'WORRYING' RISE IN AMBULANCE RUNNING COSTS
An FOI revealed increases in costs of insurance and fuel
Ambulance services are set to spend more than £72 million on fuel and insurance this year, up more than £10 million in five years.
Figures for nine ambulance services show insurance costs had spiked by 56 per cent, going from £10.96 million in 2018/19 to a projected £17.14 million in 2023/24.
Volatility in the price of fuel has also seen expenditure go up by almost £4.5 million over the same period, from £50.94 million to £55.38 million.
The figures were compiled in response to Freedom of Information Act requests by the Liberal Democrats, who are calling for emergency service vehicles to be given discounted rates on fuel.
This could be funded by a windfall tax on oil and gas firms, the party suggested.
Cumbrian Lib Dem MP and former party leader Tim Farron said: "That is a figure that's gone up by more than 10 million pounds, and that money is coming from existing ambulance budgets.
"There'll be money that's not going into new vehicles, into training new paramedics and to making sure we get the response times of ambulance calls down.
"Instead, that money is going on paying inflated insurance and fuel costs.
"What we're asking for is a windfall tax on energy companies to pay for there to be a discount on fuel and insurance for emergency vehicles. It seems foolish to do otherwise and fair and right to do this.
"It makes sure we allow our wonderful people working in the ambulance service to focus on the job at hand rather than worrying about how they are going to pay the bills."
The Lib Dems received responses from the trusts responsible for ambulance services in South East Coast, South Central, East Midlands, London, North West, Scotland, Wales, East of England and the Isle of Wight.
The trust covering the West Midlands responded with data for previous years but not a projection for 2023/24 expenditure.
Lib Dem analysis of the figures, shared with the PA news agency, showed the East of England Ambulance Trust is forced to pay the most to keep their ambulances on the road with a projected £11.45 million being spent on insurance and fuel for 2023/202, up on 2018/2019's figure of £10.01 million.
Lib Dem health spokeswoman Daisy Cooper said: "Our ambulance services are being pushed to the brink by this Conservative government's mismanagement of our economy."
She said the figures "paint a worrying picture of just how stretched our health service budgets are" in a winter "that promises to be extremely challenging".
The government's previously said it's investing 14 billion pounds in supporting the NHS and social care.
That pledge was made in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement in November