What discussions has the Minister had with HM Treasury to remove the inconsistency in VAT for services being delivered by different healthcare professionals, meaning that services provided by a pharmacist are VAT exempt, but services offered by other members of the pharmacy team are not?
VAT is a reserved matter for the UK Government. Since 1st May 2023, the VAT exemption on medical services has been extended to include services undertaken by non-registered staff who are directly supervised by pharmacists bringing the VAT treatment of pharmacists in line with other registered health professionals providing medical services to the public.
The extension of this VAT exemption is intended to help community pharmacies make better use of the skill mix in their teams, and support community pharmacies to offer a wider range of clinical services to the public.
I attach a link to the UK Government’s web page outlining the changes: VAT: Medical services directly supervised by pharmacists in the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
I have therefore not raised this matter with HM Treasury.