Lake District rescuers gather with MRE&W's patron Prince William on Helvellyn. MP Tim Farron has backed their campaign
The Liberal Democrat MP who led the campaign to get mountain rescue teams’ VAT refunded said he is confident the move will still go ahead.
Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron made the statement in the wake of two amendments to the Finance Bill in support of mountain rescue teams tabled by the Labour shadow treasury team.
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liam Byrne is believed to be behind the move to try to freeze the impending increase in VAT which the volunteer teams pay on their equipment and which means the 79 mountain rescue teams in England, Scotland and Wales will face a tax hike of £28,000.
But Mr Farron condemned Labour’s move as political posturing. He said: “It is a bit rich of Liam Byrne to talk about this now when he denied the VAT refund to mountain rescue teams when he was in Government.”
The teams pay an estimated £200,000 a year in VAT at present. The Scottish Government supports the MRTs north of the border to the tune of £300,000 annually, but English and Welsh teams do not get the equivalent financial backing.
Mr Farron, who stood unsuccessfully against Simon Hughes in the contest for deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, said his campaign on behalf of the rescuers was continuing and he was upbeat about its chance of success.
MP Tim Farron: confident
“It’s a matter that doesn’t need to be done through the Finance Bill and the Budget,” he said, “and although I would have preferred it if they had made an announcement by now, I am confident we will get a refund of VAT for mountain rescue.”
He said he would be talking to Danny Alexander, the Coalition Government’s Chief Secretary to the Treasury later today. Mr Alexander, in a pre-election speech, showed his strong support for mountain rescuers, saying: “The expertise and local knowledge which is given freely by volunteers could not be replaced.
“Everyone who enjoys our outdoors owes them a debt – and severe winter conditions like we have seen this year bring their skills into use in an even wider range of circumstances, working closely with the police.
“It has never been right that a vital service which relies on donations from the public and extraordinary commitment from volunteers gets hit by the Government for a sizeable tax payment.
“The [Labour] Government has resisted calls for VAT exemption, arguing that it would not be allowed by European law, but it is absolutely clear that VAT paid could be refunded. The cost to the exchequer is small, but the difference is enormously significant for mountain rescue teams.”
The two Labour amendments to the VAT increase in the Finance Bill, likely to be debated by the House of Commons tomorrow, call for charities to be exempted from the tax hike due to take place next January, and for a Treasury report on the impact of the increase.
But Tim Farron said: “I suspect the amendment is political posturing. The issue is simply one of exempting or refunding expenditure by the teams on VAT.
Asked whether he would support the amendments, he said: “I think it’s a good question what I will do. I will not necessarily follow the Government line. But it is unnecessary to have a report on the impact of VAT on mountain rescue – we know what the impact is.
“What is important is that we will have the VAT burden taken off mountain rescue teams.
“I feel very confident on this; I am pretty confident it is going to happen.”
Mountain Rescue England & Wales has mounted a long campaign to have the VAT they pay on many items of equipment refunded. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution which, like the mountain rescue teams, uses volunteers for its work, is exempt from paying the tax.
