Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies on workers rights of the British Hair Consortium’s report entitled Securing the future of UK hairdressing and beauty: The economic, fiscal & societal case for VAT reform, published in February 2025.

The industry plays an important economic and social role across the UK, which is why we are creating a fairer business rates system, increasing the Employment Allowance and transforming the apprenticeship levy.

We are committed to tackling false self-employment and will investigate evidence suggesting businesses have misclassified individuals for tax purposes. The Employment Rights Bill will make widescale changes to employment law that will support growth in the UK, bringing greater security at work, greater pay, better staff retention, making jobs more secure and supporting women in work in every stage of life.