Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of deferring the VAT payments due by 31 March 2021 for businesses worst affected by the covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

Approximately 600,000 payments were deferred to the value of £34 billion through the VAT payments deferral scheme, which ended on 30 June 2020. As part of the Winter Economy Plan, the Government announced further support for those with deferred VAT. Instead of paying the full deferred VAT outstanding by 31 March 2021, businesses can spread what they owe over up to 11 smaller monthly payments. More information is available at www.gov.uk/hmrc/vat-deferral.