Peter Aldous outlines challenges facing hospitality businesses in Waveney and calls on the Government to help ease the financial burden by introducing measures such as a 3% cap on the increase in business rates for larger premises and reducing the lower rate of employer national insurance contributions to 10% to share the cost of the increased national minimum wage.

Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mrs Cummins. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for North Devon (Selaine Saxby) on securing the debate and thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting it. Tourism around the British coast remains a vital component part of the UK economy. That is perhaps overlooked at times, and it is right that we are holding this debate in advance of the spring Budget statement at the beginning of March. At the end of March we have the start of the season, with the Easter weekend.

I shall start as other colleagues have, by providing an advertorial for the tourism and hospitality industry in the Lowestoft and Waveney area. Some might find that a bit of a joke or tedious, but it serves a very important purpose. We are showcasing the enormous range of leisure and tourism opportunities available on the coast of all four nations, as well as the beauty and diversity of the coastline. There is something for everyone to savour, as well as many job opportunities.

I return to Lowestoft and Waveney. In Lowestoft, to the north at Corton and to the south at Pakefield and Kessingland, there are a wide variety of beaches, including the gloriously sandy South beach in Lowestoft. We have two piers—the Claremont pier, which the Llewellyn family are restoring to its former glory, and the South pier, which is let for a peppercorn by Associated British Ports to a community interest company, which I chair. To the north and south of Lowestoft we have two of the biggest visitor attractions in East Anglia, the Pleasurewood Hills theme park and Africa Alive, which is run by the Zoological Society of East Anglia.

All along the coast are a variety of holiday parks run by family businesses and larger national companies. We are also the gateway, at Oulton broad and Beccles, to the—often overlooked by our noisy neighbours in Norfolk—Suffolk broads, which are surrounded by a stunning landscape that the Suffolk Wildlife Trust plays an increasingly important role in restoring at Carlton marshes, Oulton marshes and, as announced last week, Worlingham marshes. Finally, Hoseasons, which takes the strain for many of us out of organising and arranging our holidays, has been based in Oulton broad and Lowestoft for nearly 80 years. I hope that I have painted a picture highlighting the importance of coastal tourism in the Waveney area.

Covid hit local businesses hard, although the support that the Government provided was a lifeline for many. The pandemic, as we are hearing, unfortunately has a long, bitter tail, and for many the 2023 summer season was worse than that of 2022. Looking forward to the forthcoming season, many businesses’ confidence is low. High energy costs continue to have an impact. The response to those challenges by many businesses and operators is to cut their opening hours, delay investment and reduce staff.

One business has highlighted to me the negative impact—described by hon. Members around the Chamber —of the national minimum wage. That business does not begrudge paying the increase to its staff, but that presents challenges that cascade right through the business and ultimately leads to higher charges to customers, at a time when their wallets are under enormous strain.

A holiday park operator has brought to my attention the delays in obtaining planning permission for an upgrade and extension to its facilities, not in the Waveney area but elsewhere on the East Anglia coast. An application that should have taken eight weeks took one and a half years.

Leisure businesses in coastal areas including those of Suffolk are not asking for handouts, but they rightly seek a level playing field. To achieve that, I should be grateful if my hon. Friend the Minister would consider the following fiscal measures—I am largely repeating others’ words, but in this place repetition plays a very important role indeed. First, as UKHospitality seeks, we must cap the increase to business rates for larger premises at 3%. Ultimately, we must have annual revaluations and drive the rate in the pound back down to the 30p to 35p level, which is what we had when business rates were introduced in the early ’90s. That said, in the short term, hospitality and leisure businesses, many of which are what I would describe as property-hungry but relatively low income-generating, should not have to pay onerously high business rates.

Secondly, to address the challenge of funding the increase in the national minimum wage, in his forthcoming Budget the Chancellor should cut to 10% the lower rate of employer national insurance contributions and increase the thresholds. The benefit of this policy, which in many ways is welcome, would thereby be shared not only with businesses, but with the Government. That is only equitable.

Thirdly, to ensure that planning applications of the type that I have mentioned are promptly dealt with and are not a brake on investment, the fair funding review of the local government funding settlement needs to be carried out as quickly as possible. That funding settlement is skewed against county and coastal councils.

I ask the Minister to act as a messenger—not Cupid, perhaps—to other Departments about other things that coastal businesses in coastal communities need not only to survive, but ultimately to thrive.

The first message is to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Along the Suffolk and Norfolk coast, we need urgent investment in coastal defences. Our glorious beaches are increasingly unsafe, and holiday park operators and other businesses will not invest in facilities if they are at increased risk of disappearing over a cliff or being washed away. There should also be national investment in the co-ordination and promotion of the King Charles III England coast path national trail.

The message to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is that VisitBritain and VisitEngland should provide parity of support for coastal and rural economies with what is given to London and other core cities.

