Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answers of the 28 January 2022 to Question 110444 and 13 January 2022 to Question 103583 on on Housing: Building Alterations, what analysis his Department has conducted of VAT relief requests to determine the around £50 billion figure for all VAT reliefs requested following the EU Referendum.

HM Treasury, alongside HMRC, has modelled the cost implications of relief requests from VAT received since the EU referendum. These are then combined, excluding any duplicates, to produce the total figure for VAT relief requests.

Any new VAT reliefs would impose additional pressure on the public finances, to which VAT makes a significant contribution. VAT raised around £130 billion in the year 2019-20 and helps to fund key spending priorities. Any reduction in tax paid is a reduction in the money available to support important public services, including the NHS and policing.