We recommend that the government reform VAT rules applying to the repurposing of existing buildings to remove the current disincentive to investment and to support national carbon reduction objectives. The new rules should replace the narrow and complex 5% reduced-rate provisions— which exclude most heritage buildings and energy efficiency upgrades—and end the structural bias towards demolition over conservation. These reforms would be part of a revised regime that reduces the disparity between new- build construction and heritage conversion and promotes reuse and retrofit as the default development pathway. (Recommendation, Paragraph 62)