For all those busy people I've copied below the executive summary to the proposals. In the interests of fairness I shall not provide my personal view or the consensus view of the team.
Please spend a moment to read the summary and if you have comments please fill in the online the Questionnaire to make your comments known. It's your Coastguard service really... so have your say.
Executive Summary
For two centuries, the Coastguard has been helping to manage the use of our seas and protect those who use them. The sea is vital to our economy, while millions use it for recreational purposes. However, we are changing the way we use our waters and our shores. This is making our coastline far busier than ever before. We are building much larger ships that are less manoeuvrable and drilling rigs and increasing numbers of wind farms pepper the seas around the UK. As a result our seas are becoming much more congested. Weather conditions are also becoming more extreme, with significant weather events becoming more frequent and severe, making work at sea more perilous and increasing the risk of coastal flooding. However, updated technologies and systems, including automated systems to track ships wherever they might be, offer real opportunities to manage better what is going on around our coasts and to deal with incidents when they arise. At the same time, current economic conditions mean there is an imperative to deliver efficiencies and reduce costs.
The current arrangement of the Coastguard dates back forty years and is not well placed to respond to these challenges. Eighteen Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres are spread across the UK, together with a small centre in London. Each centre's systems are 'paired' with a neighbour allowing them to work together when necessary, but beyond these pairings the stations are not interoperable. This means that the system suffers from a fundamental lack of resilience. In the event of a problem affecting both centres in a pair, it is not possible for an incident to be managed from another centre. It is also impossible to spread workloads across the system; so staff in one centre may be struggling to cope with call volumes while workloads in another may be low. In addition both emergency and non-emergency demand varies widely by geographical location, the time of day, and the time of year. Analysis shows that the busiest centres handle over five times as many incidents as the quietest with 30% of all incidents happening in July and August and 70% of all incidents occurring between 9am and 7pm. These uneven workloads lessen resilience, hamper staff development and lead to higher than necessary staff costs.
The latest technology means the Coastguard can be completely reconfigured to deliver a more integrated and improved level of service, at lower cost, with better-rewarded staff taking on increased responsibilities and with enhanced career opportunities.
This consultation document sets out proposals which would enable fewer Coastguard centres to monitor and communicate with ships anywhere around the UK coastline, as well as delivering complete integration between stations. This will allow greater flexibility and improved resilience when responding to calls, particularly at peak times. In turn, these proposals would mean enhanced roles and responsibilities for a smaller number of officers, matched by improvements in remuneration. Coastguard Modernisation Consultation 8
These proposals include:
- Establishing two nationally networked Maritime Operations Centres, capable of managing maritime incidents wherever they occur and with improved systems to monitor ships and manage incidents. One would be located in Aberdeen, the other in the Portsmouth/Southampton area.
- Establish six sub-centres, fully integrated into the national network around the coast operating during daylight hours only with exception of Dover that would continue to operate around the clock. On the basis of an evaluation of the existing sites and the facilities available at them, it is proposed four of these should be located at Dover, Falmouth, Humber and Swansea. We also require sub-centres at either Belfast or Liverpool and either Stornoway or Shetland. The case for selection between these locations is more marginal. We are therefore inviting comments and information about factors that should influence the choice of sites for these two sub-centres. The 24/7 small centre at London would remain unchanged.
- Providing high quality and demanding jobs for our Coastguards, with the job weight and pay reflecting the increased demands placed upon them in line with Civil Service pay guidelines.
- Strengthening the leadership and support provided to our volunteer Coastguards in the Coastguard Rescue Service who serve their local communities by providing an effective, knowledgeable and responsive local rescue service.
These proposals would reduce staff numbers. Coastguards stationed in the centres would fall from 491 today to 248, while the number of regular Coastguards supporting the volunteers in the Coastguard Rescue Service would increase from 80 to 105 to improve its operational leadership. Headquarters staff would fall from 25 to 17. Overall staffing numbers would fall from 596 today to 370 over a four-year period with higher quality and better paid jobs for those remaining. All existing staff would be given opportunities to apply for posts within the new structure. Staff leaving the service would be eligible for compensation for early exits in line with the terms of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.
The consultation proposes that the transition to the new service would begin in 2011/12 and take place over a four-year period. This would allow time for the new Maritime Operations Centres to be set up and a phased programme changing existing Maritime Rescue Centres into sub-centres.
Subject to the outcome of the consultation it is likely that this could lead to redundancies. Should this be the case, we would follow the Cabinet Office protocols for handling surplus staff situations and engage with the Trade Coastguard Modernisation Consultation Union Side as early as possible to ensure that best efforts are made to avoid compulsory redundancies.
Overall, we believe that implementing these proposals will result in a Coastguard service fit to meet the challenges of the 21st century and capable of delivering an improved service to mariners and the general public.
However, before any changes are made, we are conducting a 14-week consultation. This document sets out the background to the proposed changes, the main effects, and provides some questions to assist you when submitting your response. In developing these proposals, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency would welcome comments and information about factors that should influence the choice of sites for both Maritime Operations Centres and for sub-centres. Responses will be accepted, either on the electronic form provided, or in writing, up until 5pm on March 24, 2011.
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