Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has undertaken an assessment of the effect of the reduction in VAT on the hospitality sector.

In order to support the cash flow and viability of about 150,000 businesses and to protect over 2.4 million jobs, the Government has applied a temporary reduced rate of VAT (5 per cent) to goods and services supplied by the tourism and hospitality sectors, which will now end on 30 September 2021. On 1 October 2021, a new reduced rate of 12.5 per cent will be introduced for these goods and services to ease affected businesses back to the standard rate. The new rate will end on 31 March 2022.

This relief is estimated to be worth over £7 billion to the tourism and hospitality sectors.