Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government has made an assessment of the merits of granting credit reference agencies and authorised finance providers access to financial data in the VAT register.

The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 allows HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to share only non-financial data on VAT registered businesses.

HMRC is working to allow the secure sharing of VAT registration data with carefully vetted applicants to increase the availability of credit to small businesses.