Westminster this coming week

Prudhoe High School is being rebuilt in March, but there remains an issue with the scope of the on going sports provision. I am working with the Prudhoe Community High School, and the various funding bodies, to get a speedy resolution on this and hope to have a round table in Westminster this coming week to help resolve this. There is also education questions on Monday at 2.30, followed by a confirming debate on the Women Bishops legislation. Wednesday we have further counter terrorism legislation being debated in the Commons, and I will be helping guide this through the Commons.

I have meetings or appointments this week in London with constituents, the Clinical Commissioning Group, Smart Energy, and with the association of Air Ambulances, amongst others, along with plenty of Home Office work and Women2Win. I am also trying to get a resolution to the Matfen broadband problem, which several locals, including the local councillor, Veronica Jones, have contacted to me about.  It is great news that Stamfordham, Great Whittington, and other local areas north of the Military Road, now have proper broadband but Matfen is lagging behind and we are trying to sort it. I am sat at my desk in the Commons prepping for the week ahead, which is chock a block with meetings in particular. Not looking forward to the cycle back to west London on the coldest night of the year!

Air ambulances, including GNAA, benefit with VAT changes in Autumn Statement

 

All our Air Ambulances benefited from the Chancellor George Osborne Autumn Statement - as he announced that charities who work as part of the Emergency Response Services would receive VAT relief.

At the same time he also announced there would be a further £7.5 million pot of money in support of Air Ambulance charities across the UK.

I am chair of the All Party Support Group for Air Ambulances in the Houses of Parliament and I know that this will really make a difference to all Air Ambulance charities in the UK. It will mean that every penny donated by supporters will go that bit further which is a win win for all concerned.

Our work with the Association of Air Ambulances and cross party members of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Air Ambulances we have been lobbying hard to bring in VAT reductions for charity funded Air Ambulances.

The first success was securing VAT back on fuel used by our services.

This is a second success for the Air Ambulances as a whole.

George Osborne also announced a further allocation of £7.5 million extra support for air ambulance charities across the UK, using LIBOR fines.

Westminster this Week

Local Banks and Credit Unions are this weeks key meeting which is on Tuesday with Sir Hector Sants, the advisor to the Church of England on credit Unions - whose help I am seeking as we try and take forward our local banking and expanded credit union plans for Tynedale.
Later in the week I have the Association of Air Ambulance awards meeting - where we attempt to identify and assess who the winners of these annual awards will be.
Also on Wednesday parliament will be debating the conflicts and unrest in the Ukraine, Middle East and beyond from around 12.40 onwards.
I have multiple constituents coming to Westminster this week for meetings and some on tours, and we are working the full week once again in Westminster as Friday is another Private Members Bill day.

Duke of Cambridge to become an Air Ambulance Helicopter Pilot is great news

Really pleased for the Air Ambulance crews and support staff who will be chuffed by the Prince's decision. The Association of Air Ambulances (AAA) and the All Party Group for Air Ambulances in the House of nCommons has gone from strength to strength these last 2 years but this is the icing on the cake: the news that His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge is to become a helicopter pilot with East Anglian Air ambulance is a massive boost to the Air Ambulances all over the country. His decision to pursue this role following his time as a RAF Search and Rescue pilot is seen as a strong endorsement of the part that air ambulances play in caring for the sick and injured in UK.

East Anglian Air Ambulance is one of nineteen other charities that operate the thirty six air ambulances across the UK, providing advanced pre-hospital care to the most critically ill patients. On average seventy patients per day are treated by the thirty six aircraft.

I work hand in glove with Clive Dickin, the AAA National Director, who on hearing the good news said:
“We are delighted that East Anglian Air Ambulance and the East of England Ambulance Service have such support. The Duke of Cambridge made it clear earlier this year that he was considering this option as part of his public service duties. The announcement will, we hope, help to raise the profile of the work of all air ambulances in the country."

