§ Mr. Roperasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will consider increasing the maximum limit payable by local authorities as improvement grants after 1st April, to take into account the increased cost of the work undertaken following the introduction of VAT.
§ Mr. ChannonNo. Improvements will be zero rated. Although repairs and maintenance will be subject to VAT, there will be an off-setting saving resulting from the abolition of SET which applies to both improvements and repairs.