The UK has a mountain to climb to rebalance the budget due to all the costs incurred by Covid-19. Currently, much work and business is occurring under the radar in the UK, particularly in the construction/ tradespersons sectors, where VAT and other taxes are not being paid and much work not being declared so those involved can continue to unlawfully claim benefits whilst working for cash in hand. It is likely that millions in Government revenue is being lost daily yet the people who can afford to pay for extensions and major renovation works can afford to pay the VAT and other taxes as can the builders and tradespeople. Meanwhile, the Grenfell disaster is in the news again, along with the multiple failings of the regulatory systems that led to the disaster. The regulatory mechanisms urgently need to be reviewed and repaired and made fit for purpose to prevent such disasters recurring and maximising safety for occupants of all types of housing. To achieve this, I propose that both issues should be looked at together, involving representatives of the construction industry, trades, Building Regulations, Health & Safety Executive, HMRC, Housing England and DWP. Joined up working between the different Government departments and relevant stake holders to achieve multiple goals at the same time. Using the latest IT tools, new systems could be relatively straightforward, cheap to run and user friendly (the click of a button) to ensure safety of materials used, certification of businesses carrying out the work and people pulling their weight to pay their fair share of taxes.
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