| Following press reports
this week that the cost of Scotland's new parliament building looks sets to break the
£200m barrier, main contractor, Roy Rogers of Larkhall, explained exclusively to The JT
why his original estimate of £200 top whack was a bit out. "It's to do with the VAT" he told the JT.
"When we quoted for the job originally, I thought it was a cash in hand deal."
Senior civil servants at Holyrood insisted however
that the estimate for building work be subject to VAT. Mr Rogers therefore had to arrange
for the work to be charged via his wife Senga's company because "she's got all that
VAT registration shite," Roy explained helpfully.
The final figure therefore reflects a VAT rate of
17500%, somewhat above the normal percentage rate charged. |
Mr Rogers, speaking from
his attractive hacienda-style ranch house just off the Coatbridge turnoff from the M8,
speculated that the calculator used to arrive at the sum might have been at fault,
"It's one of those solar powered things and let's face it, when's the last time the
sun shone in Lanarkshire?" The
builder did insist however that the finished parliament building would represent value for
money. "We scrapped the original drawings with all that poofy upturned boat motif
shite. I've been in this game a long time and I'll tell you, the punters want mock Tudor,
pure class so it is."
A less believable rationale for cost overruns was
put forward late last week by the parliament's project managers. They told the press:
"Construction industry inflation in the Edinburgh area is running at 10% due to the
number of large scale building projects underway in the city."
Projects like the parliament building
presumably… |
