Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment had been made by DHSC or provided to DHSC by NHS England about the potential impact on the NHS of proposed changes to introduce the full refund model for VAT in the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made a formal published assessment of the potential impact on the National Health Service of the proposed changes to introduce a full refund model for VAT under section 41 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994.
The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England have engaged with HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs through cross-Government discussions to understand the potential implications of the proposals for the NHS, including the interaction with NHS funding flows and the principle that any reform would need to be fiscally neutral.
NHS England has provided input to the Department to support this engagement, including analysis of existing VAT recovery arrangements and high-level consideration of the potential impacts of moving from the current Contracted Out Services regime to a full refund model. This work has been undertaken to inform cross-Government discussions and data-gathering exercises led by HM Treasury, rather than as a standalone assessment of the impact on NHS services.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of 1) the challenges faced by electric vehicle manufacturers and 2) the output of electric vehicle manufacturing in the UK.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government acknowledges the challenges the EV sector faces due to volatile consumer demand. However, our ambition is to make the UK one of the best locations in the world to manufacture electric vehicles. We engage closely with UK industry on the challenges it faces and how we can ensure the sector remains internationally competitive and a global leader in innovation.
Our flagship DRIVE35 (Driving Research and Investment in Vehicle Electrification) commits £4 billion of capital and R&D funding to the British automotive industry through to 2035. It will support the latest research and development, accelerate commercial scale up, and increase capital investment in zero emission vehicles, batteries and their supply chains. In addition, we are making an additional £200 million available for EV charging infrastructure on top of the £400 million committed at the summer 2025 Spending Review.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to reduce energy costs for vehicle manufacturers.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Our new British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will reduce electricity costs by up to 25% from 2027, bringing electricity costs more in line with other economies in Europe, and help level the playing field for British businesses.
The scheme will benefit frontier manufacturing industries identified in the Industrial Strategy, such as automotive, as well as foundational manufacturing industries in their supply chains. Responses to the recent Government consultation are currently being reviewed, and Government's response will be published shortly.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will consider conducting a review of electric vehicle manufacturing in the UK.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government remains firmly committed to the EV transition and increasing vehicle manufacturing in the UK. This is why we have committed £4 billion of capital and R&D funding through to 2035 for our flagship DRIVE35 (Driving Research and Investment in Vehicle Electrification) programme which will support the latest R&D in strategic vehicle technologies, accelerate commercial scale up, and unlock investment in their industrialisation. We continue to listen closely to feedback from vehicle manufacturers.
In addition, we are investing an additional £1.3 billion in the Electric Car Grant, taking total funding to £2 billion, and extending it until 2030 which will mean more motorists will benefit from discounts of up to £3,750.