Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the application of VAT to unredeemed deposits within the Deposit Return Scheme on (a) inflation and (b) consumer costs.

HM Treasury, as the lead department, and HM Revenue & Customs are continuing to consider the best way of accounting for VAT on DRS deposits and will set out further detail in due course. The Government is committed to ensuring that the DRS operate effectively, and that VAT is not a barrier to them doing so.