The South Western Ambulance Service is set to spend almost £9 million on fuel this year, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.
Photo © SWASFT
The information request, made by the Liberal Democrats, asked the ambulance service for its spending on fuel in the last three financial years and its projected spending for the 2022/2023 year.
South Western Ambulance Service is expecting to pay nearly £2 million more this year in fuel costs compared to 2021/22, an increase of 28%. The projected figure is £8.75 million.
The ambulance service is particularly vulnerable to increasing fuel costs as it covers a much larger region compared to others.
The Freedom of Information (FOI) request was also sent out to the other ambulance services in England.
All nine of the ten ambulance services in mainland England that responded said that they are expecting to pay an extra million pounds or more in fuel over the next year.
Overall ambulance services across the country are set to pay an extra £14 million over the next year compared to 2021/22, up to £69 million from £54 million in the year prior.
Bath MP Wera Hobhouse has called for all ambulance services to have universally discounted rates on fuel costs, paid for by oil and gas companies.
She said: “Right across the country, our ambulance services are struggling massively. And now, every ambulance service is being hit by huge spikes in their fuel bills, stretching vital funds even further.
“Our emergency service professionals are the heroes at the heart of our communities, committed to doing their utmost to look after us, but the Government has completely abandoned them.
“During this NHS crisis every penny counts and the Government allowing Ambulance Services to have their budgets stretched even further by massive spikes in their fuel bills is unacceptable.
“It is under Conservative Governments that fuel bills have sky-rocketed but they are asking the public to be saddled with the cost of their failure.
“If the Government is serious about supporting the NHS then reducing these spiralling fuel bills by properly taxing the big oil and gas companies should be a priority.
“Instead, they are starving the NHS of the support it desperately needs and letting the fossil fuel companies rake in massive profits.”
