Coastguard cuts plan scaled back

14 July 2011 Last updated at 14:51 GMT Sir Alan Massey of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency: "I'm very satisfied with the plans"

Plans for major cuts to the coastguard service have been scaled back by the government, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond has told the House of Commons.

The number of centres had been set to be reduced from 18 to eight, with only three remaining open 24 hours a day.

But Mr Hammond told MPs 10 centres that were 24-hour operational would remain, as would a smaller station in London.

The eight centres that will be shut are Clyde, Forth, Portland, Liverpool, Yarmouth, Brixham, Thames and Swansea.

MPs were told there will continue to be eight coastguard stations at Falmouth, Holyhead, Milford Haven, Belfast, Aberdeen, Humber, Stornaway and Shetland.

The transport secretary announced that the Southampton and Portsmouth coastline will be the base for the Maritime Operations Centre for the UK.

And there will also be a centre at Dover which oversees activity in the English Channel.

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It will be important for the government to demonstrate that the new plans properly address our concerns to sustain operational effectiveness”

End Quote Louise Ellman Commons transport committee The move comes after there were calls for the original plans to be dropped on safety grounds.

The original proposals were criticised in a report by the House of Commons transport committee, which said evidence it had received during its inquiry into coastguards had raised "serious concerns that safety will be jeopardised if these proposals proceed".

Louise Ellman, who chairs the committee, said she was pleased the government had revised its plans and abandoned the idea of stations being open only in daylight hours.

She said: "Ministers have also accepted our concerns about the potential loss of local knowledge amongst coastguard officers that would have occurred under the initial proposals.

'Regrettable' closures

"Nevertheless, it will be important for the government to demonstrate that the new plans properly address our concerns to sustain operational effectiveness at key points when swift information transfer is required in order to save lives."

Mrs Ellman added that it was regrettable that some coastguard stations will still close under the revised plans.

The transport secretary's announcement follows a consultation process in which the government received about 1,800 submissions.

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Safety fear over coastguard plan

23 June 2011 Last updated at 12:19 GMT The government says its proposals will modernise the service Plans to close some UK coastguard centres raise "serious safety concerns", a report by MPs has warned.

The Commons transport committee said the proposals lacked support and would lead to a loss of local knowledge.

The government had wanted to cut the number of 24-hour coastguard centres from 18 to three but has since acknowledged its plans will be amended.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency head Sir Alan Massey said change was needed but safety concerns must be addressed.

"The risks were identified as being 'you're going to lose local knowledge and that'll put lives at risk, that you'll lose some of your experienced personnel and that will dilute the expertise that's around'," he said.

"What we need to do now is come forward with proposals that take account of what people have said."

Proposed structure

Under the plans the coastguard service would have two nationally networked maritime operations centres, in Aberdeen and the Portsmouth-Southampton area.

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The committee is not convinced by the government's claim that technology can, at present, replace such local knowledge”

End Quote Louise Ellman Commons transport committee chairman There would be five sub-centres, operating in daylight hours only, in Falmouth, Humber and Swansea. Two more sub-centres - in Belfast or Liverpool, and Stornoway or Shetland - would be retained.

In addition, there would be one sub-centre operating 24 hours a day in Dover, and the small centre at London would remain unchanged.

In May, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said he was re-examining the plans, and would consider keeping nine, rather than three, coastguard stations open.

The original consultation was extended so that the committee could have more time to complete its assessment of the proposals.

Committee chairman Louise Ellman said there was little support for the proposals and the committee had no confidence that they would allow the coastguard service to perform as well as or more effectively than it does now.

She said any future reorganisation of the service should be based on 24-hour centres, rather than stations which open only during daylight hours.

"We accept there is a need for some modernisation, but the government's proposals for the future of the coastguard service are seriously flawed."

Continue reading the main story Shetland and StornowayAberdeen and ForthClyde and BelfastHumber and YarmouthLiverpool and HolyheadMilford Haven and SwanseaThames and DoverLee on Solent and PortlandBrixham and FalmouthA smaller London centre covers the tidal ThamesMrs Ellman also expressed disappointment that shipping minister Mike Penning had "instructed regular coastguards not to give evidence to the committee".

Emergency tugs

In its report, the committee says the decision to withdraw funding for emergency towing vessels - large tugs which intercept disabled ships to prevent pollution - is "unwise and short-sighted", and is "inviting disaster".

The emergency tugs were introduced after the Sea Empress tanker disaster off Pembrokeshire, which spilled 73,000 tonnes of crude oil over 120 miles of coastline in 1996, and the Braer tanker disaster off the coast of Shetland in 1993.

Steve Todd, National Maritime Secretary of the RMT transport union, said it would be "reckless" of the government to get rid of the emergency tugs and fire rescue cover provided by the Maritime Incident Report Group.

"The committee quite rightly exposes the dangers to the UK coastline posed by the very damaging cutbacks and closures to coastguard centres," Mr Todd said.

'Urgent' modernisation

Commenting on the committee's report, Mr Hammond said: "I welcome the committee's recognition that the coastguard service is in urgent need of modernisation.

"The original proposals do not compromise safety and include increased resources for front-line rescue services.

