Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of (a) vandalism and (b) damage to (i) ambulances and (ii) other emergency response blue light vehicles; and what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on that matter.

No such assessment has been made. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and Ministers meet a variety of stakeholders to discuss a range of operational issues.

The management of criminal damage to ambulance service vehicles is a matter for individual National Health Service ambulance trusts. NHS staff take precautions to secure and safeguard equipment and vehicles, and NHS organisations work with the police to seek redress and sanctions as well as pursuing compensation for damages to NHS assets.

Ambulances by their function form an integral part of the critical infrastructure used by NHS staff to save lives when patients are most and risk and in need of clinical support. Any criminal damage, wilful act or theft of NHS assets is completely unacceptable. Damaged ambulance negates and removes precious and critical life-saving resources available to vulnerable patients.

The Department has no current plans to bring forward new legislation regarding the vandalism of ambulance service response vehicles.