Finance (No. 2) Bill

Alison Thewliss Excerpts

Monday 11th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

It is customary, with changes in VAT rates, to give retailers notice. It is not usual for VAT changes to be put in place on the date of Royal Assent, as notice is usually provided. I reassure my hon. Friend that the intention is to provide a short period of time, following Royal Assent, in which retailers will have an opportunity to adjust prices. This is no desire by the Treasury to kick this into the long grass—we want to make progress on the matter.

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

rose—

[Mr Gauke]

I will certainly give way to the hon. Lady, who also deserves recognition for her efforts campaigning on this matter.

[Alison Thewliss]

Will the Minister tell the House exactly what he is going to do to ensure that that price reduction is passed on to consumers by retailers, who should not seek to continue to sell the product at the same price?

[Mr Gauke]

Pricing is essentially a matter for the producers, retailers and customers. We would certainly expect the reduction to be passed on, and I have no doubt that considerable attention will be given to what happens to the pricing of sanitary products after the VAT reduction, and there will be pressure on retailers to pass on the benefits to customers. We do not have a position—we do not have the capability to direct and order people—and we do not have a prices policy as such, but we expect that the reductions will be passed on to customers.