Nearly two thirds of installers embrace online ordering, HMRC plots CIS fraud crackdown and parachuting plumber breaks world record
Nearly two thirds of heating and plumbing installers are using online platforms to identify and source spares — that’s according to research from City Plumbing.
The survey of 500 tradespeople also revealed that 57% of installers used digital tools to diagnose problems with boilers or other heating systems.
It had been widely assumed that digital tools were mainly used by the larger firms, but the research showed over half of sole traders regularly used online diagnostic tools.
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HMRC is planning a major crackdown on fraud relating to the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) next year.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves used last week’s budget to reveal reforms designed to choke off organised criminal gangs exploiting CIS deductions through missing traders and contrived supply chains.
The latest changes come at a time of growing concern at HMRC about increasingly sophisticated scams draining tens of millions away from the Exchequer.
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A 60-year-old plumber from Ulverston helped break a skydiving world record in the US last week.
Peter Hughes joined over 100 other jumpers from 20 different nations to form the largest canopy formation in the skies above Florida.
A group of 130 people had been planning the jump for the last three years.
Speaking with his local newspaper, Hughes said the achievement was “absolutely amazing.”
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