Fishing Vessels
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time is for (a) inspections, (b) approvals and (c) responses to correspondence from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency relating to fishing vessels.
Answered by Keir Mather
The MCA does not hold data by ship type. Fishing vessels are incorporated across all areas of our work and are treated in the same manner as all other vessel types and customers.
(a) The MCA operates under a Service Level Agreement which requires customers to provide a minimum of 10 working days’ advance notice for attendance on a non‑chargeable vessel. Attendance is then carried out on a date requested by, or mutually agreed with, the vessel owner or operator.
From 1st April 2025 to 31st March 2026, the MCA exceeded their Service Level agreement of 90%, achieving 97% for non-chargeable vessels.
(b) For Plan approval the MCA operates under a similar Service Level Agreement for all vessels, once payment and all required documentation have been received by the MCA, plan approval work will be completed within 28 days. This Service level agreement commenced 1st February 2026 and no Fishing Vessel Plan approvals have been undertaken since this commenced.
c) The Maritime and Coastguard Agency do not hold data in relation to waiting times for responses to correspondence.
Verbatim has judged this answer against the question that was actually asked — answered, partly answered, or evaded. Sign in to see the verdict →