The National Hair & Beauty Federation (NHBF) has warned that the Government’s temporary VAT cut for summer attractions exposes a continued failure to support hair, beauty, barbering and aesthetics businesses facing severe cost pressures on high streets across the UK.
The Chancellor will need to recognise that this is not only a national issue, but a local one for her. Rachel Reeves is the MP for Leeds West and Pudsey and across Leeds the hair & beauty sector includes 615 businesses, supports 1,925 people in employment and generates £64.3 million in turnover.
The Government has announced a temporary reduction in VAT from 20% to 5% for selected family activities, including children’s meals in restaurants, children’s tickets for cinemas and theatres, and admission to attractions such as museums, zoos, fairs, soft play and theme parks.
Her failure to take action on the high street has serious consequences.
The NHBF said the announcement shows the Government understands that VAT can be used to support demand, footfall and consumer affordability, but has once again ignored labour-intensive high-street service businesses that have been calling for urgent VAT reform for years.
Hair, beauty and barbering businesses are community anchors. They provide local jobs, train apprentices, support town centres and offer essential services to millions of people. Yet they continue to face a VAT system that discourages growth, penalises compliant employers and makes it harder to compete with businesses operating outside the rules.
The NHBF is calling for a fairer tax system for the sector, including a reduced rate of VAT or other targeted reforms that recognise the realities of small, labour-intensive businesses.
Recent NHBF evidence shows the scale of concern. In the NHBF’s Autumn 2025 State of the Industry survey, reducing the rate of VAT was the most selected Government action that businesses said would help them over the next six months. In the February 2026 State of the Sector survey, businesses reported thin margins, rising employment costs and growing pressure to increase prices.
Sam Silver, NHBF Head of Policy and Public said:
“This announcement proves the Government knows VAT reform can be used to support businesses and ease pressure on consumers. The question now is why hair, beauty and barbering businesses are still being left out?
“Our sector is not asking for special treatment. We are asking for a fair tax system that reflects the reality of running a labour-intensive, high-street business. Salons and barbershops are being hit by rising wages, employer National Insurance, energy prices, business rates and the burden of VAT, all while trying to keep prices affordable for clients.
The NHBF has highlighted that the Government cannot talk about supporting high streets while ignoring one of the sectors that keeps them alive. Hair & beauty businesses employ, train and serve their communities every day, but too many are being pushed into survival decisions.
This should matter to the Chancellor locally as well as nationally. Across Leeds, the hair & beauty sector supports hundreds of businesses, thousands of jobs and more than £64 million in turnover. The pressures we are talking about are being felt by businesses and workers in the Chancellor’s own city.
The NHBF said the Government must now explain why temporary VAT support is acceptable for some consumer-facing sectors but not for hair, beauty and barbering businesses facing year-round structural pressures.