ABOUT 4,370 jobs could be lost in the UK as a result of applying standard VAT to the retail sale of holiday static caravans, according to a report carried out by KPMG for the National Caravan Council and British Holiday and Home Parks Association.

The report said the changes, which are due to come into force in October, would result in job losses focused on regions which already have high unemployment, such as East Yorkshire and Hull, where 95 per cent of the UK’s caravan manufacturing industry is based, and marginal rural and coastal economies.

It said the change would knock the caravan and holiday home manufacturing industry to a new low in August 2013, and it would take at least five years to recover to present low levels, equating to a loss of £1 billion sales over the five years.

This would have the knock-on effect of reducing the industry’s productivity in Gross Value Added (GVA) by £856 million.