I have recently co-signed a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer asking the Government to remove VAT from all sunscreen products that carry a Sun Protection Factor of 30 or more and a UVA rating of four or five stars.

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the UK and there are at least 100,000 new cases diagnosed each year. The British Skin Foundation make it clear that UV exposure is the main preventable cause of skin caner and severe sunburn, especially in childhood, can significantly increase the risk of developing skin cancer later in life.

We know that many people do not apply enough sunscreen and that the cost of buying sunscreen for the whole family can be extremely high. Therefore by cutting the VAT on sunscreen we make it more affordable for people and we can hopefully persuade more people to use sunscreen, cut cancer rates and save lives.

You can read the full letter here.