Newly appointed Lib Dem ministers in the Cabinet need to honour their party鈥檚 manifesto commitment to cut VAT on repair and maintenance works

The construction sector has campaigned long and hard for tax in this area to be cut to 5%. A petition on the Number 10 website, launched by Rok, is due to close on 3 June and has already collected thousands of signatures.

With the emergency UK budget now confirmed for 22 June and mounting speculation that the rate of VAT will rise to 20%, the case for a differential on VAT charged for building maintenance and repair works has never been stronger. A targeted cut would give a shot in the arm to construction. It would encourage much greater investment towards greening Scotland鈥檚 2.3 million homes and many other buildings up and down the country. It would also help to equip thousands of young construction workers with valuable green skills.

Michael Levack, chief executive, Scottish 好色先生TV Federation

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