THE Government should repay air ambulances for the VAT they are charged on the fuel they use for their lifesaving work, a York MP has said.
Hugh Bayley, who represents York Central, has tabled a House of Commons motion – backed by MPs from all parties – saying organisations which operate rescue helicopters in emergencies should be treated in the same way as the lifeboat service.
He wants grants to be made to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA), which used about 170,000 litres of fuel last year and was charged £5,800 in VAT by the Treasury, and other similar bodies which would see them being reimbursed.
Although special provision is made under EU rules for lifeboats to be exempt from the tax, the European laws do not allow countries to extend the zero tax rate to other charities or rescue services.
YAA is one of 20 air ambulance charities in the UK and operates two helicopters to serve five million people, with one being based in North Yorkshire and the other at Leeds Bradford Airport The charity needs £7,200 a day to keep both helicopters in the air.
Mr Bayley said: “The air ambulance services are as vital as the lifeboat service and would get an enormous benefit by having the VAT they pay for fuel repaid.”
Paul Gowland, of YAA, said: “We are constantly striving to raise the vital funds needed to keep the air ambulances in the air and operational, so any reimbursements or donations would be very greatly received by the charity.”
Mr Bayley’s Early Day Motion, which has been supported by York Outer MP Julian Sturdy among others, said donations to YAA had “saved successive Governments millions of pounds in expenditure” but air ambulances were now having to cope with rising fuel prices.
A VAT step in the right direction
TIME and again, the Yorkshire Air Ambulance has proved it really is a lifesaver.
There was Top Gear star Richard Hammond; North Yorkshire schoolgirl Charlotte Leighton; and, just last year, teenage cyclist Jake Hardcastle, flown to Leeds General Infirmary by the helicopter paramedics after being hit by a motorcyclist at Stamford Bridge. “Angels of the sky” is how Jake’s mum, Tracey, described her son’s rescuers.
Yet despite the vital life-saving service it provides, the air ambulance is a charity, one which relies entirely on donations to keep flying.
Even more of an anomaly, it must pay VAT on the fuel it uses.
Now, York Central MP Hugh Bayley has tabled a House of Commons motion calling for all organisations such as the air ambulance which operate emergency rescue helicopters to be exempted from such VAT. It is a hugely sensible measure, which could save the organisation almost £6,000 a year – money it can ill afford.
Ideally, one day, it would be nice for the air ambulance to be funded by the Government, like most other emergency services.
In the current economic climate, that is not likely to happen any time soon.
But Mr Bayley’s very sensible measure would be a big step in the right direction.
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