Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions his Department has had with the EU on the EU classification of sanitary items for VAT purposes.

The Government has continued to press at EU level for the flexibility to apply a zero rate of VAT to women’s sanitary products so that this can be introduced in the UK at the earliest opportunity.

In January 2018, the European Commission brought forward a legislative proposal to enhance Member States’ flexibility to apply reduced and zero rates of VAT. This proposal remains under discussion and, if agreed to by Member States, would give the UK the legal ability to zero rate women’s sanitary products.