the door, but we advocated for the sensible opening of businesses when all the other parties here wanted to keep them closed or to close them. I have yet to see any justification for that. This should not only be about hospitality and tourism. Our high-street offer takes in retail and services. There should be a collective here: a big picture. To drill down into the detail of what it means to reduce VAT for hospitality, what do the proposers of the motion actually mean? Is it on hotel admissions? Is it on entrance fees for cultural or tourism events? What does it actually mean, and what will it be applied on? It is no secret, as Members will know, that I am not a great lover of more fiscal devolution in this part.
Yes, I will give way.
I thank the Member for that. Of course, the leader of the Opposition has a bit of skin in this game because, in the previous mandate, he proposed changing the licensing requirements for pubs. That sent shock waves and horror through our industry at that time. I do not know where that proposal is now in the whole scheme of things for the Opposition. Maybe, being a responsible Opposition, it has dropped that altogether. I do not know. These are very important issues. A tweak here and a twist there can have massive ramifications for our industry, and that is why I do not and will not support the devolution of VAT in Northern Ireland without it being done UK wholesale. The differential that it would create and the ramifications that it would have for our businesses, our tax base, the Barnett formula and everything else that would go with it would be enormous and could be catastrophic. The amendment refers to a review of rate relief measures. What was a game changer during the time of lockdown philosophy was our ability to remove rates for businesses, That was an absolute godsend. Is the amendment therefore calling for a review of rate relief packages or a review of rates? We have had countless reviews of rates, and, of course, all that those reviews do is make one street more expensive than another. The base stays the same. Even when we see text, when the detail is teased out, what does it mean? There is going to have to be a lot more work done before we can come to any concrete decisions on fiscal powers coming to the Assembly.
515 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.05 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.90).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.04 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.03 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.05 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.05 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.90 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.05 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.76 |
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.24 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:28 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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