Coastguard Stations Slashed Increasing Dangers For The West Coast
Once again, the North West becomes one of the victims of Cameron’s attack on health and safety; this time with the announcement that a major port in the UK, Liverpool is too loose its coastguard station!
Concerns have been expressed by local authorities and MPs from major cities and towns along the north west coastline. With Blackpool being a major coastal holiday centre and Morecombe Bay being the scene of more than one terrible tragedy over the years, opposition to the closure of Liverpool Coastguard Service was high profile.
As a result of it's closure, the nearest coastguard to the shores of the River Mersey and Irish Sea, is Angelsey. This with the loss of local expertise and knowledge, and the distance involved will no doubt result in more casualties and deaths at sea, and along the coastline.
The website of the campaign to Save the Liverpool Coastguard, makes clear the devastating impact this will have on the West coast of England:
" From the Point of Ayr in North Wales to the Mull of Galloway in Southwest Scotland, the four main lakes in the Lake District, and the waters around the Isle of Man, the coastguard officers at Liverpool coordinate the response to many and varied emergencies. 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the experienced, dedicated, and professional staff at Liverpool Coastguard are there to ensure the safety of you and your loved ones.
But if the UK Government get their way, not for much longer."
They warn: "We have until the 6th October 2011 to change the Government's decision to close Liverpool Coastguard."
With the media feeding this to the public as the Government’s ‘modernisation’ of the Coastguard Service, not everyone will be fooled. The reality is that whenever the Government talk of ‘modernisation’ they actually mean complete abolition or massive cuts to the service in question.
Transport Secretary Philip Hammond told the House of Commons on 14th July that plans for major cuts to the coastguard service have been scaled back by the government.
With original plans to reduce the number of coastguard stations to eight from their existing eighteen, with only three remaining open 24 hours a day; now only eight would be closed.
The eight centres that will be shut are Clyde, Forth, Portland, Liverpool, Yarmouth, Brixham, Thames and Swansea.
The original proposals were criticised in a report by the House of Commons transport committee, which said evidence it had received during its inquiry into coastguards had raised "serious concerns that safety will be jeopardised if these proposals proceed".
This was following a national campaign against there being any closures, run by trade unions and leading authorities within the coastguard service.
In a press release issued 14th July, PCS Union responded to the change in governments plans:
The rethink means some of the stations previously threatened with closure will be saved, and all those remaining will stay open 24 hours.
This recognises the need for round the clock coverage to preserve the vital local knowledge that the government initially claimed would not be lost, but which was proved wrong.
Today's announcement is a partial victory for the communities who campaigned to save what is an essential public service that they hold dear. But it will be a bitter blow for those still under threat.
The union is concerned that the government has made no commitment to prevent compulsory redundancies and concerned that, again, the proposals say nothing about improving pay for coastguards who are the worst paid in the emergency services.
These new plans must now be subject to full and meaningful consultation involving staff, unions, the public and other interested parties.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said:
"We pay tribute to our coastguard members and people in their communities who have fought so hard to defend what is a vital public service.
"This fight is not over. We are committed to ensuring we retain the local knowledge of our coastlines that is essential to saving lives, as we are determined to defend all public services and our communities from the government's cuts."
The government's new proposals as set out by the Transport Minister on 14th July, are now up for a second consultation exercise. It is important that those taking part in the original proposal consultation exercise do so again to try and further reduce the number of coastguard services closures.
The consultation period is from 14 July 2011 until 6 October 2011. Download the consultation document from the website here
You should also lobby the North West's MPs about this, and particularly Merseyside MP Louise Ellman who is Chair of the Transport Committee.
Sign the petition to Save Liverpool Coastguard here
Find your local MP here
Source: BBC News / PCS / MCA website