The message to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is that we need to revive the coastal communities fund and separate the funding provided by the Crown Estate from the granting of licences for offshore wind farms. That money derives from our coastal waters. It should be used to address the many challenges that coastal communities face, rather than thinly dispersed across the whole country.

The final message goes back to DEFRA. Although progress is being made on improving the quality of bathing water around the coast, further pressure must be applied to the water companies to completely eliminate storm overflows as quickly as possible.

Coastal Britain is utterly unique. We must cherish it and ensure that the tourism and hospitality businesses operating there have every opportunity, first to survive and then to flourish and bring significant benefits to the people who live all around our coast.

Hansard

Peter Aldous welcomes the development of multi-sport grassroots facilities, but outlines the challenges faced as such developments are very often led by one sport, which then faces a variety of obstacles in getting other sports authorities to participate. He asks what is being done to promote collaboration between different sports authorities so that much-needed facilities can be built?

Multi-sport Grassroots Facilities

Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)

11. What recent progress she has made on implementing her Department’s multi-sport grassroots facilities programme. (901491)

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Lucy Frazer)

The Government have committed over £325 million to multi-sport grassroots sites across the whole of the UK. This is part of our mission to ensure that every community has the pitches and facilities it needs. So far, 2,300 sites have been supported. That includes funding for grass pitch maintenance at Waveney football club in my hon. Friend’s constituency, creating many more opportunities for people of all backgrounds to get active.

Peter Aldous 

The development of multi-sport grassroots facilities is very often led by one sport, which then faces a variety of obstacles in getting other sports authorities to participate in a particular project. What steps is my right hon. and learned Friend taking to remove those barriers, and to promote collaboration between different sports authorities so that much-needed facilities can be built?

Lucy Frazer 

I welcome my hon. Friend’s question because it allows me to champion the fact that, as a requirement of the Government’s investment in grassroots facilities, 40% of projects need to clearly benefit a sport other than football, such as cricket, rugby, basketball or netball. In England, the Football Foundation and Sport England work closely with the national governing bodies of other sports to encourage the development of multi-sport projects, to promote collaboration between clubs at a local level.

Hansard

Peter Aldous acknowledges amendments put forward for Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill designed to reduce flaring and venting of methane by new offshore installations, but takes the view that these issues are better negotiated by the independent North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) which has a good record on delivering net zero, works with the industry and is not impeded by the four-to-five-year political cycle.

Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)

As I mentioned on Second Reading, the Bill is of particular interest to me because the oil and gas industry has played a significant role as a major employer in the Waveney and Lowestoft area for nearly 60 years. Moreover, the offshore wind industry and other low-carbon energy technologies, such as nuclear and hydrogen, will provide exciting local job-creating opportunities for generations to come. Dame Rosie, I also chair the British offshore oil and gas industry all-party parliamentary group.

2.00pm

As I mentioned in the debate on 22 January, there are sound reasons to support the Bill in its current form, as a great deal has happened geopolitically in the past two to three years. However, as we have heard today, some say that the Bill is unnecessary because licensing rounds have in any case been held on a broadly annual basis, up to the 32nd licensing round that opened in 2019. I am also mindful that, given the enormous amount of private sector investment that we need to leverage in so as to secure the transition and deliver our net zero targets, there is a need for both consistency of message and the avoidance of political meddling.

In the previous debate, I highlighted that one of the Conservative Government’s most notable achievements in recent years was the creation in 2016 of the Oil and Gas Authority, which now operates as the North Sea Transition Authority and which has correctly acknowledged that the delivery of net zero is its core mission. I also expressed the worry that the Bill undermines the independence of the NSTA. It is through this prism, Dame Rosie, that I consider these amendments, many of which are well reasoned and well intentioned.

The NSTA’s work on delivering net zero derives, as we have heard, from the North sea transition deal, which was an agreement between the UK Government and the oil and gas industry facilitated by the NSTA. This should be the forum through which the amendments before us today are negotiated. By pursuing this partnership approach, we shall retain the confidence of an industry, which, as I have mentioned previously, is globally footloose and which we need to deliver net zero and to secure the enormous job opportunities that are potentially available.

Last month, the East of England Energy Group published its five core principles for energy in the east of England. It also set out what is needed from Government so that it can deliver its vision. Its requirements included a stable fiscal policy, so as to boost investor confidence and project progression, and stable and predictable regulations and policy mechanisms that foster investor confidence and support energy security and the UK’s progress on meeting its decarbonisation targets. It is against those parameters that we should judge the amendments. I would add that the Opposition’s green prosperity plan has alarmed industry and places at risk the inward investment that is so badly needed. However, that is a debate for another day.

On Second Reading, I suggested that we should consider a more ambitious climate compatibility checkpoint and bring forward a ban on routine venting and flaring. Those are sensible ambitions, as I have said, but they do need to be worked up in conjunction and partnership with the NSTA and industry, and not imposed on them. On amendment 12 and new clause 2, it should be added that the NSTA has a good track record with regard to both venting and flaring and marine spatial planning.

