From Thursday families can enjoy a cut-price trip to Legoland or the cinema to watch Toy Story 5 as the government’s school holiday discount scheme Great British summer savings gets under way.

Billed by Rachel Reeves as a way to “support families with the little treats in life”, the temporary VAT cut will reduce ticket prices at family attractions such as zoos and theme parks as well as the cost of children’s cinema tickets and restaurant meals.

Here is a guide to the scheme.

What is happening?

The chancellor has temporarily cut VAT from 20% to 5% on a range of family-friendly activities from when schools break up in Scotland on 25 June until children return to classrooms in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on 1 September.

The reduced rate, which businesses can choose to pass on, applies to:
children’s and family tickets for cinemas, theatres, concerts, shows and exhibitions;
admission tickets, for children and adults, to attractions, including: amusement parks, zoos, soft play centres, nature reserves and wildlife parks; and
children’s meals in restaurants.

The initiative is designed to ease the cost of living, and if companies pass on the reduced rate, the government says savings for a family of two adults and two children equate to £20 on a theme park outing, £17 for a wildlife park, £1.50 off children’s cinema tickets and £2 off children’s meals.

Where can I go?

Big attractions including Peppa Pig World, Alton Towers and Legoland are among the well-known names taking part. Merlin Entertainments, which owns 20 venues including Alton Towers and Legoland, has updated ticket prices to show “summer VAT savings applied”. Advance tickets for both parks now start at £29.75, down from £34.

Famous for its safari park in Wiltshire, Longleat has also updated its ticketing system with the discount bringing the cost of advance tickets for a family of four down to £122.30, a saving of £17.50.

The Odeon, Vue and Cineworld cinema chains are also taking part. While prices vary depending on where you live and how you book, Odeon says a family ticket (two adults and two children) will come down from £32 to £28.50 during the scheme.

What about eating?

Greene King, with more than 2,500 outlets, McDonald’s, Wetherspoons and Nando’s are among the household names promising to pass on the tax saving on children’s meals. Nando’s says its “Nandino” meals will come down from £6.95 to £6.08 while on the Wetherspoons children’s menu a £5.75 meal drops to £5.03. McDonald’s is slashing the price of a typical Happy Meal by 27% to £2.99.

There is no legal requirement for businesses to do this and some struggling hospitality businesses may decide not to, or only pass on part of it.

In theory, yes. The small print says that the VAT discount applies providing two conditions are met: that the dish is advertised and priced as a child’s meal, and that it is eaten in a restaurant or cafe. The reduction does not apply to meals marketed as smaller portions or lower-calorie options.

Where a children’s meal is supplied for a single inclusive price, say including a drink or additional courses, the entire package is eligible for the reduced rate. Meals that include an alcoholic drink do not qualify.

Note, the discount only applies to children’s meals eaten in a restaurant or cafe, not takeaways. (McDonald’s has extended the Happy Meal discount to drive-thru and takeaway customers who order through its app meaning only home delivery is excluded.)

Any other housekeeping?

Season tickets, such as the popular Merlin passes that start at £139, are not included in the scheme. The rules say that a weekly or season pass allowing multiple visits beyond the summer holidays do not qualify if they cost more than a standard single-entry ticket.

The reduced rate for cinema, theatre, exhibition and show entry applies to children’s tickets and is only extended to adults as part of a family package.

For attractions (and soft play centres) the reduced rate applies to all tickets.

Refunds for existing bookings

You might get one, but businesses don’t have to do it. For its part, the government says it “would expect that where a customer has prepaid that they would be refunded for any additional VAT paid”.

Longleat, for example, says that customers who had already booked a date covered by the offer will get an automatic refund of the difference.

However, Hever Castle in Kent says on its website that the “offer is not retrospective and cannot be applied to tickets bought before this date. Existing bookings cannot be cancelled and rebooked to take advantage of the discounted prices.” This approach “ensures we can apply offers fairly and consistently across all seasonal campaigns”, it adds.

Paul Kelly, the chief executive of the British Association of Leisure Parks Piers and Attractions, says that individual businesses may choose to issue a refund based on prior bookings but it is not a requirement. “It may prove logistically difficult and a financial burden for some companies to issue individual refunds both in time and money, which was never the intention,” he adds.

Anything else?

The scheme also includes free travel on local bus services for children (aged 5-15) in England during August. Over the month this perk could save a family with two children who make a weekly return trip at a £1.50 child fare £27. It does not apply in London, where children’s free travel is already in place, or in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, where travel support is devolved.

There are lots of other ways to save money on pricey days out. Look for offers on cereal packets or consult National Rail’s Days Out Guide, which has “2 for 1” deals for popular tourist attractions where you travel by train. Merlin Entertainments is also running an offer to visit “two parks for the price of one”.