Schools: Uniforms

(asked on 10th May 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions officials in his Department have had with their counterparts in the Treasury on the potential merits of removing VAT applied to school uniforms in the context of rising living costs.


Answered by
Robin Walker Portrait
Robin Walker
This question was answered on 17th May 2022

Officials at the department meet regularly with counterparts across government to discuss national priorities.

Under the current VAT rules, all children’s clothing and footwear designed for young people less than 14 years of age, including school uniforms, attract a zero-rate of VAT. This means that no VAT is charged on the sale of these items.

The UK is one of only two countries among the 37 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member countries to maintain a VAT relief for children’s clothing. This costs Her Majesty’s Treasury £2 billion per year. Expanding that relief would come at a further cost and would have to be balanced by increased taxes elsewhere or reductions in government spending.

The government is supporting the hardest hit with £22 billion of help with the cost of living, including cutting hundreds of pounds off household bills, and keeps all taxes under constant review.

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