West Dunbartonshire Council are running a survey on the visitor levy which closes at the end of this month (February 2025). It can be accessed here.
While it isn’t the full public consultation, it should still be responded to…
Do you have any other comments that you would like to provide in relation to any implementation of a Visitor Levy for West Dunbartonshire?
The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) appreciates the opportunity to respond to this survey. Any engagement is to be welcomed but it must not be an fait accompli. It must be genuine and meaningful, taking into the account the views of stakeholders but particularly that of businesses who will ultimately be responsible for administering the new visitor levy.
The ASSC does not believe that now is the right time for West Dunbartonshire to introduce a visitor levy, or indeed to take forward a public consultation on the matter. It would be prudent to postpone Stage 2 of this consultation and instead take stock and review how City of Edinburgh Council are progressing with their levy.
The power to introduce a visitor levy is discretionary and not compulsory. While we can understand why some councils may wish to make use of the regulatory powers, the financial context is one which gives rise to suspicions that the monies raised from any local levy will merely be used as a revenue raiser or to plug gaps in general spending.
Indeed, Question 8 of this survey asks respondents to pick its top three choices for spending the levy income. Some of these options have tenuous or no relevance to the statutory direction set out in the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act. Sections 13 and 19 of the Act are perfectly clear: proceeds from the levy should be spent on “developing, supporting or sustaining facilities or services which are substantially used by persons visiting the scheme area for leisure or business purposes (or both).” Including options like ‘council services in general’ in this survey will merely confuse the public about what this legislation is about, never mind it running contrary to the Act itself.
Any net revenue raised by a local visitor levy must be used as a force for good in terms of tourism and clearly evidence an environmental, social, heritage and economic impact which, in turn, contributes to Scotland’s national tourism strategy. This should be about reinvesting in tourism priorities, not as a revenue raiser for existing Council services or obligations. Failure to do so not only goes against the Act but will undermine the trust between business and the Council.
Given the existing regulatory burden facing many small businesses in West Dunbartonshire – including through the implementation of short-term let licensing and planning regulations – we would respectfully recommend that the Council does not take forward a full public consultation at this stage and instead monitor developments in Edinburgh before making a firm commitment to develop any draft West Dunbartonshire Visitor Levy Scheme.