Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reforming VAT on repair and maintenance of historic buildings.

The current VAT system could be regarded as an incentive to demolish existing buildings entirely and start again. As people take ownership of a property - new build or listed - a standard rate is applied to its maintenance and upkeep; in this respect, there is parity of treatment. However, owners of historic properties, particularly listed buildings, are likely to incur higher costs to maintain their homes. The upkeep of buildings, especially those of heritage significance, is in the wider public interest.

As with all tax matters, this is something which HMT keeps under regular review.

My Officials are engaged with the sector to build a robust evidence base and develop targeted interventions that might benefit listed buildings in this space.