Coastguard cuts revealed before risk to life assessed

Published on Tuesday 15 February 2011 14:48

THE Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has admitted it did not carry out a specific risk assessment of its controversial plans to cut the country's life-saving service.

The revelation was described as "staggering" by an MP and coastguards fighting the cuts - especially when it involved the potential loss of life.

Ministers and the MCA propose reducing the UK's 18 coastguard stations to eight, with only three operational around the clock.

In Scotland, the cuts would leave only one main control centre, at Aberdeen, with a second station operating in daylight at either Shetland or Stornoway. The centres at Clyde and Forth look set to close under the plans.

The plans, which will save 7.5 million a year will see up to 250 job losses nationwide by 2014.

Both the coastguard union and Western Isles MP Angus MacNeil have been calling for the risk assessment of the proposals to be made public. A document was finally posted on the MCA's website on Friday. But now the MCA has admitted it was not carried out before the proposals were announced.

It had only been put together following "the furore" over the cuts.

Mr MacNeil said: "This risk assessment has only been cobbled together now because of the pressure put on ministers and the MCA. Cobbled is the word - because it is cobblers. The MCA and the UK government should now scrap these coastguard proposals and go back to the drawing board - and this time with a proper risk assessment."

Stornoway coastguard Martin Collins, of the Safety First Campaign, which is fighting the, cuts said: "The risk assessment that has now been produced has only come about because of public and political pressure. It does not appear to be a proper assessment of risk but a justification of the proposals.

"Like many of the politicians, we were also surprised that the consultation document was released without any risk assessment attached to it. It is fundamental. This leaves a lot of questions to answer."

A spokesman for the MCA said that while no single risk assessment was carried out until now - the proposals were tested against several risk summaries that had been continually updated.

The new single risk assessment was drawn from those summaries, which had been compiled over the last two years, and was authored by "many" people including serving coastguards.

"We have produced the new risk assessment because of the furore over the proposals," he admitted."But it shows that our proposals are sound."

The Scottish Government is seeking views on whether coastguard services should be devolved from Westminster to Holyrood.

UK shipping minister Mike Penning has promised to visit threatened stations before deciding whether to go ahead with planned cuts to the service.

The PCS union, which represents coastguard workers, said: "We don't think the public will be fooled by a hastily concocted risk assessment on the back of a fag packet.

"They really don't have their ducks in a line on this one."