Chamber and committees

But it is being used to cover spending in other parts of the budget—it is not being spent on the winter fuel payments for which it was intended.

I want to pursue the issue of imperfect taxes before I move on to my main points. When I met some local businesses in hospitality and leisure tourism in Fort William, they were concerned about the visitor levy tourism tax and the VAT implications. The way that it is being set up, VAT will be incurred on top of the levy, so, in essence, businesses will be taxed twice. Is that something that you are concerned about? Do you think that that is fair? Are you taking any action to remedy that?

We have known that this is happening since the UK Government made announcements—whenever that was—in particular, on winter fuel payments.

You told us that you have a deadline of the end of this calendar year, but that suggests that this year’s winter fuel payments will not be made. Are they ruled out?

I am sorry; can you clarify? Had the UK Government not made that decision, who would have paid that full amount? How would that have been administered?

I recognise that. I am just interested in the costs, and what is being spent—

So it is being spent on other parts of the budget.

So that will not include all the people who would have been entitled to the full amount if it was not means-tested.

I just wanted you to clarify that.

Good morning. My first question is for you, Jamie Robertson, because you talked about empowering councils. I think that everybody touched on that, but you mentioned it at the beginning of the meeting.

I recently met organisations and individuals in the tourism and hospitality sector in Fort William. You will appreciate that a large part of my casework over the past few months and years has related to the visitor levy. One of the many concerns that those organisations and individuals raised was how the levy would impact not only them and their businesses but other businesses, such as restaurants and cabs. It has a wider impact than just those who visit an area.

In empowering communities, are we really only shifting the tax burden to those communities, people and businesses? Is that a pattern? What kind of impact is that likely to have on those economies? You could see a situation in which the levy benefits the national Government, because it can refocus money on its priorities, whatever those happen to be, and local authorities will be able to fill large gaps in income, but local communities and economies will suffer.

The visitor levy is one part of this, but the wider issue is the principle of moving the tax burden away from Scottish Government provision, funded through general taxation, and on to communities, because it is local people and businesses that will be affected. Does that concern you?