Cairngorm mountain rescuers welcome extra cash

THE CAIRNGORM Mountain Rescue Team has welcomed new Government funding for equipment which should, in effect, reimburse most of their outlay on VAT this year.

The funding announced by Treasury Chief and local MP Danny Alexander will bring the UK’s mountain rescue teams into line with the RNLI lifeboat service, which does not have to pay VAT on their new purchases.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg had said that there were "very compelling" reasons to look at scrapping VAT charges on new equipment bought by mountain rescue teams when he visited Boat of Garten at the start of the year.

The Cairngorm team, which is manned by volunteers, currently pays around £6,000 in VAT every year from their hard-pressed budget made up from limited Scottish Government and police funding and donations.

The Westminster Government has now announced £200,000 funding for new equipment to be split between all the UK teams, of which Scotland’s 24 mountain rescue services will receive £68,000 between them.

Willie Anderson, leader of the Cairngorm rescue team, said: "We’re happy to be receiving additional funding.

"Our team has an annual running cost of around £60,000. We get about £18,000 from the Scottish Government and £6,000 from Northern Constabulary.

"The rest has to come from fund-raising donations.

"In Scotland there are around 450 rescues every year, 300 of which take place in the North of Scotland."

He said that the money which came their way would be used to improve navigation devices to help their members locate missing people as quickly as possible in Scotland’s last wilderness.

Mr Anderson said: "We are looking to get our radios GPS-enabled so we will be able to see where the individual team members are on the mountain.

"That’s our main push."

The UK Government funding will be divided up between Scotland’s mountain rescue teams by the Mountain Rescue Committee of Scotland.

The Government does not have the power to abolish the VAT charges for rescue teams under EU rules, which is why the new money is being provided.

However, Mr Anderson said that there were still major funding concerns, particularly over what will happen to some of their funding should Scotland finally end up with just one single police force.

The CMRT leader said Northern Constabulary’s support was invaluable to the rescue service, and aided by their understanding of the demanding terrain.

Inspector Angus MacLeod, the force’s area commander, praised the work of the Cairngorm team and their counterparts and described the volunteers as being truly dedicated.

He said: "Our mountain rescue teams provide a first class service, and there are many people today who owe their lives to these dedicated individuals who turn out in all weathers.

"I would not wish to see the service they provide diminished in any way."

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, set out the £200,000 additional funding for mountain rescue teams across the UK.

It is the first time the UK Government has given direct funding to mountain rescue services.

Funding for four years has been set aside in the Government’s Spending Review, with at least £200,000 available in each year.

The money will be available to 75 teams performing mountain or cave rescue activity across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Mr Alexander said: "I am incredibly pleased to announce this additional funding. This recognises the valuable and unique work that volunteer mountain rescue teams do across the UK, and will help support the costs of expensive rescue equipment."

The allocations for each area are calculated based on the number of teams affiliated to that body, with £124,000 available for England and Wales and £8,000 for Northern Ireland.

Holyrood Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill is due to come forward with reforms for Scottish police forces some time in September.

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