Open consultation

Consultation on the VAT treatment of business donations of goods to charity (Accessible)

Updated 2 May 2025

Foreword

Every day British businesses and members of the British public provide essential donations to charities and other organisations which support the most vulnerable in our society.

We want to make sure that the right tax frameworks are in place to facilitate this giving, and encourage even more generosity. That is why we are consulting on the introduction and design of a VAT relief on business donations of goods for charities to give away to those in need, or use for the delivery of their services. This will build on the other instruments within the tax system which support charities and giving, such as gift aid, Payroll giving, income and capital gains tax reliefs for the donation of qualifying assets, the inheritance tax exemption for charitable bequests, and a range of charitable VAT reliefs.

I hope this reform will support vital frontline charities and community organisations to deliver their services and provide essential goods to more vulnerable people across the UK. Through this consultation, I look forward to hearing the views of those making and receiving donations, and I would like to thank all respondents in advance for their help as we design the detail of this reform.

James Murray

Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury

1. Introduction

Subject of this consultation

This is a consultation to seek views on the design and introduction of a VAT relief for goods donated by businesses to charity to give away free of charge to those in need or use in the delivery of their services.

The government recognises the current VAT rules, which relieve VAT on goods donated to charity for sale (for example through a charity shop), but not for onward donation or the delivery of the charity’s services, are not aligned. These rules were designed to protect against fraud in the VAT system, so we intend to explore options to align the rules without compromising the security of the VAT system.

This consultation seeks views on the design of the VAT relief, as well as to better understand the different types of operating models used by businesses and charities that would be affected, and the impacts of introducing a VAT relief.

This consultation is split into 4 sections:

• Chapter 2 seeks information on respondents to the consultation and their experience giving or receiving donations;

• Chapter 3 looks at the current VAT treatment of goods donated to charity for distribution to those in need or for the delivery of their services;

• Chapter 4 invites views on the government’s objectives and proposed scope of the relief;

• Chapter 5 discusses potential options for the administration of the relief, and seeks views on proportionate administrative arrangements.

VAT is a reserved tax, and the government intends for this relief to apply UK-wide.

Responding to the consultation

The government welcomes contributions from any individual or organisation interested in this topic. This includes but is not limited to charities, social enterprises, retailers, manufacturers, marketplaces, logistics companies and industry representative bodies.

This consultation document sets out a specific series of questions about the scope and administration of the proposed VAT relief. These can be found in a collated form in Chapter 6. The government would be grateful if respondents could answer these questions directly, although of course respondents may not feel in a position to answer every question. Respondents should not feel limited to only these questions when providing views, and the government will also consider written submissions on other aspects relevant to the policy design and impacts.

Responses to the consultation can be submitted via the online SmartSurvey form or can be submitted via email to CharitableDonationsConsultation@hmtreasury.gov.uk no later than 23:59 on 21 July 2025. Written enquiries and responses can be posted to:

VAT & Excise Team
HM Treasury
1 Horse Guards Road
SW1A 2HQ

This is a joint consultation between HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The lead official for HM Treasury is Tesni Steeds and the lead officials for HMRC are David Webb and Clare Davenport. All can be contacted at the email address above.

Annex A sets out the privacy notice for this consultation.

Following the consultation

The government intends to use responses to this consultation to inform further policy development. In line with the tax policy making process, a formal response to the consultation and next steps will be published in due course.

2. About you

Businesses, charities, organisations, and individuals may have different perspectives, and we are interested in understanding the context of the answers you give to the questions in this consultation.

