Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the zero VAT rating on children’s shoes to adult shoes in the event that those shoes are sold for children with larger feet.

Under the current VAT rules, a zero rate of VAT is applied to footwear designed for children younger than 14. HMRC limit this based on the average size of 13-year-old children using data provided by the British Standards Institution.

The Government keeps all taxes under review, but there are no plans to extend the scope of this relief to adult shoes.