Westminster returns today and I have a busy week

Syria debate is Tuesday, and I will be speaking also on the F40 Fairer Funding for School campaign.
Monday is a Home Office morning, followed by Home Office Questions at 2.30, followed by 2 days of debate on HS2.
Tuesday we also have Treasury Questions,
During the week I have meetings galore with everyone from the Association of Air Ambulances to Monica Burns of the North East National Housing Federation. With luck I will be home Wednesday night, as I am speaking at an event in Newcastle Thursday

The Weekend Read: My campaign to help local Air Ambulance charities

People often forget that Air Ambulances are charities and not funded by the state. They are one of the wonders of British life.
For us in the North, The Great North Air Ambulance (GNAA) is incredibly important to Northumberland. It is the fourth emergency service.

The GNAA covers an area of 8,000 square miles. The helicopters can be anywhere in the region within fifteen minutes and this quick response provides those in need with specialist trauma doctors and paramedics. No medical response unit can match this reaction time on the ground and cover such a large area. Air Ambulances quite simply save lives. I have seen this as a jockey, as an MP and as a hiker - when I did the Pennine Way the service was called out several times - the picture is of me going over the high emptiness of High Cup Nick on the Cumbrian Border.

Yet, the GNAA is funded entirely through charitable donations. Each mission costs £2,500, because of fuel costs, medicine and other equipment. The Service responds to hundreds of call-outs a month and to satisfy this demand it requires about £4m a year in fundraising. This huge running cost is often a testing target to raiseand the GNAA is not alone. I am the chair of the All Party Group in parliamanet in support of Air Ambulances. There are many Air Ambulance charities across the UK, each one having to raise millions of pounds themselves so they can help reach patients quicker.

One clear way to ease this financial burden is to stop Air Ambulances paying VAT on fuel. Each year the GNAA, for example, pays £120,000 a year on fuel. Of this total, 20% is VAT. If stopped, the GNAA would save £24,000 – equivalent to 10 life saving missions.

Lifeboats do not pay VAT on fuel and, ever since becoming an MP, I have campaigned to fix this contradiction. Back in 2012 I led a debate where I argued that there was no difference between a lifeboat and a helicopter.
The transcript of the debate is here http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2012-07-11a.386.0&s=%28%28air+ambulance%29%29+speaker%3A24962#g386.1

After two years of hard campaigning by the GNAA and the Air Ambulance Association, The Chancellor, George Osborne in his recent Budget announced that Air Ambulances would no longerhave to pay VAT on their fuel. This was excellent news! It will have a huge impact upon the many Air Ambulance Charities across the country, but most of all here in the North East.

Two weeks ago, during Prime Minister’s Questions, I raised this issue and thanked the PM and the Chancellor for seeing the case for change and supporting the GNAA and others. 
“In 2012, 150,000 people petitioned this House to stop charitable air ambulances having to pay VAT on fuel. May I thank the Prime Minister for his actions in the 2014 Budget which will mean that more missions are flown and more lives are saved. Does he agree that this is possible only because we are using the LIBOR fines for good purposes and because we have a long-term economic plan?”

The Prime Minister replied, “My honourable. Friend is absolutely right. I pay tribute to him because he is the founder and chair of the all-party group on air ambulances. He has campaigned tirelessly on this issue, and he led a debate in the House in 2012. I am delighted about the result that was achieved in the Budget. As he says, it will lead to an expansion of the service. He is also right that you can only make these decisions if you look after the nation’s resources, control public spending, and get the deficit down—in short, if you have a long-term economic plan.”

But despite this excellent result the GNAA still needs support. There will always be a need for further fundraising and support from local volunteers. This VAT exemption does not mean the financial burden is lifted. More money is needed every year to help keep this life saving service in the air. What it does mean, however, is that money that would have otherwise been spent on fuel tax can now be used to buy more medicine and pay for more missions.

This is great news for the people of Hexham and Tynedale and I am delighted to have played my part in making this happen. I congratulate the GNAA and Air Ambulances across the UK and will continue to support them for as long as I am an MP. But as you consider your charitable donations this summer - please think of the GNAA. 

