We campaigned about this in 1975 and we are still campaigning about it in 2000. In the meantime the rate of VAT has risen from 5% to 17.5%. The argument is well rehearsed: VAT is payable on maintenance and repairs to listed buildings, but not on alterations, or new build. This encourages alteration when repair would be more appropriate. It is also a major disincentive to owners to carry out the basic repair and maintenance that is the basis of the conservation of any historic building.

Everyone who has considered the issue, up to Richard Rogers and his Urban Task Force, has concluded that the present system is iniquitous and directly contrary to Government policies on the historic environment and urban regeneration. But still the Treasury holds out, currently hiding behind the misleading suggestion that the current arrangements are set in EU stone. A recent report commissioned by the Joint Committee of the National Amenity Societies demonstrated that the net loss to the Treasury of harmonising VAT on repairs and alterations to listed buildings at 5% would cost the Treasury £92M a year. The actual net loss would be lower still because the reduction would encourage additional expenditure on repairs. Reform of VAT remains arguably the single most important policy goal in conservation.

VAT is chargeable on repairs to all buildings, not just listed ones. The Empty Homes Agency has calculated that currently there are over 750,000 homes standing empty. Reducing VAT on repairs to these buildings too would do more than any other single measure to encourage the most efficient use of our existing building stock in the drive to limit the number of the 4 million new homes required 2016 that will have to be built on greenfield sites.