Urging
the Industry to Take the Reduce VAT Campaign to the Next Level
Dear
Richard,
The online petition on the Number 10 website may have closed, but Edgetech
has been working hard behind the scenes to ensure that the industry
campaign for lower VAT on Energy Saving Recommended windows keeps up
momentum. We recently met with our new MP Jim Cunningham to ask him
his advice on where we should go next. He recommended we approach three
individuals: John McFall: Chairman of Treasury Select Committee, Peter
Luff: Chairman of Trade & Industry Select Committee and Tim Yeo:
Chairman of the Environmental Audit Select Committee.
In the first reply from Peter Luff, he advised us that the Trade and
Industry Select Committee has been disbanded and re-formed in the new
session of Parliament as the Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Committee. Encouragingly he described our point that ESR windows weren't
being offered the same reduced VAT as other energy efficient products
as 'a very understandable concern' and a 'surprise'. He recommended
that we should go back to our MP and ask him to make representations
to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and to the Environmental Audit Committee,
on what he agrees is an important policy question.
As an industry we achieved 835 signatures on the Number 10 petition
- pretty good for a trade campaign, but we shouldn't stop there. Lobbying
is a combination of larger 'scatter gun' industry initiatives like the
petition, along with a 'sniper' approach of targeting the right influencers
and decision makers with the right message. The GGF and Energy Efficiency
Partnership for Homes have been working hard over recent months to get
Government's ear, but I believe it's up to us as an industry to contribute
collectively as well.
We would like to urge all Gl@zine readers to write to their MPs. If
you're short of time, we have created a template letter for you to use
to make it even easier, which you can download here.
And if you don't know the contact details for your local MP, check out
http://www.theyworkforyou.com.
We have to keep hacking away at this issue as an industry to get a result.
The more people that get involved and do their bit, the more likely
we are to get the response we're waiting for. And let the rest of us
know how you get on by sending any responses you receive to the Gl@zine.
Yours sincerely
Andy Jones
Managing Director, Edgetech UK