Chancellor makes £10 million available for Air Ambulance capital projects
Wednesday, 07 November, 2018
The Association of Air Ambulances (AAA), which represents the majority of Air Ambulance operations in the UK, has welcomed last week’s announcement from UK Chancellor, Phillip Hammond, which sees £10 million of capital funding being allocated to support air ambulance charity projects.
Nationally, the air ambulance sector has worked hard to develop and nurture strong relationships with their local MPs, many of whom are members of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Air Ambulances (APPGAA). The APPGAA aims to highlight many of the key issues which affect the sector whilst being advocates and champions of Air Ambulances and Ambulance Services in Parliament.
Within his statement, the Chancellor stated:
“Across the length and breadth of England, our air ambulance services work tirelessly 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to get those with life-threatening illnesses and injuries to the expert medical care they need. They do a fantastic job and today I am making £10 million of funding to help them go on doing so.”
In total, 21 air ambulance charities operate across the UK. The Chancellors announcement gives the 18 air ambulance charities in England, who together need to raise over £70 million a year, an opportunity to apply for funds to support capital projects.
Paula Martin, Chair of the Association of Air Ambulances said:
“We are extremely grateful that members of Parliament are obviously listening and acknowledging the life-saving work of air ambulances across the country. The Chancellors announcement came as a total surprise to us all and means that many of our membership will be able to apply to access some of the funds available.
Whilst we welcome this news, this funding only represents a small amount of what has to be raised and we would like to highlight the importance of continued support from the general public. Their kind and generous donations ensure that air ambulances across the UK are not only able to continue their life-saving work, but further develop and enhance their services for the benefit of the patients they serve.”
More information on the Association of Air Ambulances and its members can be found by visiting: www.aoaa.org.uk
