Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2021 to Question 58455, on Schools: Uniforms, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of VAT on school uniforms on parents whose children are required to wear school uniform in years five and six of secondary schooling.

Under the current VAT rules, all children’s clothing and footwear designed for children who are less than 14 years of age, including school uniforms, attract a zero-rate of VAT, meaning that no VAT is charged on the sale of these items.

The UK is one of only two countries among the 37 OECD member countries to maintain a VAT relief for children’s clothing, which costs the Exchequer £2 billion per year. Expanding that relief would come at a further cost and would have to be balanced by increased taxes elsewhere or reductions in Government spending.

The Government keeps all taxes under constant review.