Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2023 to Question 183901 on Sanitary Protection: VAT, what steps his Department is taking to ascertain whether the savings of zero-rating VAT on period products are being passed on from retailers to consumers.

As per my answer to Question 183901, the Government is looking into whether this important zero-rating is being passed on by retailers to women as intended. The Government keeps all taxes and reliefs under continuous review, considering a range of evidence, including data and research on factors like pricing, when assessing the effects of changes to the tax system. While the Government does not control prices, a VAT relief is able to contribute to the conditions for price reductions, and the Government continues to monitor the effects of this relief to aid the policymaking process. HMT and HMRC work closely together to integrate the findings of their monitoring and evaluation processes into future tax relief policy.