Question 1: Are you responding as:

• A business

• A charity (registered or unregistered) or charitable incorporated organisation (CIO)

• Another type of organisation - if so please provide details (e.g. trade/representative body, social enterprise or a community interest company (CIC))

• An individual

Question 2: If you answered ‘a business’, please provide details in relation to:

• The size of your business (e.g. turnover and number of employees)

• The sector of your business

• Where your business is established (e.g. UK, Isle of Man, another country (if so, please specify the country))

• Whether you currently donate goods to charity to be given away free of charge, or used in the delivery of their services, including a rough estimate of volume and value of donations, or are considering doing so

• What barriers (if any) prevent you donating stock to charities to give away free or charge, or use in the delivery of their services, and/or increasing the scale of your donations

Question 3: If you answered ‘a charity’, please provide details in relation to:

• The size of your charity (e.g. total income, number of employees)

• Your charitable aims and functions

• Where your charity is established (e.g. UK, Isle of Man, another country (if so, please specify the country)) and where the individuals benefitting from your charity are located if different

• Whether you currently receive business donations of goods to give away free of charge, or use in the delivery of your services, including a rough estimate of volume and value of donations

Question 4: If you answered ‘an organisation’, please provide details in relation to:

• The size of your organisation

• Your organisation’s aims and functions

• Where your organisation is established (e.g. UK, Isle of Man, another country (if so, please specify the country))

• Whether you currently donate or receive donations of goods to give away free of charge, or use in the delivery of services, including a rough estimate of volume and value of donations, or are considering doing so

Question 5: If you are currently either donating goods or receiving donations, please provide details of your operating model:

• How many and what types of organisations are involved in the end-to-end process of donating and giving out goods?

• What is your role in the process?

• Do you either charge a fee or price of any kind on donations as a business, or pay a fee to receive donations as a charity? Does this enable you to access the existing VAT relief on goods donated for sale?

• How permanent or formal are the relationships with the other parties in the operating model? For example, are relationships ongoing or one-off basis? Are there written or verbal agreements in place with other parties? Do you carry out any checks before you start working with them and/or on an ongoing basis?

• Are there parts of the donation-to-distribution chain which are not visible to you (for example, if you are a business, do you know what happens to the goods once you have delivered them to the charity)?

• How are suitable end-recipients to receive donations identified and reached (for example, are there criteria or referral systems in place and how do these work, or do you use a purely walk-in system)?

• Are intermediaries or referring organisations involved in identifying or distributing goods to end-recipients? If so, are these intermediaries charities, other types of organisations or individuals, and how do you choose which intermediaries you work with?

Question 6: Would you use a relief on goods donated to charity to give out free or charge or use in the delivery of their services?

• Please provide as much detail as possible.

3. Overview of the current VAT treatment

VAT is a tax on consumption and applies to a wide range of goods and services. In general, charities pay VAT on goods and services, however, they also benefit from a range of VAT reliefs, including where VAT is charged at a reduced rate or a zero rate, the latter being a full VAT relief. Examples of these reliefs include:

• A reduced rate (5%) on fuel and power

• A zero rate on medical supplies and equipment

• A zero rate on the construction of buildings used for charitable purposes

• A zero rate on rescue equipment and vehicles (including ambulances and lifeboats)

• A zero rate on advertising

For full details of current VAT reliefs see VAT for charities on GOV.UK.

Businesses benefit from a zero rate on goods donated to charity for sale, export or letting. This relief most commonly applies to goods that have been donated which the charity then sells on (e.g. via a charity shop), regardless of whether the donations are new or second-hand.

When businesses benefit from the zero rate they do not have to pay any VAT to HMRC when they donate the goods, and can recover any input VAT associated with these goods. The zero rating of goods donated to charities for sale is set out in the Value Added Tax Act 1994 (VATA 94) - Schedule 8, Item 2, Group 15.

However, if a business donates goods for any other purpose, including for the charity to give them away free of charge, or use in the delivery of their services, it must pay VAT to HMRC on those goods if it recovered any VAT on their purchase. This VAT charge is in place to prevent tax avoidance. Onward sales leave a paper trail that is relatively easy to audit, whereas onward donation or use of the goods does not. Therefore, this could become a route for illegitimately channelling goods VAT-free onto the retail market, or to individuals associated with the business.

