Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what VAT distinction has been made between elective orthodontic treatment in adults and essential appliances used to correct craniofacial and occlusal abnormalities in children.

There is no distinction in VAT treatment dependent on whether the patient is an adult or child.

Orthodontic treatment is exempt from VAT where it forms part of a package of medical care whose principle purpose is to protect, maintain or restore a person’s health, provided the conditions for the medical exemption are met.