Sheppy
Well-Known Member
I don’t know how many of you are aware of the planned closures of many of our coastguard stations but as I attended a local meeting last Saturday, I thought I’d write a few comments about what’s happening.
Under the current proposed ‘modernisation’ program our government is set to close at least 8 stations; Clyde, Forth, Portland, Liverpool, Yarmouth, Brixham, Thames and Swansea. They then plan to open two MOC’s (Marine Operation Centres) to centrally coordinate all calls between the remaining coastguard services. Although the employees are obviously fighting for their jobs, the rest of us are concerned over the loss of local knowledge and how this will dramatically increase response times for search and rescue teams.
A clear example is that a tourist falling off a cliff or in trouble at sea in the Liverpool area will end up speaking to a call centre in Aberdeen who will have absolutely no idea what geographical reference points the caller is describing, and therefore will be unable to pinpoint the location. Local knowledge is recognised as a significant tool in the current arsenal for pinpointing locations and this is what helps to save lives by reducing response times.
Although our government talk about how this will save money without affecting front line services, blah blah etc., I was surprised to hear that these changes will only save about £5m. Now I know that would buy us all quite a nice boat, but in the scheme of things it really isn’t much money and therefore highlights what excellent value for money our coastguard service offers when compared with other services. Therefore our local MEP decided to dig a little deeper and came across a very worrying EU document about creating a centralised Pan European coastguard service which will remove control from ‘member states’ government entirely – yes, more interference from these pointless euro cretins. It was therefore proposed that these current changes might well be the start of a wider scale initiative to reduce services throughout the EU and as usual our spineless politicians are starting early so the shock won’t be quite as great when it finally comes to light.
But whether these changes are the start of EU centralisation or simply a cost cutting exercise is perhaps rather academic. The fact remains that we all face a clearly dangerous shakeup of our current coastguard services that may affect our lives and the lives of families and friends. I fear there is nothing we can do except show our distaste at the loss of our frontline services which they promised never to cut.
If you’re concerned, you can sign the e-petition started by Peter Rothwell at
https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/4403
If this e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures, then government is obligated to offer a proper debate in parliament. I'm quite sure there are other e-petitions about this subject on the e-petition site too, so it may be worth hunting for them and signing any that are relevant so our government at least knows it's a topic that requires further debate. As it stands, this decision doesn’t need any further approval other than from Philip Hammond (Secretary of Transport). It’s also worth writing a brief letter to your local MP too. I’ve tried to offer a brief synopsis but if anyone has any questions, I will endeavor to find out what I can.
John
Under the current proposed ‘modernisation’ program our government is set to close at least 8 stations; Clyde, Forth, Portland, Liverpool, Yarmouth, Brixham, Thames and Swansea. They then plan to open two MOC’s (Marine Operation Centres) to centrally coordinate all calls between the remaining coastguard services. Although the employees are obviously fighting for their jobs, the rest of us are concerned over the loss of local knowledge and how this will dramatically increase response times for search and rescue teams.
A clear example is that a tourist falling off a cliff or in trouble at sea in the Liverpool area will end up speaking to a call centre in Aberdeen who will have absolutely no idea what geographical reference points the caller is describing, and therefore will be unable to pinpoint the location. Local knowledge is recognised as a significant tool in the current arsenal for pinpointing locations and this is what helps to save lives by reducing response times.
Although our government talk about how this will save money without affecting front line services, blah blah etc., I was surprised to hear that these changes will only save about £5m. Now I know that would buy us all quite a nice boat, but in the scheme of things it really isn’t much money and therefore highlights what excellent value for money our coastguard service offers when compared with other services. Therefore our local MEP decided to dig a little deeper and came across a very worrying EU document about creating a centralised Pan European coastguard service which will remove control from ‘member states’ government entirely – yes, more interference from these pointless euro cretins. It was therefore proposed that these current changes might well be the start of a wider scale initiative to reduce services throughout the EU and as usual our spineless politicians are starting early so the shock won’t be quite as great when it finally comes to light.
But whether these changes are the start of EU centralisation or simply a cost cutting exercise is perhaps rather academic. The fact remains that we all face a clearly dangerous shakeup of our current coastguard services that may affect our lives and the lives of families and friends. I fear there is nothing we can do except show our distaste at the loss of our frontline services which they promised never to cut.
If you’re concerned, you can sign the e-petition started by Peter Rothwell at
https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/4403
If this e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures, then government is obligated to offer a proper debate in parliament. I'm quite sure there are other e-petitions about this subject on the e-petition site too, so it may be worth hunting for them and signing any that are relevant so our government at least knows it's a topic that requires further debate. As it stands, this decision doesn’t need any further approval other than from Philip Hammond (Secretary of Transport). It’s also worth writing a brief letter to your local MP too. I’ve tried to offer a brief synopsis but if anyone has any questions, I will endeavor to find out what I can.
John
