Mountain rescue teams will be able to reclaim VAR from next year. Photo: Kirkby Stephen MRT
Mountain rescue teams will be able to reclaim value added tax, the Chancellor announced today.
George Osborne said search and rescue team and air ambulance charities will be eligible for VAT refunds from next April.
He made the announcement in his autumn statement to Parliament.
Rescue teams, which are charities and whose members volunteer their services free of charge, have long campaigned to be able to reclaim tax. Previously the coalition Government had set up grants to UK teams to partly offset the tax they had to pay on equipment on fuel.
Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron, who has worked with mountain rescue representatives, welcomed the news.
He said: “This is fantastic news and will make a massive difference to our vital search and rescue teams.
“It has always struck me as deeply unfair that an emergency service which saves people’s lives every day, has to pay tax on the vital equipment that they use – especially when virtually all of their funding comes from charitable donations.
“That’s why I have been campaigning for so long to stop these teams having to pay VAT. Our mountain rescue teams do amazing work for people in desperate need. I cannot praise them highly enough – their determination and bravery are truly inspiring.
“Today’s announcement would not have been possible without the work of the late Stewart Hulse from Windermere.
“As a member of Mountain Rescue England and Wales, Stewart helped me gather the evidence to present to ministers to firstly secure the grant funding, and now this refund. I want to pay tribute to him as we celebrate this important victory.”
The Great North Air Ambulance Service also welcomed the move. It said the announcement is expected to give air ambulance charities across the UK a VAT saving of up to £10m over the next five years.
Grahame Pickering, chief executive of GNAAS, said: “Raising the money to keep our helicopters flying is a constant uphill battle so today’s news is potentially a tremendous boost at a time when the demands upon our service are as great as ever.
“Any relief will directly benefit residents of our region, but that doesn’t mean we can let up on our fundraising efforts as we need to raise around £5m every year to keep flying.”
Sally Seed
03 December 2014Quote from Mike France of MREW to add to the article if useful:
Mike France, Chairman of MREW, said: “It is great to have the recognition in central government of the valuable work done by volunteer rescue services and also of the generosity of our many supporters.”
“This issue of financial support has been under discussion for a long time and there have been various options and mechanisms in place – the latest announcement looks encouraging but we’ve still to see the details of how much admin will be needed from our already stretched volunteers and also how we can ensure that this refund and other support from central government has a positive impact for all the 50+ teams across England and Wales.”
Richard Warren
03 December 2014Good news and long overdue. Many thanks for the efforts of Tim Farron MP plus all MPs in Cumbria and other MPs across the MRT regions to keep pressure on government to deliver this relaxation on VAT. There has also been significant involvement from many within MR over the past ten years to make it happen. This will make a big difference as our supporters who kindly donate will now have the additional reassurance that every pound donated will go to saving lives. As our national Chairman Mike France says, we still need to fully understand what it means and how much additional administration will be needed on the part of our team and regional treasurers.
Richard Warren
Chairman LDSAMRA (Lakes Region)
Paul B
04 December 2014This will be swallowed up as rescues will go through the roof as millions of unemployed firefighters, police and NHS worker will have plenty of time to roam?