The news will be a welcome boost for industry trade bodies in their long-running campaign for a VAT cut on repair, maintenance and improvement work from 20% to 5%.

A meeting of the European Construction Industry Federation FIEC this week put VAT cuts at the top of its agenda in a bid to stimulate the depressed building industry across all member states.

The meeting minutes stated: “Proposed actions will include: 1) stimulating favourable investment conditions, in particular in the renovation and maintenance of buildings and infrastructures, by promoting financial instruments such as loan guarantees and project bonds as well as encouraging incentives at national level such as reduced VAT rates.”