Bed & Breakfast News Sept-Oct 2016 (#42) | Page 18

18 | Bed & Breakfast News | Sept-Oct 2016

Red Tape and
Deregulation
The new Government ‘Tourism Action Plan’
(see pages 20-21) includes some new
commitments about the areas the
Government says it will ‘deregulate’.
The Tourism Action Plan states:

Commonsense Regulation
Working in partnership with the
Tourism Industry Council (which includes
David Weston, Chief Executive of the
Bed & Breakfast Association), we have
identified four areas of regulation where
progress can be made to allow tourism
businesses to flourish:
We will seek to deregulate an element
of Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) licences
as soon as parliamentary time allows.
This will allow owners of hotels/
attractions to collect visitors from
train stations/ ports of entry, without
having to apply for PHV licences
(operator, vehicle and driver).

We will introduce a new, light-touch
licensing notice, which will allow small
quantities of alcohol to be sold by
small accommodation providers to
their guests, and by community groups
at local events. This will enhance the
welcome that small establishments can
provide to guests - without requiring
them to apply for a full licence.
We will look at how we can modernise
and digitise the retail export scheme
to make it easier for tourists to claim
back VAT on eligible purchases.
As part of HMT’s consultation on
the EU’s 4th Money Laundering
Directive later this Autumn, we will
seek views on raising the threshold
for ‘occasional or very limited financial
activity’ under the Money Laundering
Regulations. Subject to the outcome
of this consultation, this change could
allow businesses like hotels and travel
agents to offer services like currency
exchange to more of their customers
and increase the volume of their
activities.