AIR AMBULANCE SERVICE

That this House notes that, whilst the Lifeboat Service has been exempt from VAT on fuel costs since 1977, a similar privilege has not been afforded to the Air Ambulance Service; further notes that the Air Ambulance Service is forced to meet rising fuel prices year on year; recognises that voluntary fundraising and charitable donations from the British public to sustain the Air Ambulance Service have saved successive governments millions of pounds in expenditure; calls on the Government to review this matter in recognition of the valuable service the Air Ambulance Service provides; and further calls on the Government to return in the form of grants to Air Ambulance Service providers all the VAT which the Treasury collects from them so that the Air Ambulance Service is in practice exempt from paying VAT in the same way as the Lifeboat Service.