Patrick Hurley, MP for Southport and the Northern Parishes, has joined a cross-party letter to Chancellor John Healey calling for VAT on defibrillators to be scrapped in the upcoming Autumn Budget.
Hurley has previously urged the Government to take action to improve access to defibrillators, including backing calls to scrap the so-called “Heart Restart Tax”, and has raised the issue in Parliament.
Recent analysis has found that around 44,000 people in Southport live outside the recommended distance of a registered public defibrillator.
The British Heart Foundation recommends that a defibrillator should be reached within three to five minutes of a cardiac arrest. When one is used quickly alongside CPR, it can significantly increase a person’s chances of survival.
Across the country, volunteers, charities, community groups and sports clubs often take responsibility for fundraising to install new public defibrillators. Campaigners argue that removing VAT would mean more of every pound raised could go directly towards improving access to potentially life-saving equipment.
In Southport, the Southport Saviours Foundation has played a leading role in raising money for new defibrillators, promoting awareness and providing CPR and defibrillator training.
That work will continue later this month when trustee and cardiac arrest survivor Richard Moore takes on a fundraising challenge on 26 September, running with a CPR mannequin from Southport to the top of Blackpool Tower.
The challenge will raise money for Southport Saviours and support its work to improve defibrillator access across the local area.
Patrick Hurley MP said:
“Too many people across the country still live too far away from a publicly accessible defibrillator. Scrapping VAT is a practical change the Chancellor could make in the next Budget that would help community groups make the money they raise go further.
“Organisations like Southport Saviours do extraordinary work raising funds, installing defibrillators and helping people learn how to use them. The government should be doing everything it reasonably can to support that work.
“Richard knows first-hand just how important access to a defibrillator can be. I would encourage anyone who can to get behind his challenge and support Southport Saviours.”
To support Richard Moore’s fundraising challenge, visit: https://www.southportsaviours.co.uk/donate
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