Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2023 to Question 187024 on Dementia: Health Services, if his Department will consider the potential merits of including community interest companies that provide social care but are not regulated by the Care Quality Commission, due to not providing personal care, in the VAT exemptions for welfare services.

The standard rate of VAT applies to most goods and services. Exceptions have always been strictly limited by legal and fiscal considerations.

Where social care is provided by a state-regulated body, including community interest companies, then the VAT exemption for welfare services applies.

The regulation requirement ensures that VAT relief is limited to providers certified as offering safe and high-quality welfare services. This is a long-standing requirement, and there are no plans to make changes to these rules.