Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2024 to Question 14160 on Higher Education: VAT, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of enabling groups of universities to share VAT-exempt costs at contract level without creating a separate legal entity.

The requirement for groups using the cost sharing exemption to create a separate legal entity is in place to ensure that use of the exemption aligns with normal VAT principles that apply to all taxpayers. The Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the policy making process, but there are currently no plans to change this.