THE Construction Industry Coronavirus (CICV) Forum has today published a report aimed at assisting public bodies in making the appropriate decisions to achieve the highest possible eco-friendly economic return .
The report, carried out by Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde, was commissioned by the forum to improve understanding of how investment in construction activity creates multiplier effects across social, economic, and environmental impact measures.
John McKinney, Regional Manager of the NFRC, said: “The report highlights that investment in construction, including repairs and improvements, can play a vital role in a green recovery, and the important role Scotland’s existing buildings have in that recovery.”
The report highlights that the construction sector is an important contributor to the Scottish economy supporting almost £16bn in Scottish GVA and almost 300,000 full-time equivalent jobs across the Scottish economy through both direct and indirect and induced economic activity.
VAT rebate research as part of this study, also looked at how such a scheme could stimulate the repair, maintenance and improvement element of construction work. The research found that if VAT is cut from 20% to 5% in the specialised construction sector this could generate between £80m – £400m in Scottish GVA and support between 1,500 – 7,500 full-time equivalent Scottish jobs.
Gordon Nelson, Scotland Director of the Federation of Master Builders, said: “Cutting VAT would stimulate consumer demand for domestic energy efficiency improvements and generate a welcome pipeline of works to help SMEs in the construction industry recover from the impact of Covid-19.
“Additional benefits are the protection of jobs and enabling the construction industry and SMEs in particular, to help to play their part in delivering a green recovery.”
Mairi Spowage, Deputy Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute, said: “Our analysis finds that specialised construction activities, which includes retrofitting and home improvements and repairs, has larger economic multipliers than the rest of the construction sector and the Scottish average across all industries.”
A webinar to present and discuss the findings in more detail will take place at 14:00 on Wednesday 10 March.