The VAT due should be calculated according to the value of the good at the point of donation. As set out in the VATA 94 Schedule 6 paragraph 6, the valuation should be based on the cost of purchasing identical or similar goods, taking into account age and condition, or the production cost if a value can’t be worked out based on comparable goods. For end-of-life stock (i.e. goods which would be thrown away if not donated), the value of the good, and therefore the VAT due, is likely to be below the original cost price based on these valuation principles.

4. Objectives and scope of the proposed relief

Objectives

A VAT relief on goods which businesses donate to charity to give out free of charge or use in the delivery of their services would seek to:

• Encourage charitable giving;

The government wants to ensure that frameworks are in place to incentivise and encourage charitable giving.

• Reduce waste in line with circular economy objectives by prolonging the life of saleable goods which businesses put into landfill;

The UK is committed to moving towards a more circular economy, where goods are used for as long as possible and deliver maximum value. The relief could contribute to this objective by supporting companies to donate stock in saleable condition, where it might otherwise have been more economical to dispose of it in other ways.

• Achieve these objectives while protecting the tax base;

VAT is a vital source of revenue which helps to fund public services, including the NHS, education, and defence. Therefore, any relief must be tightly focused to ensure that it achieves its objectives whilst minimising opportunities for abuse.

Question 7: Would the proposed relief encourage donations?

• Please include detail on volume or value of donations that this proposal would encourage

Question 8: Would the proposed relief support circular economy objectives by encouraging the donation of goods which may otherwise be put into landfill?

Scope of the relief

The government is considering options to target the scope of goods, recipient organisations, individual recipients and businesses eligible for the relief to protect it against abuse, whilst still enabling donations which support those in need.

The risk of abuse centres around the use of the relief by fraudulent actors to divert goods VAT-free either onto the retail market or to individual beneficiaries. Targeting the scope of the relief is one tool among other compliance activities which collectively contribute to preventing this fraudulent activity.

Eligibility criteria for goods

Considerations on the scope of goods eligible for the relief include both value and type of goods.

One option to target the scope of eligible goods would be to set a monetary limit (possibly £50 or £100) per individual item donated. A value limit would apply per unit by which the item is usually dispensed to final beneficiaries (so if a company were donating a crate of shampoo, for example, the limit would apply to the individual bottles of shampoo not the entire crate).

Some goods are considered higher risk for use in tax avoidance (items such as laptops, tablets, and mobile telephones) and we want to understand whether businesses would seek to donate such items under a relief when considering which goods should be included in or excluded from the scope of the relief.

An alternative would be to identify goods eligible for the relief by key characteristics or listing specific types of goods eligible for the relief. This might have benefits in reducing the work needed to value items being donated but would also limit the types of items eligible for the relief.

Question 9: What is the average value of individual items you donate or receive?

• If you donate surplus or end-of-life stock for charities to give away free of charge, how do you calculate the value of the stock to determine the VAT due?

Question 10: If a value limit was put on individual items donated, what would be a suitable maximum value?

Question 11: What types of goods do you donate or receive (e.g. hygiene products, clothes) and what is the status of the goods (second hand, new stock, end-of-life stock, business returns)?

• Any details of the types of goods you donate or receive would be helpful

Question 12: If we listed types of goods eligible for the VAT relief, what categories of goods should be included?

• Please also list goods it would be problematic to exclude from the relief if relevant

Question 13: Do you have views on how else we could define which goods are eligible for the relief, or foresee any issues with the options set out above?

A further option to target the scope of eligible goods is to restrict their purpose to goods donated for distribution to those in need, which would exclude donations for use by the charity in the delivery of their services. However, the government recognises that it could be challenging for a charity to manage this in practice as the distinction between using and distributing goods is sometimes blurred, for example when a refuge places donated shampoo in their showers for residents to use. Logistically, it could also be challenging for a charity to maintain the separation between goods which had not benefitted from a VAT relief, and could be used for the delivery of their services, and goods which had benefitted from a VAT relief and could therefore be sold or distributed, but not used in the delivery of their services.

