§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what the extra cost to the NHS would be if VAT was applied to home-delivered incontinence products at 17.5 per cent. [18978]
§ Mr. BoatengUnder the Value Added Tax Act 1994, Schedule 8, Group 12, Item 2(g) incontinence products are zero-rated only when supplied to a disabled person or to a charity that makes them available to a disabled person. As the National Health Service falls into neither of these categories, it has always been the intention that supplies of these products by the NHS should have been standard rated and the NHS is funded on this understanding. Since there is no change to this intention, there will be no associated increased cost for the NHS. NHS trusts have been temporarily able to take advantage of a VAT reimbursement on these products due to a loophole which Customs and Excise are now seeking to close.