Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of nationalising air ambulances during the covid-19 pandemic.

Air ambulance organisations are independent charities with their own governance arrangements and operating models.

Whilst air ambulances are helping with the national response, through loaning of staff and equipment, they are also continuing with the delivery of life-saving services to non-COVID-19 patients. The charitable model gives the air ambulance charities independence to deliver specialised services to meet the specific needs of the populations they serve.