Labour in call for 999 VAT refund

Labour has called for Scotland’s emergency services to be given a £140 million shot in the arm in the UK Budget.

Scottish Conservative MPs are pressuring Chancellor Philip Hammond to axe the £35 million annual VAT bill for Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

But shadow Scottish Secretary Lesley Laird wants the Treasury to go further and refund the cash that has been taken into the UK Government’s coffers since the mergers took place in 2013.

She said: “Police and fire services across the UK benefit from a VAT exemption. Scotland’s do not. It’s time the Tories ended this inequity.”