Nothing changes, except for ministers

While I was away the then construction minister Stephen Timms played a blinder with the House of Commons select committee that is currently looking into the workings of the construction industry.

He was well briefed, but also very frank and honest with the committee, a quality that, according to the committee chair, made him a ‘dangerous minister’. Then he was reshuffled and a crying shame it is too.

All too often many of these occasions become a place for a bit of gratuitous grandstanding or worse, a whinging and blame-shifting session by one industry body or another. In the case of this enquiry there has been a fair bit of both and I hope the select committee can sort out the real issues from those portrayed as real issues by the self-serving interests.

The issue of a 5% VAT rate on domestic refurbishments as a weapon to beat the rogue builder is one of the most fatuous campaigns around. Anyone can work out that the only people to benefit from this would be the rogue traders. A more effective campaign would be to increase the effectiveness of Revenue action against those not paying income tax. Getting this right would do more to level the playing field between the straight guys and the rogues and, surprise surprise, increase tax revenues. The 5% VAT route reduces tax revenues which would have to be made up elsewhere. A bonkers proposal if ever there was one.

Last night I watched Grand Designs. It is riveting viewing as you watch people walk a fine line between brilliance and lunacy as they develop their projects. Last night’s was no exception, but what made it special

was the contrast between the house supplier, a German firm, and the cladding contractor who was to supply and fit local bath stone cladding and was the only non-German contractor involved in the actual building.

The German firm erected the house in five days: two days for the basement and three days for the rest. It took five months to finish off the internal works to an exceptional standard and in that time the bath stone cladding was still not delivered let alone applied. We even saw the TV presenter visiting the quarry/mine which happens to be a stone’s throw from the building project.

The house is now occupied, but still no bath stone. As the programme ended, the presenter commented somewhat forlornly that in the cladding supply chain, everyone was blaming each other. Nothing ever really changes, but good on the Germans for what they achieved.