24 March 2015
After writing to the Department of Treasury on behalf of SERV Norfolk last summer, Waveney MP Peter  Aldous welcomed the news in the Budget yesterday that VAT paid by blood bike charities will be refunded.  
From 1 April 2015, blood bike charities will be included in the VAT refunds scheme, along with search and rescue, and air ambulance charities as previously announced at Autumn Statement 2014. (Finance Bill 2015)
 
Mr Aldous commented:  “In providing this entirely voluntary service SERV Norfolk are freeing up funds for the NHS to spend on patient care and taking this in to account it does not appear right that they pay VAT on their costs, a substantial part of which is fuel. I wrote to the Treasury about this matter last June and am pleased Government has responded.”
Rider/Volunteer David Parish commented: “SERV Norfolk is responding to a very real need from hospitals in our area, who spend significant sums on out of hours transport in the evening and at weekends and may otherwise have to rely on taxis or private sector couriers to transport these items including urgent diagnostic samples or blood.  This year they expect to carry out over 1000 tasks for our hospitals, all completely free of charge, allowing hospitals to spend more money on patient care.”
 
The charity is also about to start working with the East Anglian Air Ambulance, providing a daily blood delivery service which will enable the helicopters to carry blood on board, meaning  they can perform transfusions at the roadside giving patients a much higher chance of survival from a trauma.