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The fundamental principle is that people need to be provided with advice in a timely manner. I hear what the minister is saying about not wanting to put undue pressure on already stretched services, but I contend that that probably suggests that there is a need for more help and advice to be provided. Rather than the proposal creating an issue, I think that it highlights a need that requires to be met.

I recognise that there are implications, and the amendments are very much probing amendments. The minister is offering to have further discussions, and I am very happy with that. It is about maintaining good information that can be used and deployed by anyone, and perhaps there is a way through with that in mind.

On that basis, I will seek to withdraw amendment 24 and will not move the other amendments in the group.

Amendment 24, by agreement, withdrawn.

Section 2 agreed to.

After section 2

I wonder whether the minister might reflect on two important principles in relation to process. The first is about the Parliament’s ability to inform the redrafting or revision of regulations, whether in draft form or some other amendable form. The second, given the potentially substantive impact that some of the regulations could have, is the ability of a relevant committee to look in detail at and perhaps take evidence on those same regulations. Will the minister concede those principles and seek to introduce them in amendments at stage 3?

On a similar basis, I will not move that amendment.

Amendment 21 not moved.

I will be relatively brief. My fundamental view is that, although we can provide people with the ability to do things, that does not necessarily mean that they will have the wherewithal, understanding or knowledge to take up those possibilities. That is particularly true when people are having to deal with potentially complicated financial matters at a point when they are in severe distress.

Amendments 24, 27 and 28 are about ensuring that people are provided with debt advice and information in a timely manner, so that they can take up the provisions that the bill will provide for. Amendment 30 would ensure that the Government collected and published data outlining whether people had taken up that advice.

In a sense, my amendments are quite simple: they are about ensuring that people have the information and that we understand how that information is being used.

I move amendment 24.

I remind members of my entry in the register of members’ interests, in that I am a director and sole shareholder in a company that holds retail interests. I know what it is like to have to implement changes and new charges in a small business. Sometimes it is easy, but sometimes it is not so easy.

I wish to make two fundamental points in speaking to amendments 38 and 39. First, we need to consider the practical realities for very small businesses in implementing new charges. There is also an important point about the interaction between the proposed levy and VAT, including the sometimes complex nature of having to comply with VAT rules and, for many small businesses, having to pay VAT. The levy potentially adds to that complexity.

On the first point, as somebody with a retail background, I recall changes in the VAT regime and the introduction of the bag charge. Neither of those things was unwelcome—indeed, the VAT changes were very welcome at the time—but they were not always easy to implement. I remember spending one night until midnight in my shops, trying to get my tills working properly for the next morning, and that was not straightforward; it was also stressful. We should bear that in mind when we are asking for changes to be made not just for businesses but often for activities that sit alongside main businesses. The proposals might well represent a very significant additional administrative burden.

There are many forms of very small accommodation throughout Scotland that are important for our mix and our offer as a country. They often consist of just one or two bedrooms, and they are very much not the main economic activity—they might be on a farm, for instance. Those businesses are essentially run from a school exercise jotter and a cash tin. The assumption that is being made in this case, which is often made when Government makes such proposals, is that the change is as simple as adding a button to the till or adding a parameter to a computer system. Sometimes that is the case, but not for the smallest businesses. My amendments therefore seek to create a category, defined either by number of rooms provided or by a turnover threshold, that would exempt such businesses. My amendments would exempt from the scheme the very smallest businesses, which would find it difficult to administer the levy.

Secondly, as far as we are aware, the levy will be liable to VAT, and we need to be mindful of the interaction with it. Most other countries in Europe do not have VAT levied on accommodation. Pam Gosal’s amendments, both in their purposes and in highlighting that interaction with VAT, are therefore very important. I do not think that members should be under any illusion: VAT is not necessarily a straightforward tax, either to administer on behalf of Government or to administer on behalf of businesses. It is often a struggle for people to ensure that they can pay their VAT bill. It requires a degree of cash-flow management, which is a burden that we are placing on businesses. The levy will not just add a charge; there will be 20 per cent on top of it, too. In imposing the levy, we are adding complexity, and we need to consider the smallest businesses.

On Pam Gosal’s amendment 16, although we need to be mindful of the time and cost that might be required of businesses, I note that, with other taxes and levies, we do not give money back to businesses. When I was in business, I might have liked it if HM Revenue & Customs had given me a rebate for the time that it took me to prepare my tax returns—unfortunately, it did not. I wonder what precedent that would set. However, the point about giving consideration to time and cost to businesses is important.

My amendments are probing amendments. I recognise that they might not—

I was merely pointing out that, when it came to preparing my corporation tax and VAT, I was unable to claw back money for that. I really appreciate the point that we need to be mindful about the time and cost that will be required by businesses to prepare for the levy, but we need to ensure that we do so in a consistent manner.

As I was saying, although I recognise that my amendments, as drafted, might not be practical, the principle is about ensuring that we recognise the smallest microbusinesses, give consideration to them and, where appropriate, seek to exempt them.

There is a lot of merit in the proposal to exempt people who are doing useful things, both economically and socially, and people who are vulnerable or who are having to use accommodation through no fault of their own. However, my concern is about how the exemption would work and be policed, enforced and verified. Would we ask people to prove their reason for staying? What would stop people saying, “Just tick the box when you register because no one’s going to ask”? My concern is that the exemption would be exploited by people who do not have good intentions. I absolutely recognise that the amendment has good intentions, but I worry about people who do not.

Will the minister give way?

I am not the minister, Ms Gosal—unfortunately.

I will speak in support of the points that Neil Bibby has just made.

There are two fundamental points in this area. The first is that our tourism offer comprises a broad range of business types. Not the least of those are our cultural organisations, which form a critical part of that offer and so must be taken into consideration in assessing how the levy is rolled out and how the funding is used.

I turn to the second and perhaps more fundamental point. We will discuss definitions in the context of later amendments, but I point out here that having an effective consultation process will be vital if we are to give businesses in the sector confidence that the levy will improve the tourism offer rather than simply being another tax that they will have to pay.

Let us take this point head on: frankly, there are fears that this will be just another consultation exercise, that there will be another form to fill in and that it is something that local authorities will perform only in order to levy the tax. Businesses want to be involved in deciding how the money is to be spent.

I would therefore be grateful if, in his concluding remarks, the minister could give his thoughts on how the guidance can be devised and the requirements put in place so there is not only a form on a website, but engagement and co-decision-making with the businesses that are impacted. There must also be consultation about how the money will be spent so that it genuinely adds to the tourism offer in our towns, cities and rural locations, rather than simply being another fiscal burden on businesses that are already struggling—as Pam Gosal pointed out.