"Reform will improve resilience in the system through improvements to IT and create better career opportunities for staff, as well as better pay and conditions."

Labour urged the government to shelve the plans.

Shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle said: "The Tory-led government should finally listen to coastguards up and down the country and abandon their dangerous and reckless plan to close more than half of Britain's coastguard stations.

"The cross-party transport select committee is clear that these plans will jeopardise safety along Britain's coastline and ministers must now think again."

The government's final proposals are due to be published later this summer.

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Coastguard 'not being devolved'

24 May 2011 Last updated at 13:31 GMT Training was among the reasons for keeping the MCA national the committee heard Shipping Minister Mike Penning has a rejected a suggestion Maritime and Coastguard (MCA) operations in Scotland could be devolved.

He told Westminster's transport committee that, like the British Army, the MCA was a national organisation and was recognised a such.

Mr Penning was answering a question from Tory MP Iain Stewart on whether parts of the MCA might be devolved.

The minister said the UK government had no plans to break up the service.

The transport committee has been holding a series of hearings as part of an inquiry into proposed changes to the service.

Mr Penning said the MCA was world-renowned as a UK-wide organisation.

He said: "This is a national emergency service and the government have not looked at, and have no intention of looking at, breaking that up under the devolution settlement.

"The coastguard is seen as a national organisation and will go forward as one."

MCA chief executive Sir Alan Massey told the inquiry that for reasons of training and uniform it was important the MCA remained a national body.

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Coastguard closures 'scaled back'

19 May 2011 Last updated at 13:47 GMT The government says its proposals will modernise the service The government is to drop some planned closures of coastguard stations around the UK, the BBC understands.

It is expected to press ahead with shutting some, but it is not yet known which will be reprieved.

Ministers have extended a consultation on the plans, to allow the Commons transport committee time to complete its assessment of the proposals.

The plans are to have one or two large coastguard centres and fewer smaller stations around the country.

Earlier, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond told the BBC after newspaper reports had said the government was making a U-turn on the proposals that he was re-examining plans to cut the number of coastguard stations from 19 to nine.

"We are looking again at the best configuration that will allow us to deliver those technological improvements, those working-practice improvements, and we will announce our conclusions to Parliament before the summer recess," he said.

"It's not about a U-turn, it's about deciding how best to implement what will be a very a big change in how the coastguard operates."

Under the plans the government has been consulting on, the coastguard service would have two nationally networked maritime operations centres, in Aberdeen and the Portsmouth-Southampton area.

There would be five sub-centres, operating in daylight hours only, in Falmouth, Humber, Swansea, either Belfast or Liverpool and either Stornoway or Shetland.

In addition, there would be one sub-centre operating 24 hours a day in Dover, and the small centre at London would remain unchanged.

Mr Hammond's comments came as MPs from the Commons transport committee were in Stornoway, in the Outer Hebrides, to take evidence on proposals to reduce Scotland's five coastguard stations to the one nationally networked maritime operations centre in Aberdeen.

South East Cornwall MP Sheryll Murray, who lost her husband, Neil, at sea, has campaigned against coastguard closures.

'Best in the world'

She told the BBC: "I fully understand that it doesn't matter whether we have the existing coastguard service or not. It wouldn't have saved Neil.

"But the experience of being able to speak to a local person, who was completely familiar with the situation that I was in, was very comforting, and I don't think that I would have received the same sort of communication if we had had one central coastguard service.

Continue reading the main story Shetland and StornowayAberdeen and ForthClyde and BelfastHumber and YarmouthLiverpool and HolyheadMilford Haven and SwanseaThames and DoverLee on Solent and PortlandBrixham and FalmouthA smaller London centre covers the tidal Thames"These men are absolutely brilliant and we have to make sure they have the equipment to ensure that they can continue to provide the best service in the world.

"I hope that the minister will make sure that we keep our coastguard stations open and that's every one of them on a 24/7 basis."

Public and Commercial Services union general secretary Mark Serwotka said the "climbdown" was evidence of what could be achieved by community campaigning.

He said: "This is a body blow for the government, which is reeling from the force of public outrage at ill-thought-out plans to slash the life-saving support that coastguards provide.

"It is not yet clear what any new proposals will include and there are still battles to be won to maintain vital local services that our members provide 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We would expect new plans to be subject to proper consultation and negotiation."

Commons Leader Sir George Young told MPs the government was "having another look" at the proposals and would respond before the Commons rose in July.

'Reckless proposals'

Responding to questions in the Commons he said: "The review of the service is something that was started under the previous administration.

"The government is understandably reluctant to comment on the speculation that has been in the press.

"We will be responding [to the review] in due course. We will be having another look at the reorganisation proposals and we will reveal our conclusions to the House before the summer recess."

Shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle said Labour understood the Department for Transport had "only put on hold" the plans to close the coastguard stations.

In a question to Mr Hammond in the Commons, she said: "These were plans that were never agreed by ministers in the last government and I would not have approved them.

"Will you now take this opportunity to end the uncertainty facing coastguard stations and agree to abandon these reckless proposals?"

Mr Hammond declined to answer the question.

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