The Government has a duty to save our historic buildings from disrepair and needs to abandon its Budget plan to add 20% VAT to listed building alterations, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB said: "The VAT increase is not actually about addressing an anomaly in the tax system it’s about the Government trying to raise more money. There is a lack of evidence to justify the Government's claim that the majority of alterations are not 'necessary for heritage purposes'. There were over 29,000 listed building consent decisions between March 2010 and March 2011, but the Government has chosen not to take the time to properly consider the evidence available."

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Mr Berry continued: "It is frustrating that the Government has already admitted this VAT increase is likely to harm our historic buildings by offering additional compensation to listed churches, but has offered nothing to help protect the majority of our listed buildings in rural and urban settings across the UK. And on top of the risk to our heritage is the risk to the construction sector. The increase to 20% in the standard rate of VAT in January 2011 caused a fall in demand for all housing repair, maintenance and improvement work and our research has suggested that over 10,000 jobs were lost in the UK economy by the end of last year as a direct result of this lower level of demand. Why is the Government risking further job losses when its priority is to restore growth in the economy?"

(CD/GK)