HC Deb 29 April 1999 vol 330 cc213-4W
Mr. Spring

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what is his assessment of the effect of recent changes to advance corporation tax on the tourism industry. [81803]

Local authority Primary education SSA (£ million) Estimated number of resident pupils aged 5 to 10 Primary education SSA per primary pupil (£/pupil) Secondary education SSA (£ million) Estimated number of resident pupils aged 11 to 15 Secondary education SSA per secondary pupil (£/pupil)
Bedfordshire 67.54 28,609 2,361 66.269 22,014 3,010
Buckinghamshire 79.231 33,522 2,364 80.276 27,230 2,948
Cambridgeshire 85.221 39,310 2,168 79.399 28,051 2,831
Cheshire 108.986 48,612 2,242 114.218 37,885 3,015
Cornwall 81.285 34,725 2,341 84.335 28,504 2,959
Cumbria 81.26 35,574 2,284 84.398 28,498 2,962
Derbyshire 118.175 53,463 2,210 116.069 41,188 2,818
Devon 105.727 46,262 2,285 103.297 36,721 2,813
Dorset 56.094 25,393 2,209 58.653 20,032 2,928
Durham 86.097 37,952 2,269 88.105 31,004 2,842

Janet Anderson

[holding answer 28 April 1999]: We have made no specific assessment of the effect on the tourism industry of the recent changes to advance corporation tax.

The abolition of advance corporation tax from 6 April 1999, together with other recent changes in corporation tax, is aimed at stimulating greater high-quality long-term investment and will increase the attraction of the UK as a location for international companies. The removal of advance corporation tax, which gives all small to medium companies that pay dividends a significant cash-flow advantage, should benefit some of the many small firms which make up the tourism industry.

As we outlined in our recent strategy, "Tomorrow's Tourism", we are committed to creating the right economic climate for enterprise and investment for the whole of the UK economy as well as the tourism industry; these corporation tax changes contribute to our central economic objective of promoting economic stability as a platform for long-term sustainable growth.