Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on sixth form colleges of being ineligible for VAT registration.

Sixth form colleges generally make supplies that are outside the scope of VAT. They can also make both exempt and taxable supplies depending upon their individual circumstances.

Any organisation that makes taxable supplies may choose to register for VAT, even if the annual value of those supplies is below the VAT registration threshold.

An organisation must register for VAT if the annual value of their taxable supplies is above the VAT registration threshold. The VAT registration threshold is currently set at £83,000 and will increase to £85,000 with effect from 1 April 2017.