Mountain Rescue (Kirsty Williams AM )

Cymraeg
English

Kirsty Williams AM <info@kirstywilliams.org.uk>

Mountain Rescue

January 7, 2010 12:00 AM
By Kirsty Williams AM in Local Beacon 01st January 2010

We all know of the heroic work that Mountain Rescue do and they are an essential service when people fall ill or are injured in the moorlands and mountains; when people go missing and at times of major civil emergencies. These live-saving teams have to respond in all weathers and all situations and provide an exemplary service in areas such as ours. But all the equipment and vehicles that they use to save lives, protect and rescue people are paid for by voluntary donations. They provide a service which is estimated to save the taxpayer £6 million a year, yet Mountain Rescue teams still have to pay VAT and vehicle excise duty (VED) on most of their equipment and vehicles, which costs them an estimated £200,000 per year. The Lib Dems in Westminster and Cardiff are campaigning for the Chancellor to exempt all Mountain Rescue Services in the UK from paying VAT and VED. The cost to the Treasury would be relatively small, but that money would be a major boost to Mountain Rescue teams. At present, the only way in which the government provides financial assistance to Mountain Rescue teams is through gift aid; but in reality the majority of donations come from collection boxes, flag days and 'tin rattling' outside supermarkets, none of which fall within the government gift aid guidelines. Mountain Rescue teams have to use equipment and vehicles that are expensive to buy, maintain and run, so surely the Government should agree to exempt them from these taxes as a means of supporting a vital emergency service. We hope that you will join Roger Williams MP and I in calling on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to exempt Mountain Rescue Teams form VAT and VED, by signing Rogers online petition at www.rogerwilliams.org.uk