Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill: Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA)

Screening

With reference given to requirements of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, which aspects of the proposal are relevant to/impact upon children’s rights?

The Scottish Government does not consider that the technical changes made to the 2024 Act by the Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill will have a different impact on the wellbeing of children and young people in Scotland to those previously identified in the CRWIA published alongside the 2024 Act. This means that these positive, negative and neutral impacts still apply to a fixed amount (or amounts) model. In summary, the impacts from the 2024 Act and published in the CRWIA alongside it at that time were:

• positive impact in relation to Article 31 (Leisure, Play and Culture) because councils will be able to use funds raised through any visitor levy scheme to enhance the visitor services and facilities which could support greater opportunities for children and young people in accessing and enjoying these services and facilities.
• negative impact in relation to Article 24 (Health and Health Services) in relation to children and young people travelling for medical treatment to an area where a visitor levy is in operation and Article 30 (Children from Minority or Religious Groups) in relation to Gypsy/Traveller communities.
• neutral impact in relation to all other UNCRC requirements.

The Scottish Government does, however, consider that the introduction of a visitor levy based on a fixed-rate amount rather than a percentage-based amount as currently provided for by the 2024 Act could have a negative impact in relation to Article 2(1) as it could result in a scheme which is regressive in that takes a larger percentage of tax revenue from visitors with low income in comparison to those with higher incomes. Article 2 which requires that all other UNCRC rights must be respected and ensured without discrimination of any kind in relation to social origin and property and that children are protected from all forms of discrimination based on the status of the child’s parents, legal guardians or family members. A regressive scheme could also result in further impact in relation to Articles 24 and 30 as above.

However, there is already mitigation in place to address the negative impacts on Articles 24 and 30, and the Scottish Government consider that these same mitigations would address any additional impact resulting from the addition of a flat-rate levy and also any negative impact in relation to Article 2 on its own.

As is the case with schemes using the current percentage-based levy, councils choosing to set up a scheme will have to make sure that they are acting compatibly with their own duties in relation to UNCRC requirements in setting up the schemes and using exemptions as appropriate. Further, the Scottish Ministers may also provide for national exemptions under the 2024 Act and the exclusions already written into the 2024 Act in relation to Gypsy/Traveller sites remain.

At this stage, the Scottish Government does not know how many councils will ultimately choose to introduce a visitor levy scheme. However, at least four councils (Aberdeen City, Edinburgh City, Glasgow City and West Dunbartonshire) have already decided to introduce a percentage-based model, although these schemes have not yet commenced. At least six councils have decided to either pause or reject plans to introduce a visitor levy and other councils have either not announced any plans or are at an early stage of consideration and consultation.

Please provide a summary of the evidence gathered which will be used to inform your decision-making and the content of the proposal.

This assessment draws on evidence gathered to inform the 2024 Act and summarised in associated impact assessments including the CRWIA. The CRWIA published alongside the 2024 Act highlighted findings from public consultation and research evidence.

The public consultation highlighted relatively similar proportions of respondents expressing a preference for a levy based on a percentage of total accommodation charge (35%) and a fixed amount model (32%). A small majority (53%) favoured there being exemptions for children and young people; under the 2024 Act, decisions regarding exemptions are decided at a local level by councils that choose to introduce a visitor levy. The public consultation was made available for children and young people to access independently and organisations including the Scottish Youth Parliament and YoungScot were invited to respond.

There is limited available research evidence that has been updated since the CRWIA published alongside the 2024 Act and that is relevant to the provisions of the Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill which gives councils flexibility to set a visitor levy using a fixed amount model as an alternative to the current percentage-based approach.

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) recently published its ‘Holiday Habits’ report for 2025-26.^[1] This showed that 87% of people in the UK took a holiday either domestically or abroad between August 2024 and July 2025; this is an increase from the 2022-23 report that was cited in the CRWIA published alongside the 2024 Act. The report shows that families and 25-34 year olds are most likely to have travelled both domestically and/or internationally over the same time period. The report also shows that holidays are the last area where people are willing to reduce spending to cover the day-to-day cost of living. The report does not provide any specific insights on the impact of any visitor levy scheme either in the UK or internationally.

The CRWIA published alongside the 2024 Act reflected that a fixed amount (or amounts) model had the potential to be regressive because it could, where the cost of the visitor levy are passed on to visitors, result in visitors purchasing lower-cost accommodation paying a higher proportion of their total accommodation cost compared to those purchasing higher-cost accommodation. This may have a limited impact on children and young people from lower income households, but only those who are visiting and staying overnight in areas where a council has chosen to introduced a fixed amount (or amounts) model. As above, the 2024 Act gave councils the power to introduce local exemptions, including for children and young people.

Evidence on the direct impact of visitor levy schemes on children and young people remains limited due to the relatively novel nature of these taxes. As noted in the CRWIA published alongside the 2024 Act, the Scottish Government will continue to consider evidence that emerges following the introduction of local visitor levies by councils.

Further, the decision to introduce a new piece of legislation to make changes to the 2024 Act was informed by engagement with councils, tourism businesses and organisations that represent tourism businesses. This engagement highlighted the desire for greater flexibility around how a visitor levy scheme could operate in order to best meet local requirements and circumstances and some technical points that needed to be addressed. The Scottish Government has listened to these views.

Further to the evidence described have you identified any 'gaps' in evidence which may prevent determination of impact? If yes, please provide an explanation of how they will be addressed .

As above, there is limited available evidence relevant to the specific provisions of the Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill in relation to its impact on children and young people. Further evidence will likely emerge as councils undertake their own impact assessments and visitor levy schemes that are introduced are evaluated. The 2024 Act requires Scottish Ministers to review the operation of the Act and prepare a report on that review. The review must set out an assessment of the impact of schemes on businesses and communities. The Scottish Government would propose that this review would also provide an appropriate opportunity to review the impact on children’s rights and wellbeing.