Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of backdating the reduction in stamp duty to the start of the covid-19 lockdown.

The SDLT relief is intended to encourage confidence in the property market and support the wider economy. Backdating the SDLT relief retrospectively would not support this aim, and would inevitably lead to borderline cases for purchases completed at an earlier point.