MPs petition for end to 'sex tax'

Condoms combat HIV and teenage pregnancy, say MPs

MPs - including Lib Dem leadership contender Simon Hughes - are calling for the price of condoms to be reduced to prevent the spread of HIV.

Sixty-nine MPs have signed an early day motion calling for VAT on condoms to be cut from 17.5% to 5%.

EU rules prevent VAT being removed entirely but the MPs want condoms reclassified as an "essential health item" rather than a "luxury item".

They say sheaths are the best way of cutting disease and unwanted pregnancy.

Unwanted pregnancies

The motion, proposed by Lynne Jones, Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury, backs a petition by High Street retailer Superdrug calling for an end to what it calls the "sex tax".

"Over £7m is currently paid in VAT on condoms each year whilst, according to the Independent Advisory Group for Sexual Health and HIV report, the use of condoms saves an estimated £2.5bn a year through the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies," the MPs say.

Reported cases of HIV are on the increase and that Britain has the highest incidence of teenage pregnancies in Europe.

"The use of condoms is the best way to cut both these worrying statistics and that a reduction in VAT would help promote their use," the MPs say.

And they call on government to cut VAT on condoms "without delay".

The other signatories are Liberal Democrats John Hemming, Mike Hancock and Bob Russell, Labour's Lynne Jones and Plaid Cymru's Hywel Williams.

Superdrug, which says it has cut the cost of VAT from its own brand condoms, has collected more than 6,000 signatures calling for a change in the law.

Sanitary towels are currently the only goods to get lower VAT ratings because they are classed as an essential health item.

No VAT is paid on medical prescriptions.