Cuts to volunteer coastguards' callout pay 'a travesty'

An MP believes potential cuts to the pay of coastguard volunteers are a "travesty of governance" and display a "complete lack of understanding".

Coastguard Rescue Officers (CROs) who are volunteers get paid £11 an hour for emergency callouts - with the Court of Appeal ruling this gives them employee status and a right to a minimum wage.

As a result, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said it needed to "change how the service operates" and proposed a "revised volunteer model", which will now only offer expenses.

Rachel Gilmour, the MP for Tiverton and Minehead, which contains two coastguard stations, said the impact could be "dangerous", if CROs decided to step away from the role.

Gilmour added: "We have a thriving tourist industry, and I think people coming down to visit West Somerset and bringing their much needed money with them, are obviously going to be concerned that they might not be safe if they get into trouble at sea."

She said the cuts had been seen as a "get out of jail free" card, and urged ministers to take another look at the plans.

Nicola Savage, the national officer for the GMB Union, said her members were "really, really upset".

She said those affected were "likely to leave the service altogether or be significantly reduced in the amount of hours that they're able to provide", adding: "The public will lose out".

Keir Mather, a minister in the Department for Transport, told the House of Commons the decision had been made to allow people to balance coastguarding activities with primary employment.

"The model had to change," he told colleagues, adding he would be engaging with stakeholders in the coming months.

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