David Duguid 

My hon. Friend mentioned the role of the NSTA in the facilitation and delivery of the North sea transition deal, which, as he said, was negotiated between industry and the UK Government. Does he agree that what he is advocating is precisely the purpose of the North sea transition deal—to facilitate the delivery of energy transition to net zero?

Peter Aldous 

My hon. Friend is quite right: the North sea transition deal is the foundation stone on which we should be building, involving industry, involving the NSTA and giving industry the confidence to make the significant investment that we need.

The North sea transition deal includes the target to cut greenhouse gases and emissions by 10% by 2025 and by 25% by 2027. The NSTA wants to halve emissions by 2030. It is also committed to all new developments having no routine flaring and venting, with zero routine flaring across all North sea platforms, whether new or existing, by 2030 at the latest. Good progress is being made. Although figures are not yet available for 2023, emissions were reduced by 23% between 2018 and 2022, while flaring has been reduced by 50% over the same period. In addition to tracking, monitoring and reporting performance, the NSTA closely scrutinises operators’ applications for flaring consents, pushes back against requests to increase flaring, and has ordered operators to restrict production to stay within agreed limits. It has, where necessary, issued fines for breaches.

On marine spatial planning, the NSTA follows a precautionary approach and is acutely aware of the need for co-ordination and collaboration in what are increasingly crowded and sometimes very sensitive and precious waters. It is thus working closely with such organisations as the Crown Estate and the Marine Management Organisation in delivering the marine spatial prioritisation programme of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

In conclusion, the Bill and the amendments raise very important matters, but to tackle them properly, we need to adopt a long-term approach that transcends the four-to-five-year political cycle and that fully involves business.

Hansard

Local MP Peter Aldous celebrated Colleges Week with a visit to East Coast College’s Lowestoft campus where he met with members of the Senior Leadership Team to hear about the latest college developments and projects.

Peter heard about the college’s partnership in The Place, a brand new university centre opening in the heart of Great Yarmouth, along with exciting campus rebuild projects.

They also discussed the college’s call to the government to take urgent action on skills, made through a joint open letter sent in collaboration with the leaders of four of Norfolk and Suffolk’s Further Education institutions. The college supports two major requests: to support the skills employers are calling for; and, to start building the system needed to deliver the flagship Advanced British Standard.

Peter Aldous visited WS Training Ltd's Lowestoft Supported Learning Centre to discuss the courses on offer to young people on Study Programmes aged between 16-19 (up to 25 with an EHCP) and how the courses are individualised to help support young people into further education or employment.

https://www.wstraining.co.uk/

Peter Aldous visited Nationwide’s Lowestoft branch to meet the staff and discuss Nationwide’s branch strategy, their model and how they are supporting their members. 

Peter discussed the importance of retaining face to face services. Nationwide now have the largest branch network and remain committed to keeping our branches open for customers.

Peter Aldous has joined the RSPCA and the Marine Conservation Society in welcoming the UK Government’s announcement of a forthcoming ban on disposable vapes.

Five million single-use e-cigarettes are thrown away every week, and many of them end up as litter in our environment, our rivers and the ocean where they can cause harm to animals and marine life. These vapes contain materials and poisonous substances which can be hazardous to animals including plastic, lithium and nicotine.

The RSPCA says the announcement will help "create a better world for every animal".

RSPCA Public Affairs Manager Harriet Main said:

“We’re really pleased that Peter attended our event to pledge support about how he can help make a ban on disposable vapes a reality.

“Too many single-use vapes are simply being tossed away in our communities, putting animals needlessly at risk; they could ingest the liquid from discarded, disposable vapes; while strewn devices can also impact habitats.

“We are calling on MPs to ensure the UK Government follows through on its announcement to introduce legislation to put an end to these polluting and dangerous items, which will be such an important move as we all strive to create a better world for every animal. Without action, animals remain at risk from carelessly discarded disposable vapes.”

Research from Material Focus suggests the number of disposable vapes being discarded each week has increased to five million - with three percent of UK vapers - including eight percent of 16-18 year olds - admitting they drop single-use vapes on the ground.

An RSPCA survey - part of its #VexedAboutVapes campaign - showed 94% of respondents supported a ban on disposable vapes.

Peter Aldous said:

“I am appalled at how many of these single-use e-cigarettes end up as litter on land as well as in rivers and the ocean. But it’s also heartening to know that there is such strong support for banning these dangerous and polluting disposable vapes amongst the public.

“I’m proud to support the RSPCA and the Marine Conservation Society with this important campaign, and I will be doing my bit to help secure a ban on disposable vapes.”

More information on the RSPCA’s #VexedAboutVapes campaign can be found online.