Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the VAT cut for the hospitality and tourism sector to high street retailers.

In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Chancellor has introduced a range of measures to help individuals and businesses through the pandemic, including grants, loans and relief from business rates at a cost of more than £300 billion.

The temporary reduced rate of VAT will support the tourism and hospitality sectors and will help over 150,000 businesses and protect over 2.4 million jobs. There are currently no plans to expand the scope of the temporary VAT reduction to include high street retail businesses. However, the Government keeps all taxes under review.