WE’LL LIKELY 0% VAT FOR GLASS PRICES

Back in March of this year, then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that energy-saving measures such as insulation and heat pumps would have their VAT lowered to 0%. They were already at the lower rate of 5%, but would now enjoy zero VAT rates in a bid to encourage homeowners to upgrade their homes.

Windows were not included. There was gentle outrage. Since then, there have been various attempts to draw attention to the cause of lowering VAT for energy-efficient windows and doors. So far, very little progress has been made.

Professionalisation required

In March, I began to investigate why our sector was being continually overlooked by the Government for energy efficiency schemes. Not only have windows and doors been left out of lower VAT, but they were also second fiddle to other home improvement measures in the second botched version of the Green Homes Grant which the Government also canned.

What I was told by those with knowledge of the matter is that the Government will not even listen to our sector’s request for lower VAT without showing a genuine willingness to embrace qualifications and regulations. Often there is a comparison made between the gas and plumbing trades versus ours, and how they changed their entire sector by travelling meaningfully and willingly towards professionalisation of their sector.

As a result, those sectors which have evolved and become more qualified have seen benefits granted to them by the Government, such as lower VAT rates.

It appears once again that we are our own worst enemies. And it’s hard to argue against it. Every time new regulations come along, or the idea of further qualifications is raised, we’re up in arms fighting against progression. You look at sectors such as gas and plumbing, roofing, electrical etc and you can see how much further they have progressed than we have. Instead of pushing back relentlessly against change, they got on board with proposed regulatory improvements, which has resulted in the Government and Civil Servants looking at those sectors in a more favourable light.

Us? We can’t even agree to a common position on trickle vents. An issue that we had two years warning on but still managed to create a massive mess out of it.

The power of a single voice

As I have said in the past, our industry can speak with much more power if it can work collectively to approach subjects as a single voice. It carries much more impact and demonstrates to the Government that we can actually work together and set aside personal and professional differences.