Call for cut in VAT rate in North

Surveyors are calling for a cut in the VAT rate on repairs and house maintenance in the North in a bid to stimulate the economy there.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is among a coalition of organisations lobbying Westminster for the VAT rate to be slashed to 5% on materials used for repairing and maintaining property.

The organisation said it could go hand-in-hand with a scheme by the Stormont Executive to cut the rates bills of householders who make their homes 'greener' by improving their energy efficiency.