Price cuts on family summer days out come into force with VAT cut
Families are expected to have cheaper access to children’s meals, as well as theme parks, zoos and museums, due to the temporary VAT reduction that will come into force on Thursday due to the summer holidays of schools.
Ticket prices at various tourist attractions are among the events where VAT will be reduced from 20% to 5%, which the government says will help the cost of living.
The outage will begin in Scotland on 25 June, the same date that schools close at the end of this month, and will be followed by Northern Ireland, England and Wales in July until 1 September.
But families, charities and companies say the measure will do little to help tight budgets, while some doubt the tax savings will be passed on to customers.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves told the BBC that as a mother she was aware that summer holidays could be quite expensive and a “juggling act” with parents having to take time off work to entertain their children.
He added that the aim of the temporary VAT cut on family-related activities was to “help people remember those precious memories during their summer holidays, but without having to spend so much money on it”.
Alan, 42, from Brighton, regularly goes to theme parks with his family but isn’t expecting much from the VAT cut.
“This type of entertainment is quite expensive in the first place,” he said, adding that the savings would be “negligible” if passed on and would only benefit those who went to the theme parks on a one-off basis.
He said the best option for his family was to have a theme park pass, which they would use to go to Legoland, Chessington World of Adventure and Sea Life.
Helen Miller, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank, previously said these measures would deliver some savings but estimated they would amount to “an average saving of around £10 per UK household”.
Alan says that more beneficial measures can be taken if energy and fuel costs are addressed.
“It’s a mystery how the government can say this will result in household savings,” he said.
The measures also include unlimited free bus travel for children in England in August. Reeves told the BBC that “unlimited bus rides for children would be worth more than £10”, especially for those who depend on the bus.
The Chancellor highlighted other measures the government has introduced, including freezing prescription charges, freezing rail fares and providing discounts on energy bills, as well as helping households struggling to make ends meet.