If a broad approach is taken on the purpose of eligible goods, including goods donated for distribution to those in need, and for use by the charity in the delivery of their services, then a value limit, as discussed above, would become an important tool to counteract any additional incentive to use the relief for fraudulent means.

Question 14: For what purpose do you use donations; to give away to those in need, use in the delivery of services, or another purpose?

• Please specify details of goods used in the delivery of services or for another purpose

Question 15: Do you foresee any problems with a relief which included goods for the purpose of distribution to those in need, but not for use in the delivery of a charity’s services?

Eligibility criteria for individual recipients of donations

A further option to protect the relief against abuse could be to apply eligibility criteria to individuals receiving donations, such as the receipt of welfare support. However, the government is aware of the challenge this could pose to the charities who would be responsible for determining whether recipients meet set criteria. We ask questions in Chapter 5 ‘Administration of the relief’ below on the deliverability of this option.

Question 16: Would limiting the relief to eligible individuals such as those who receive welfare support impact your ability to distribute donations to those in need?

Similarly, applying a monetary limit on the total value of VAT-free donations which an individual could receive would help prevent abuse of the relief. However, the government is aware that this would be challenging, and in some cases not possible, for charities to implement. We also ask questions in Chapter 5 ‘Administration of the relief’ below on the deliverability of this option.

Question 17: Would applying a limit on the total value of VAT- free donations an individual could receive impact your ability to distribute donations to those in need?

Eligibility criteria for recipient organisations

The government is considering which charities and organisations should be able to receive donations which benefit from the relief. Organisations could include charities, both registered and un- registered, social enterprise organisations, charitable incorporated organisations, and others. Restricting the relief to certain groups may offer benefits for compliance.

One option is to limit the relief to registered charities only. The rationale would be that registered charities are regulated (either by the Charities Commission for England and Wales, the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, the Scottish Charity Regulator or other equivalent regulator) and as a result keep records for audit purposes which would provide HMRC with assurance against the risk of fraud.

Another option could be to narrow the relief to charities with poverty relief as an objective, which would limit abuse by further targeting the relief.

The government understands that donations, once received by the charity, may be passed to intermediaries for distribution to the final recipients. However, only the initial recipient of the donations would be in scope of any eligibility criteria, and not subsequent parties involved in the distribution of goods.

Question 18: What are your views on the types of organisations which should be eligible to receive goods donated under this relief, for example charities, social enterprises and charitable incorporated organisations?

Question 19: What are your views on restricting the relief to goods donated to registered charities?

• As an un-registered charity, would you be able to provide HMRC with assurance against the risk of fraud in the form of records and accounts in the absence of formal registered charity status?

Question 20: What are your views on restricting the relief to goods donated to charities with a poverty relief objective, and would such a restriction create any challenges for your current operating model?

• If you’re not a registered charity, would you be able to demonstrate a poverty relief objective?

Eligibility criteria for businesses

The government proposes that the relief should apply to donations made by VAT-registered businesses to charities. The relief is targeted to VAT-registered businesses only as they are the businesses impacted by the current policy. Where a business is not VAT registered, it will remain the case that no VAT is due on their donations.

5. Administration of the relief

This chapter sets out suggestions for how the government proposes that a relief could be administered by VAT-registered businesses, charities and HMRC.

As with any VAT relief, our intention is to design a policy which strikes a balance between keeping administrative burdens to a minimum whilst still mitigating risk to tax revenue. HMRC will seek to ‘design out’ opportunities for non-compliance where possible as it is essential any new scheme minimises the risk of avoidance and evasion.

Business Administration

The business donating goods would be the beneficiary of the relief and would therefore need to carry out checks and maintain records for possible inspection to help ensure against any breach of the rules. We are keen to explore proportionate compliance checks and record keeping requirements which ensure the system is not exploited. These safeguards are important, particularly where large quantities of goods are donated and are of a type and value that could be fraudulently diverted for resale without properly paying VAT.

