VAT should be removed for householders putting in a monitored security system for the first time – or the purchase and installation should be tax deductible.
That was the call from British Security Industry Association chief executive David Dickinson at the IFSEC Awards dinner: "This is an area in which we would like to see the government take positive action,"he said. "There is no doubt about the crime prevention value of an intruder alarm, yet there is no real incentive for homeowners to purchase high quality systems which are eligible for a police response – other than the occasional enlightened insurance company's premium reduction."

With regulation of the manned guarding sector due next year this had "serious implications " for all sectors. The electronic sector must be ready to take advantage of a "new age for security technology application".

End users are now looking for total applications of manned, electronic and physical security and innovative companies were already planning "holistic" packages.

The BSIA were, however, concerned about the proposed European Directive "which threatens to provide the opportunity for 'self employed' or 'temporary' overseas workers to come to the UK and offer services such as security in accordance with regulations – if there are any– in their home nation, and not those of the UK.

"The directive in its current format is a major threat to what we are all trying to achieve with standards in the industry and would create a bypass of regulation ..."

Source

Security Installer