Sun Care Products

Lynne Jones
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will reduce the VAT on children’s sun care products to an essential rating of 5 per cent.

Dawn Primarolo
All taxes are kept under review and any changes are announced by the Chancellor as part of the Budget process. To date the Government have been sparing in our use of reduced rates of VAT and have only introduced them where they offer the best targeted and most cost effective support for Government objectives, when considered against alternative policy instruments.

Outside the VAT system the Government have provided funding to Cancer Research UK’s national skin cancer prevention campaign, ‘SunSmart’. This campaign includes raising awareness of skin cancer and highlights the need for early detection and presentation.