An option to safeguard against this kind of illegitimate activity could be a requirement for the donating business to demonstrate that they have delivered the goods or made them available for collection to an eligible organisation through an acknowledged delivery note.

Businesses will be required to maintain records of the goods donated so that HMRC can assure the relief has been used for legitimate purposes. The types of information which businesses would be expected to record and make available in case of audit by HMRC are likely to include;

• A description of the goods and quantity

• Original purchase price and value at donation (if different)

• this would be particularly relevant if a value limit were to be imposed on each item

• Date of donation

• Details of the receiving charity

• Proof that the goods have been dispatched or collected by the eligible charity, (e.g. by an acknowledged delivery note)

Question 21: What are your views on a requirement for businesses to demonstrate that they have delivered, or otherwise made available, goods to an eligible charity?

Question 22: If you currently donate goods to be given away free of charge what records do you keep?

Question 23: What are your views on the records in paragraph 5.5 which could be needed to assure compliance with the relief?

Certification

We are also considering how a business could demonstrate that the receiving organisation is going to use the goods for the intended purpose of distribution to those in need or for use in the delivery of their services. This might be achieved by a certification model, which is currently used for this purpose for the VAT relief for goods donated to charity for sale. Certification would involve the charity issuing the business with a guarantee that the goods will be used as intended, and if they are not then the charity would be sanctioned for non-compliance - not the business. This would provide donors with reassurance that they will not be liable for any fraudulent activity outside of their control.

Question 24: Do you think the option to use a certification system would be effective for this relief?

• Do you have views on other means for a business to seek assurance that the charity will use the goods for the intended purpose?

Receiving Charity Administration

An option to ensure the relief is not used for fraudulent purposes could be to put a limit on the total value of VAT-free donations which individuals can receive (as mentioned in point 4.11 above). However we are aware that this would be challenging, and in some cases not possible, for charities to implement. We are keen to explore what is and isn’t possible in this space in order to design proportionate administration requirements for the relief.

An option to make this easier for charities could be to work out an average value of donations received by individual recipients based on the total value of the goods donated by the business and the number of people who benefit from those goods.

Similarly, putting in place eligibility criteria for recipients, such as the receipt of welfare support (as mentioned in point 4.10 above), could be a tool to ensure that donations are only received by those in need. However, we are aware that some charities may not know this information about the individuals they support, meaning it would not be possible to implement such criteria.

Question 25: If you are a charity which receives donations, what records, if any, do you keep on total donations, and individual recipients of donations?

Question 26: What is the scope for limiting the total value of donations an individual receives, or putting in place eligibility criteria for recipients such as the receipt of welfare support?

• Do charities keep records of the value of donations individuals receive which could be used to facilitate a limit on the total value of donations?

• Do charities hold information on the recipients of donations, such as whether they receive welfare support, and if not, would it be possible to collect this information?

6. Summary of questions

Question 1: Are you responding as

• A business
• A charity (registered or unregistered) or charitable incorporated organisation (CIO)
• Another type of organisation - if so please provide details (e.g. trade/representative body, social enterprise or a community interest company (CIC))
• An individual

Question 2: If you answered ‘a business’, please provide details in relation to:

• The size of your business (e.g. turnover and number of employees)
• The sector of your business
• Where your business is established (e.g. UK, Isle of Man, another country (if so, please specify the country))
• Whether you currently donate goods to charity to be given away free of charge, or used in the delivery of their services, including a rough estimate of volume and value of donations, or are considering doing so
• What barriers (if any) prevent you donating stock to charities to give away free or charge, or use in the delivery of their services, and/or increasing the scale of your donations

Question 3: If you answered ‘a charity’, please provide details in relation to:

• The size of your charity (e.g. total income, number of employees)
• Your charitable aims and functions
• Where your charity is established (e.g. UK, Isle of Man, another country (if so, please specify the country)) and where the individuals benefitting from your charity are located if different
• Whether you currently receive business donations of goods to give away free of charge, or use in the delivery of your services, including a rough estimate of volume and value of donations

