Alderney’s Ambulance Service to be funded by property taxes

Friday 13 November 2020

Annual costs for ambulance subscriptions in Alderney will halve under new funding proposals that have received public backing.

In July of this year Alderney's Policy and Finance Committee agreed that the new integrated Ambulance and Fire Service should be funded from the States budget as opposed to the current subscription service. The final decision hung on a public survey to determine whether the proposals were widely accepted.

In its current form the Ambulance service is funded by subscriptions and one off payments. It sits at £40 annually for a single person, £95 for a family, or a one off cost of £250.

240 people responded to the survey and three quarters of them agreed to the change in funding. It would bring the service in line with how the Voluntary Fire Service is funded through property tax. It would see annual costs rise to a maximum of £50 per household.

Most people who responded to the survey were permanent residents; however, a few people were second home owners and some were visitors. There were a number of comments included within the survey, including the proposals being less discriminatory towards the most vulnerable in the community.

Pictured: Nearly half of the respondents subscribe to the current service.

Guernsey’s Chief Ambulance Officer Mark Mapp recently went to meet recruits at a first responder course at the Mignot Memorial Hospital and praised the new system:

"All of the candidates passed the course which is testament to the individuals and their efforts. It equally indicates the excellent standard the new volunteers have achieved in a small space of time.

"I suspect many eyes will be on Alderney because many other UK jurisdictions have or are looking at a collaborative model of Fire and Ambulance."