The UK's mountain rescuers are unpaid

The UK's mountain rescuers are unpaid

An online petition has been started to urge the Westminster Government to repay to mountain rescue teams the value added tax they have to pay on their gear.

The e-petition on the Government website was posted by Marc Goodwin.

It says: “Currently mountain rescue charities across England (and possibly Wales and Scotland) have to pay VAT on the expensive equipment which they need to save people’s lives.

“This VAT should be reimbursed.”

At the time of writing, the petition had attracted more than 1,500 signatures. This is some way short of the 100,000 needed to trigger possible debate by Parliament.

The long-running saga over the UK’s volunteer mountain rescue teams having to use some of their hard-won funds to pay VAT has been a matter for debate for years.

Mountain Rescue England and Wales, the umbrella body for teams south of the border, pressured the previous government’s Treasury officials and ministers without success.

Two years ago, the coalition Government announced it was giving £200,000 to rescue teams, to be shared among the 75 teams in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This grant has been repeated in subsequent years.

The Scottish Government also funds teams in its nation to the tune of more than £300,000 a year.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution, which is run on similar volunteer lines to mountain rescue teams, is exempt from paying VAT.

The petition can be found on the Government website.

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