A coalition of trade bodies is launching the Get Britain Building campaign on February 10, to present a sector-boosting 10 point plan to construction minister Ian Pearson.
Aimed at helping construction firms survive the recession, the coalition is pushing for the government to consider the 10 point plan to help revive the building industry.
The 10 points are:
1: Ensure responsible lending to prudent borrowers coupled with the reintroduction of mortgage interest tax relief.
2. Cut VAT from 17.5% (15% for the next 13 months) to 5% for all building repair and maintenance work.
3. Implement a strategy to deal with the UK’s existing housing stock by helping to create more homes and making existing stock more energy efficient.
4. Set targets for all local authorities to fast track the planning process to release and designate land for social housing
5. Simplify the planning system
6. Produce an implementation plan to show the timings and location of public spending on schools, hospitals and prisons to ensure that projects are completed in 2009 and 2010 respectively
7. Introduce a section 106 agreement holiday and then subsequently cap the value of section 106 agreements. Abandon the proposed Community Infrastructure Levy
8. Reduce the regulatory and fiscal burden
9. Reform stamp duty with a graduated tax like income tax
10. Reintroduce empty property rate relief
More than 30 trade bodies and a cross-party group of MPs are backing the campaign including shadow construction minister Mark Prisk MP.
Companies are being urged to contact their local MP to push for adoption of the 10 points and to add the 'Get Britain Building' campaign logo to their company websites.
A spokesman for the campaign said 'We have got together to show the government a united front. The message is what needs to be done to boost our industry, needs to be done now'.
Industry champions of the campaign include NAPIT (the National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers), a registration body with 6,000 registered member companies including contractors in the electrical, plumbing, heating and ventilation trades.
John Andrews, chief executive of NAPIT said: “It is vital that real action is taken, not just eye catching sound bites that sound good but achieve little. During the last recession the UK construction industry lost over 500,000 skilled jobs and this is a situation we just cannot allow to happen again”.
You can support the campaign by signing the campaign's petition on
getbritainbuilding