Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has to review legislation related to VAT paid on community-purchased defibrillators after the UK leave the EU.

The current legal framework limits the VAT exemptions we can apply to defibrillators. Although there may be opportunities to make changes to the VAT system in the future there will be no immediate changes to our relationship with the EU until we have left.

However, we recognise that provision of defibrillators could help those who have a cardiac arrest outside a hospital setting. The government maintains several VAT reliefs to aid purchases of defibrillators, including purchases made by local authorities and those made through voluntary contributions which are donated to eligible charities or the NHS.