This afternoon we will be praising the work of the Air Ambulance teams throughout the country and debating whether the state should give more support to this wonderful charity. Successive governments have benefited from the hard work of this amazing organisation. The precise time of the debate in the main chamber is a little unclear and I will try and update the blog but it is likely to be at around 4.45pm in the House of Commons. I will be standing up for the Great North Air Ambualnce, but it is, in reality, no less deserving of our support than the other 17 Air Ambulance organisations in the country. The heart of the debate is the Epetition that has garnered over 150,000 supporters and which has resulted in a backbench business committee debate today. The desire is to ensure that the government reimburses the VAT incurred by these organsations on their fuel.
Update: 21 speakers spoke in favour of the Motion and the whole House voted for it. My thanks for the support of so many locals and all across the country.
I will be walking the Pennine Way in support of the GNAA this summer and will be at the Otterbrun Show this Saturday. If you want to see a short clip of the debate look here: http://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/update/2012-07-11/refund-fuel-vat-for-air-ambulances/
