Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the cost to the public purse of waiving VAT on (a) defibrillators and (b) associated apparatus.

The cost of relieving VAT on defibrillators is uncertain owing to the lack of data on purchases of defibrillators and associated apparatus, and on purchasers who are able to reclaim the VAT on these purchases. Businesses are not required to provide information at a product level in their VAT returns, as this would impose an excessive administrative burden; HMRC does not therefore hold this data. All taxes are kept under review; any policy measure would be costed in the usual way.

The Government is currently inviting community organisations to bid for funding as part of a £1 million grant scheme that expands public access to AEDs, particularly in public places where they are most needed.

In addition, last year the Government committed to supplying state-funded schools in England with defibrillators to make sure there is a device in every school, with deliveries completed in June 2023. This means that every state-funded school in England, over 21,500 schools, now has access to an AED.