Cheaper theme park tickets and children's meals as VAT to be cut for some attractions this summer

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Ticket prices for families at various attractions such as theme parks, zoos and museums will be cheaper during the summer holidays through a cut to VAT, the chancellor has said.

Rachel Reeves announced a temporary reduction in VAT from 20% to 5% from when schools break up in Scotland at the end of June until children return to classrooms in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on 1 September.

The discount, which will be up to businesses to pass on, will also apply to children's entry to cinemas, concerts, soft play and theatres, as well as children's meals in restaurants and cafes.

The VAT cut was part of a flurry of government policy announcements aimed at easing cost of living pressures.

As well as the cut in VAT on tickets for family days out, the chancellor announced free bus journeys for children in August and cuts to import taxes on some basic foods under a "Great British Summer Savings" campaign, which is estimated to cost about £300m.

"I recognise that what matters for families is not just getting by, but being able to enjoy time together without worrying about the next bill," Reeves said, adding it was also about supporting the hospitality sector.

The scheme announcement comes as households are experiencing rising fuel prices at the pumps, and are bracing themselves for higher energy and food bills due to the war in Iran disrupting supply chains.

It is also an attempt by the government to wrestle back control of the political agenda as the uncertainty surrounding the Prime Minister's future continues.

While the VAT cut has been announced by the government, it will be up to businesses to pass the savings on to customers.

Helen Miller, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank, said the measures would lead to some savings, but estimated they would equate to an "average saving of around £10 per UK household".

Value added tax, or VAT, is the tax people have to pay when buying goods or services. The standard rate of VAT in the UK is 20%, with about half the items households spend money on subject to this rate.

The reduced rate to 5% this summer will apply to:

• Children's menu meals served in restaurants for consumption on the premises
• Children's and family tickets for cinemas, theatres, concerts, shows and exhibitions
• Admission tickets for both children and adults for attractions including amusement parks, fairs, museums, zoos, soft play centres, circuses, adventure parks, nature reserves, wildlife parks and observation attractions

As part of the wider scheme, children aged five to 15 will travel for free on participating local buses in England throughout August.

Meanwhile, biscuits, chocolate, dried fruit and nuts are among more than 100 products which will see targeted cuts to import charges on food from overseas. The full list of products included in the measures will be published next week.

The government hopes suspending such tariffs will reduce pressure on food price rises, but there is no guarantee that the products will become cheaper.

There are also concerns the cost of a weekly shop will rise in the coming months as higher energy prices are passed through supply chains.

Asked on the BBC's Today programme how much the price of a tin of baked beans could come fall through suspending tariffs, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby said: "We can't be exact about that, because obviously it's about how supermarkets set their pricing."

'Positive step'

UK Hospitality, which represents such businesses, said the VAT cut was a "positive step" to help families "enjoy a great British break this summer".

The industry body's chair Kate Nicholls suggested the move should be "viewed by Government as a down-payment on a wider shift to a lower VAT rate for the entire hospitality sector, to bring us in line with Europe".

Figures released on Thursday revealed UK business activity declined for the first time in a year, according to the closely-watched purchasing managers' index (PMI) survey, driven by weaker confidence among consumers and firms.

But Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said although the government's measures on the cost of living would make a "real difference", it was not what people were struggling with now.

"The people coming to us every 30 seconds in crisis aren't just worrying about August, they're already struggling now and fear things will only get worse as winter hits," she said.

"Today's announcement doesn't address the urgent need for a plan to tackle record energy debt, or the huge uncertainties people face with their finances."

The TUC union also said the government needed to be "bolder" to shield workers and households from the impacts of the Iran war.

On Wednesday, the government announced it would extend the 5p cut to fuel duty to the end of the year, instead of phasing it out n September.

Separately, ministers have been pressing supermarkets to cut costs for shoppers but will not force them to cap prices on essentials like eggs, bread and milk.

Multiple supermarket sources told the BBC that the government had urged them to voluntarily freeze the price of key groceries, in return for an easing of regulations.

But even a voluntary scheme to cut costs has been heavily criticised, with the boss of Marks & Spencer's, Stuart Machin, saying such a policy was "completely preposterous".

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