In reply to jimtitt:
> (In reply to spookytom)
>
> You´ve a problem, all the climbing gear a climber carries (ropes, harness, nuts, quickdraws, cams etc) is personal safety gear and legally defined as such (PPE) so virtually everybody is carrying many, many hundreds of pounds of safety gear.
> If you mean emergency medical equipment then I carry about a tenners worth like everyone I know.
I realise that this is far more your area than mine, but are you sure about that?
I always understood that, legally, PPE only applied in a working environment.
Hence, arborialists harnesses (and for example, my workboots) are exempt from VAT but my climbing harness isn't.
http://www.panhorus.com/ppe.htm