Price cuts on family summer days out come into force
Families are expected to get cheaper access to theme parks, zoos and museums as well as kids' meals as a temporary VAT cut comes in to force on Thursday for the school summer holidays.
Ticket prices at various attractions are among the activities where VAT will be reduced from 20% to 5% in what the goverment said would help with the cost of living.
The cut begins on 25 June, in time for schools breaking up in Scotland at the end of this month, followed by Northern Ireland, England and Wales in July, until 1 September.
But families, charities and firms said the measure will do little to help squeezed budgets, with some doubting the tax saving would be passed on to customers.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves told the BBC that as a mum she recognises that summer holidays could be quite expensive and a "juggling act" as parents have to take time off work to keep children entertained.
She added that the purpose of the temporary cut to VAT on family-related activities was to "help people make those precious memories during the summer holidays, but not having to fork out too much for it".
Alan, 42, from Brighton goes to theme parks with him family regularly but he does not expect much from the VAT cut.
"These kind of attractions are quite expensive in the first place," he said, adding that the savings, if passed on, would be "negligible" and only benefit those who go to theme parks as a one-off.
He said the best option for his family was having a theme park pass, which they use to go to Legoland, Chessington World of Adventure and Sea Life centres.
Helen Miller, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank, previously said the measures would lead to some savings, but estimated they would equate to an "average saving of around £10 per UK household".
Alan says that more useful measures would be if energy and fuel costs were addressed.
"How the government can say this is going to result in any household saving is a mystery," he said.
The measures also include unlimited free bus travel for children in England in August. Reeves told the BBC that especially for those particularly reliant on the bus, "unlimited bus travel for kids is going to be worth more than £10".
The chancellor pointed to other measures the government has introduced including freezing prescription charges, freezing rail fares and providing energy bill relief as also helping households with cost of living pressures.
Pub chains Wetherspoons and Greene King, as well as Nando's will be among those who say they will pass on tax savings to customers in the form of cheaper meals.
But Laughton Ross, an accountant from London whose clients include local hospitality businesses, is concerned about the additional costs to firms of implementing the scheme.
"The changes only apply for a few weeks," he told the BBC. "They will have to reprogramme till systems and accounting systems, which creates operational and financial risk, only to reverse all of this a few weeks later.
"Many smaller businesses don't have in-house capability to handle the changes and the cost of support could be significant for them. This is in addition to the cost of re-printing menus, and so on," he said.
He added that "the guidance published to date suggests the rules around how the scheme will operate are overly complex."
Additional reporting by Peter Ruddick and Alex Emery.
Read the full story at BBC ↗
The government has introduced a temporary reduction in VAT on family activities and children's meals from 20% to 5%, running from late June through early September to coincide with school summer holidays across the UK. The measure covers attraction tickets, food, and includes unlimited free bus travel for children in England during August. Chancellor Rachel Reeves framed the policy as helping families manage holiday costs. The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimated average household savings of around £10. Some hospitality chains including Wetherspoons, Greene King and Nando's have indicated they will reduce prices accordingly. However, concerns have been raised: consumers question whether savings will be substantial enough to matter, some businesses worry about the operational and financial burden of implementing and reversing system changes over a few weeks, and smaller firms may face significant costs in updating till systems and materials. The measure is one of several cost-of-living interventions the government has introduced, alongside prescription charge freezes and energy bill relief.
Read the full story at BBC ↗
Families are expected to get cheaper access to theme parks, zoos and museums as well as kids' meals as a temporary VAT cut comes in to force on Thursday for the school summer holidays.
Ticket prices at various attractions are among the activities where VAT will be reduced from 20% to 5% in what the goverment said would help with the cost of living.
The cut begins on 25 June, in time for schools breaking up in Scotland at the end of this month, followed by Northern Ireland, England and Wales in July, until 1 September.
But families, charities and firms said the measure will do little to help squeezed budgets, with some doubting the tax saving would be passed on to customers.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves told the BBC that as a mum she recognises that summer holidays could be quite expensive and a "juggling act" as parents have to take time off work to keep children entertained.
She added that the purpose of the temporary cut to VAT on family-related activities was to "help people make those precious memories during the summer holidays, but not having to fork out too much for it".
Alan, 42, from Brighton goes to theme parks with him family regularly but he does not expect much from the VAT cut.
"These kind of attractions are quite expensive in the first place," he said, adding that the savings, if passed on, would be "negligible" and only benefit those who go to theme parks as a one-off.
He said the best option for his family was having a theme park pass, which they use to go to Legoland, Chessington World of Adventure and Sea Life centres.
Helen Miller, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank, previously said the measures would lead to some savings, but estimated they would equate to an "average saving of around £10 per UK household".
Alan says that more useful measures would be if energy and fuel costs were addressed.
"How the government can say this is going to result in any household saving is a mystery," he said.
The measures also include unlimited free bus travel for children in England in August. Reeves told the BBC that especially for those particularly reliant on the bus, "unlimited bus travel for kids is going to be worth more than £10".
The chancellor pointed to other measures the government has introduced including freezing prescription charges, freezing rail fares and providing energy bill relief as also helping households with cost of living pressures.
Pub chains Wetherspoons and Greene King, as well as Nando's will be among those who say they will pass on tax savings to customers in the form of cheaper meals.
But Laughton Ross, an accountant from London whose clients include local hospitality businesses, is concerned about the additional costs to firms of implementing the scheme.
"The changes only apply for a few weeks," he told the BBC. "They will have to reprogramme till systems and accounting systems, which creates operational and financial risk, only to reverse all of this a few weeks later.
"Many smaller businesses don't have in-house capability to handle the changes and the cost of support could be significant for them. This is in addition to the cost of re-printing menus, and so on," he said.
He added that "the guidance published to date suggests the rules around how the scheme will operate are overly complex."
Additional reporting by Peter Ruddick and Alex Emery.
Read the full story at BBC ↗
VAT on family attractions, zoos, museums and kids' meals will reduce from 20% to 5% from 25 June to 1 September Free unlimited bus travel for children in England begins in August The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimated average household savings of approximately £10 Wetherspoons, Greene King and Nando's have committed to passing on tax savings to customers Chancellor Rachel Reeves described summer holidays as an expensive 'juggling act' for parents The measure will do little to help squeezed budgets Savings from the VAT cut would be 'negligible' for most families The additional costs to businesses of implementing temporary tax changes are not justified by the short timeframe The rules around how the scheme will operate are overly complex
Read the full story at BBC ↗
- VAT on family attractions and kids' meals falls from 20% to 5% from 25 June to 1 September, covering theme parks, zoos, museums and participating restaurants
- Children get unlimited free bus travel in England in August as part of the measure
- Independent analysis suggests average savings per household around £10, though some major hospitality chains commit to passing on reductions
- Smaller businesses express concern about operational costs of temporary tax system changes
- Critics question whether savings will meaningfully address cost-of-living pressures or be fully passed to consumers