THE Charity Commission says that trustees of an air ambulance charity must not be directed by the local ambulance service.

In a letter written to all ambulance charities by David Locke, executive director of the Charity Commission, on December 4 2007 he says: "Independence is a basic requirement for all charities.

"Charities must exist for charitable purposes, not just to carry out another body's policies or instructions.

"We recognise that ambulance services and air ambulance charities need to work in partnership.

"However the trustees must have freedom to decide how to use the charity's funds and assets to further its charitable purposes. The trustees can be informed by, but must not be directed by, the ambulance service."

A spokeswoman for the Charity Commission said that its view was that any potential conflict of interest can be managed by ensuring governance structures that allow for independent' decision making in respect of the charitable funds.

The spokeswoman said the Commission had investigated two concerns from members of the public about Great Western Ambulance Services NHS Trust but found nothing to substantiate the concerns.

One of the concerns was in January 2007 about the funds of the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Appeal.

The spokesman for the Commission said: "We wrote to the trust to seek clarification of its intentions and further information concerning the appeal. The trust explained that funds raised for ambulance services in Wiltshire would continue to be used in Wiltshire.

"We were satisfied with the trust's explanations and wrote to the complainant explaining that questions about the details of the new service are a matter for the trust to answer."

The Great Western Ambulance Service is one of only two ambulance trusts in the country to be sole trustee of an air ambulance charity.