Holyrood in fresh plea to end VAT bills for Police and Fire services

The Scottish Government’s renewing calls for the Treasury to scrap VAT bills for the police and fire service.

The single Scottish police and fire services became liable for the tax after merging from regional into national organisations.

Ministers say it means Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service still face an annual VAT cost of around £35 million per year, unlike other territorial services in the UK.

Finance Secretary Derek Mackay argues such a situation is “unacceptable” and has renewed ministers' calls for the UK Government to end the “anomaly”.

The fresh calls follow a newspaper report suggesting that an end to the payments could be on the cards in the Chancellor's next budget.

Mr Mackay said: “We have repeatedly called on the UK Government to end the glaring disparity in the way that VAT affects emergency services across the UK, with Scottish police and fire services facing £35 million of unnecessary annual costs which other territorial services do not have.

“This is unacceptable and I will be pursuing with the Chancellor whether the reports he has changed his mind are true or simply more mixed messages from the UK Government.

“We have repeatedly made clear that the financial support we are providing for our front line emergency services would go much further if Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service were able to recover VAT.

“Any move to end this would be welcome - it would make a real difference to front line services in Scotland.”

A UK Government spokeswoman said: “Before the Scottish Government made the decision to make Scotland's police and fire services national rather than regional bodies, they were told this would mean that Scottish police and fire services would become ineligible for VAT refunds.

“They pressed ahead with the changes fully aware of the implications. There has been absolutely no change in this position.