Question 4: If you answered ‘an organisation’, please provide details in relation to:

• The size of your organisation
• Your organisation’s aims and functions
• Where your organisation is established (e.g. UK, Isle of Man, another country (if so, please specify the country))
• Whether you currently donate or receive donations of goods to give away free of charge, or use in the delivery of services, including a rough estimate of volume and value of donations, or are considering doing so

Question 5: If you are currently either donating goods or receiving donations, please provide details of your operating model:

• How many and what types of organisation are involved in the end-to-end process of donating and giving out goods?
• What is your role in the process?
• Do you either charge a fee or price of any kind on donations as a business, or pay a fee to receive donations as a charity? Does this enable you to access the existing VAT relief on goods donated for sale?
• How permanent or formal are the relationships with the other parties in the operating model? For example, are relationships ongoing or one-off basis? Are there written or verbal agreements in place with other parties? Do you carry out any checks before you start working with them and/or on an ongoing basis?
• Are there parts of the donation-to-distribution chain which are not visible to you (for example, if you are a business, do you know what happens to the goods once you have delivered them to the charity)?
• How are suitable end-recipients to receive donations identified and reached (for example, are there criteria or referral systems in place and how do these work, or do you use a purely walk-in system)?
• Are intermediaries or referring organisations involved in identifying or distributing goods to end-recipients? If so, are these intermediaries charities, other types of organisations or individuals, and how do you choose which intermediaries you work with?

Question 6: Would you use a relief on goods donated to charity to give out free or charge or use in the delivery of their services?

• Please provide as much detail as possible.

Question 7: Would the proposed relief encourage donations?

• Please include detail on volume or value of donations that this proposal would encourage

Question 8: Would the proposed relief support circular economy objectives by encouraging the donation of goods which may otherwise be put into landfill?

Question 9: What is the average value of individual items you donate or receive?

• If you donate surplus or end-of-life stock for charities to give away free of charge, how do you calculate the value of the stock to determine the VAT due?

Question 10: If a value limit was put on individual items donated, what would be a suitable maximum value?

Question 11: What types of goods do you donate or receive (e.g. hygiene products, clothes) and what is the status of the goods (second hand, new stock, end-of-life stock, business returns)?

• Any details of the types of goods you donate or receive would be helpful

Question 12: If we listed types of goods eligible for the VAT relief, what categories of goods should be included?

• Please also list goods it would be problematic to exclude from the relief if relevant

Question 13: Do you have views on how else we could define which goods are eligible for the relief, or foresee any issues with the options set out above?

Question 14: For what purpose do you use donations; to give away to those in need, use in the delivery of services, or another purpose?

• Please specify details of goods used in the delivery of services of for another purpose

Question 15: Do you foresee any problems with a relief which included goods for the purpose of distribution to those in need, but not for use in the delivery of a charity’s services?

Question 16: Would limiting the relief to eligible individuals such as those who receive welfare support impact your ability to distribute donations to those in need?

Question 17: Would applying a limit on the total value of VAT-free donations an individual could receive impact your ability to distribute donations to those in need?

Question 18: What are your views on the types of organisations which should be eligible to receive goods donated under this relief, for example charities, social enterprises and charitable incorporated organisations?

Question 19: What are your views on restricting the relief to goods donated to registered charities?

• As an un-registered charity, would you be able to provide HMRC with assurance against the risk of fraud in the form of records and accounts in the absence of formal registered charity status?

Question 20: What are your views on restricting the relief to goods donated to charities with a poverty relief objective, and would such a restriction create any challenges for your current operating model?

• If you’re not a registered charity, would you be able to demonstrate a poverty relief objective?

Question 21: What are your views on a requirement for businesses to demonstrate that they have delivered, or otherwise made available, goods to an eligible charity?

