HM Coastguard: Voluntary Work
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s announcement concerning the future status of Coastguard Rescue Officers, whether Ministers formally endorsed the decision to move to a volunteer-with-expenses model, or whether it was taken at agency level.
Answered by Keir Mather
The Court of Appeal judgment made clear that current arrangements could not legally continue. Careful consideration was given to the options for a revised operating model. The legal position, the operational implications, and the wider organisational impact have all been looked at in detail, as well as the views of current Coastguard Rescue Officers.
I accepted the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s recommendation that they should move to a volunteer with expenses model. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency have been engaging with members of the Coastguard Rescue Service over the past few months and leading up to and since the Court of Appeal judgement, on the implications for the service.
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