Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing VAT from services provided by (a) psychotherapists and (b) counsellors.

Many services provided directly or supervised by registered health professionals are exempt from VAT, meaning no VAT is charged to the final consumer. However, this relief does not apply to professionals who do not have statutory registers.

The UK’s approach of linking exemption to statutory registration is considered to be a clear and objective criterion for defining ‘health professionals’ for VAT purposes. We have no plans to make changes here.