PMQ Today - my Q&A with the PM 27 mins 10 seconds in

http://www.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/house_of_commons/

Guy Opperman (Hexham):

In 2012, 150,000 people petitioned this House to stop charitable air ambulances having to pay VAT on fuel. May I thank the Prime Minister for his actions in the 2014 Budget which will mean that more missions are flown and more lives are saved? Does he agree that this is possible only because we are using the LIBOR fines for good purposes and because we have a long-term economic plan?

The Prime Minister:
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I pay tribute to him because he is the founder and chair of the all-party group on air ambulances. He has campaigned tirelessly on this issue, and he led a debate in the House in 2012. I am delighted about the result that was achieved in the Budget. As he says, it will lead to an expansion of the service. He is also right that you can only make these decisions if you look after the nation’s resources, control public spending, and get the deficit down—in short, if you have a long-term economic plan.

Helping to host the Air Ambulance Awards tonight

Today is the AAA National Conference at the Millenium Gloucester Hotel in London; for full details see the following link http://www.associationofairambulances.co.uk/event/speakers/3/
The daytime is the hard work - comparing best practice and a series of workshops to improve the health outcomes for patients, and the operability and efficiency of these great charitable organsations up and down the country.
In the evening we have the gala dinner, when I and others will be involved in the awards to the key stars of our Air Ambulances - including the outstanding doctor, paramedic and pilot, along with the best fundraising and other campaigns. I was on the judging panel and it was not easy. More details tomorrow.  

Westminster this week

The Crime, Anti Social Behaviour and Policing Bill is up for debate for 2 days on Monday & Tuesday in the Commons. I will be helping in this Bill, but have a variety of key meetings as well:
- I am the chair of the All Party Group for Air Ambulances, and we have a meeting this Tuesday,
- I also have key constituency calls to action by phone, notably with Northumbria Police officers on a couple of ongoing cases in Hexham and Haltwhistle,
- I hope to be meeting key representatives of BT on Wednesday, where I will be raising local phone failures we have suffered in parts of Tynedale, particularly Hedley, where the campaign goes on for a better service.
- I have question 9 on fuel poverty and credit unions at 11.30 in the Commons on Wednesday and will be hoping to catch the Speakers eye at PMQs
- there are also a number of other smaller debates I will keep an eye on

Thursday I really hope to be slipped to come north, albeit the House is still sitting, where I have a number of appointments and meetings on Thursday, Friday and all day Saturday. The EGGER academy opening is the key event on Friday. The evening diary is yet to be confirmed but I know I have appointments / events on Thursday and Friday. With a little bit of luck I might make the pub quiz in one of my local pubs down the road on Friday night.

Air Ambulance Reception in the House of Commons

I was pleased to host over 150 patients, Air Ambulance Trust staff and trustees, clinicians, and dozens of MPs and Peers who came along to yesterdays Association of Air Ambulances Reception.
The 2 hour event was a huge success and I am seen pictured with the wonderful team from the Great North Air Ambulance [who are, of course, the best Air Ambulance in the country], who had a great time and chatted at length with my Stockton South colleague James Wharton and Wansbeck's Ian Lavery. Many congratulations to Clive Dickin and his team, and my staff who worked long and hard to make sure this event went off without a hitch. One Chief Exec said to me, "I have never been to an event like it" before adding "and the speeches of yourself and Lord Howe made the point, but mercifully did not go on too long." There is a compliment in there.
Lord Howe spoke very supportively of the work all Air Ambulances were doing and, in particular, on behalf of the Department of Health about the work being done on helipads for use by the helicopters. 
Most of all two memories remain: it was a chance to celebrate the great work of these small, dedicated but enthusiastic teams of local people do up and down the country. And secondly it was wonderful to see so many former patients, like the young female Londoner or the motorcyclist from Bishops Stortford I met, both of whose lives were saved by an Air Ambulance team. After all, everything we do is about saving patients lives and to hear them speak and eulogise about the service was very moving.
A great day.