Dylan Rich campaign: Government unsure on defibrillator VAT exemption

The government is unconvinced exempting defibrillators from VAT would improve community access, a minister has said.

Nottinghamshire football club West Bridgford Colts have been campaigning for the change since the death of a teenage player last year.

Dylan Rich, 17, collapsed during an FA Youth Cup game in September.

Ruth Edwards, Conservative MP for Rushcliffe, raised the idea in an adjournment debate in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

However, Treasury minister Lucy Frazer said the government did not believe a zero rate of VAT would necessarily be passed on in terms of price reductions.

Ms Edwards told the Commons the average defibrillator cost about £1,250, and the price tag was one of the "barriers" to access in communities.

"On average, a person in the UK has an 8% chance of surviving a cardiac arrest if it happens out of hospital," she said.

"But this is vastly increased to as high as 70% if a defibrillator is used within the first three to five minutes of the cardiac arrest occurring.

"It's essential to have a defibrillator on every sports pitch and street corner possible because these machines save lives."

She said while some non-profit healthcare providers and charities, including the NHS, were already exempt from paying VAT on defibrillators, "most sports clubs and community groups don't qualify under these rules" and struggle with the "considerable expense".

She pointed out there were several options the government could look at, including putting zero VAT on all defibrillators "in line with that already applied to a range of medicines and medical products", reducing VAT, or expanding exemptions to cover more charities and groups.

However, Ms Frazer said: "We don't believe a new zero rate would necessarily lead to a reduction in prices, instead businesses may choose to absorb the tax relief as profit.

"If we are to take this step, we would need to be sure that zero-rating AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators) would represent genuine value for money and make a real difference in expanding public access to AEDs.

"I am aware that the prime minister has asked the Department of Health and Social Care to examine whether there are any ways to further expand public access to defibrillators and I have myself spoken to the minister responsible, the minister for patient safety [Maria Caulfield MP], on this very issue."

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