Sheryll Murray MP repeats her call for all Members of Parliament with coastal Constituencies to join together to persuade the Government to scrap the present coastguard consultation and start again with a blank sheet of paper after the Minister gave evidence to the Transport Select Committee Enquiry on Tuesday.
After listening to the evidence Sheryll said, "The Minister remains of the opinion that Coastguards support the closure of some stations and referred to a submission from Falmouth Coastguards suggesting their station remain open at the cost of their colleagues in Brixham. It is clear that this consultation is proving divisive amongst coastguards who currently work so well together. I am appalled at the situation.
“It was raised at the committee meeting how Brixham had to take over operations twice from Falmouth when it was hit by lightning. It is imperative that this quick co-operation and backup continues. Indeed it was reported that, ‘it would be extraordinarily difficult for us to maintain any sensible cover over the south-west’ if Falmouth went down and there was no Brixham.
“Each Coastguard station around our coast has its own area of expertise and we happen to have two covering the Southern coast of Devon and Cornwall. Brixham covers the busy shipping lanes in the English Channel from Exmouth to Dodman Point whilst Falmouth has an important international role. The last thing we want to see is the various coastguard stations engaging in a battle for their own survival with other stations that could have a detrimental effect on operations."
Sheryll continued, "I am disappointed that the Minister, who represents a landlocked constituency, does not seem to be listening to the coastguards who work on the front line or the numerous MPs who represent coastal constituencies.
“An area the Minister does know more about is the fire service as a former fireman. In 2005 he used that expertise to point out to the then Labour Minister that, ‘local knowledge of topography saves lives’ when talking against centralisation. At sea knowing the currents, tides, and the topography both above and below the water and how weather can affect them is essential. No one station can know all this for the whole coast and that is where local knowledge is invaluable.
“In talking against reliance on IT during the debate on fire call centre centralisation the now Minister questioned then the role of technology saying, ‘Like many other Members, I have grave concerns about IT projects. A Labour Member commented earlier from a sedentary position that IT projects went wrong under Conservative Governments, too, which is perfectly correctthey have been going wrong since time immemorial. In relation to this IT project, the key is lives being saved. That is why I fundamentally oppose the project, and why the FBU opposes it, as it understands the situation on the ground much better than any bureaucrat in Westminster.’
“How can the Minister now, from Westminster, argue a solution which will be so reliant on technology? This is more so because so many people who need coastguard assistance will not have access to technology such as dinghies, kayaks and beach users.
“I really hope we will see an end to these ill thought out changes and a complete rethink. I cannot understand why we are continuing with what was originally a Labour plan. I want to ensure that no lives are lost needlessly.”
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For further information please contact Sheryll’s office on 01579 344428.