AHEAD of this week’s ‘mini-budget’, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has urged the new UK chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng to remove VAT on repair, maintenance and improvement projects and prioritise the ‘growth potential’ of a national retrofit programme.
Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB, said, “While direct government intervention to help struggling homeowners and businesses with energy bills is welcome, it is ultimately a sticking plaster. Long-term, we must improve the energy efficiency of the UK’s leaky homes to reduce their energy use.
“A nationwide retrofit plan to make our existing 29 million homes greener and more energy efficient would help slash energy bills and create a pipeline of work for local builders, delivering the growth that the chancellor rightly prioritises. In the immediate term, removing VAT on repair, maintenance and improvement work would help builders pass on savings to cash strapped customers who the latest FMB data tells us, are beginning to turn away from investing in home improvements.”
