Finance (No. 4) Bill

Edward Leigh Excerpts

Wednesday 18th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

Let me deal now with listed buildings. There are some areas of confusion. The fact is that repairs and maintenance to all buildings, including listed buildings, have always been liable to VAT, while alterations to non-listed buildings have been since 1984.

[Mr Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Mr Gauke]

No, I really want to make some progress.

None of that has been changed by the Budget announcement. There is a borderline that causes confusion between repairs and alterations. The Budget decision also reflects the view that grants provide a more flexible mechanism than VAT for providing specific financial support for heritage—

[Mr Leigh]

On that point, will my hon. Friend give way?

[Mr Gauke]

Well, I am about to make a point about it. We have increased the funding for the listed places of worship grant scheme and broadened its scope so that churches and other listed places of worship can claim grants to offset the impact of VAT on their alterations.

[Mr Leigh]

Will the Minister give way on that point?

[Mr Gauke]

Our original announcement of £5 million was based on a Church report, but it is not set in stone. We are talking to Churches, and if there is good evidence that more is needed, we will be happy to provide it.

[Mr Leigh]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Mr Gauke]

I will, very briefly.

[Mr Leigh]

This is a key point. The Government have announced that they will increase the listed places of worship grant scheme by £5 million, but they have cut it from £23 million to £7 million, so that is totally inadequate. What we want tonight is a commitment from them that they will resolve the problem. Half the ancient buildings in this land are run by the Church of England, by ordinary people who want to support their local communities. The Government must compromise on this issue.

[Mr Gauke]

I refer my hon. Friend to the comments that I made before his intervention.

Let me respond briefly to what was said by the hon. Member for Wrexham (Ian Lucas). We are restricted in regard to what we can do for public transport. If we provided a reduced rate for passenger transport, we would not be able to focus it entirely on charities; it would apply more widely to taxis.

Taxing static holiday caravans and larger touring caravans will bring their treatment into line with that of other holiday accommodation. VAT is already paid on mobile caravans, camper vans, canal narrow boats and camping equipment. We therefore propose to replace the current definition of a zero-rated caravan, which is based on size, with a new definition based on whether the caravan is designed for residential use. We are considering applying British Standard 3632, and are also considering an additional test. However, I have received representations from, among others, my hon. Friend the Member for Boston and Skegness (Mark Simmonds) arguing against that, and we will examine those arguments closely.