Question 22: If you currently donate goods to be given away free of charge what records do you keep?

Question 23: What are your views on the records in paragraph 5.5 which could be needed to assure compliance with the relief?

Question 24: Do you think the option to use a certification system would be effective for this relief?

• Do you have views on other means for a business to seek assurance that the charity will use the goods for the intended purpose?

Question 25: If you are a charity which receives donations, what records, if any, do you keep on total donations, and individual recipients of donations?

Question 26: What is the scope for limiting the total value of donations an individual receives, or putting in place eligibility criteria for recipients such as the receipt of welfare support?

• Do charities keep records of the value of donations individuals receive which could be used to facilitate a limit on the total value of donations?
• Do charities hold information on the recipients of donations, such as whether they receive welfare support, and if not, would it be possible to collect this information?

Annex A: Privacy notice

Processing of personal data

This section sets out how we will use your personal data and explains your relevant rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). For the purposes of the UK GDPR, HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will be data controllers for any personal data you provide in response to this consultation.

Data subjects

The personal data we will collect relates to individuals responding to this consultation. These responses will come from a wide group of stakeholders with knowledge of a particular issue.

The personal data we collect

The personal data will be collected directly from data subjects through voluntary email submissions, or the digital form provided, in response to this consultation, and are likely to include respondents’ names, email addresses, their job titles and opinions.

How we will use the personal data

This personal data will be processed for the purpose of obtaining opinions about government policies, proposals, or an issue of public interest to inform the further development or implementation of the consultation subject.

Processing of this personal data is necessary to help us understand who has responded to this consultation and, in some cases, contact certain respondents to discuss their response.

HM Treasury will not include any personal data when publishing its response to this consultation.

Lawful basis for processing the personal data

Article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR; the processing is necessary for the performance of a task we are carrying out in the public interest. This task is consulting on the development of departmental policies or proposals to help us to develop effective government policies.

Who will have access to the personal data

The personal data will only be made available to those with a legitimate need to see it as part of consultation process.

This consultation is being issued by HMT in partnership with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), so any personal data received in responses will be shared between HMT and HMRC. If you elect to complete the digital form, this will be conducted using SmartSurvey, an industry-leading online survey provider with the highest standards of data security. As with other organisations processing personal data, SmartSurvey is subject to data protection compliance requirements.

Although SmartSurvey uses an automated system, the responses you give will not lead to any decisions being made about you and they will not have a direct impact upon you. In this context, SmartSurvey acts solely as a data processor under instruction from HMT and will not use your personal data for any purposes other than to provide the service to HMT. For more information on how SmartSurvey handles respondents data, please refer to their privacy policy.

As the personal data is stored on our IT infrastructure, it will be accessible to our IT service providers. They will only process this personal data for our purposes and in fulfilment with the contractual obligations they have with us.

How long we hold the personal data for

Responses submitted via the Smart Survey digital form will only be kept by Smart Survey for as long as we need them. Once the deadline for completion of the survey has passed, all responses will be transferred from SmartSurvey to HMT/HMRC.

We will retain the personal data until work on the consultation is complete and no longer needed. Identifiable details will be removed from responses where it is necessary to retain responses beyond the end of the consultation.

Your data protection rights

Relevant rights, in relation to this activity are to:

• request information about how we process your personal data and request a copy of it
• object to the processing of your personal data
• request that any inaccuracies in your personal data are rectified without delay
• request that your personal data are erased if there is no longer a justification for them to be processed
• complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you are unhappy with the way in which we have processed your personal data

How to submit a data subject access request (DSAR)

To request access to your personal data that HM Treasury holds, please email: dsar@hmtreasury.gov.uk

Complaints

If you have concerns about Treasury’s use of your personal data, please contact our Data Protection Officer (DPO) in the first instance at: privacy@hmtreasury.gov.uk

If we are unable to address your concerns to your satisfaction, you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioner at casework@ico.org.uk or via the ICO website