Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department's Tourism Recovery Plan: Update on Delivery, published in March 2023, what assessment he has made of the impact of the removal of the VAT-free shopping scheme on businesses.

The Government engaged with varied stakeholders and produced analysis on the cost of VAT-free shopping before withdrawing the previous scheme.

Our analysis, which took increased tourist spending into account, found that introducing worldwide VAT-free shopping would come at a fiscal cost of £2 billion each year.

Furthermore, the OBR’s assessment of the previous VAT-free shopping scheme showed that its withdrawal would have a limited behavioural effect on decisions to visit, or spend, in the UK.