MPs call for independent review of MCA
The Transport Select Committee has called for an independent review on the Maritime and Coastal Agency (MCA) after it expressed “grave concerns” about its management of Coastguard operations.
The committee notes that the number of incidents, accidents and deaths has risen since 1998, and says that: “The Agency has no clear analysis of the reasons for this.
“The number of rescue coordination centres has been cut; the Agency has no clear analysis of the effect that this has had on response times”, the committee said, adding that this “displays a worrying inability to note trends, and to take the necessary action to make sure the Agency understands them”.
It calls on the Department for Transport to establish an independent review to consider the use of coastal areas by the public, the MCA’s responsibilities and “in particular should examine the effect of closing rescue co-ordination centres; the time taken to respond to incidents; and staffing levels.”
The report contains substantial criticism of the leadership of the MCA, saying: “It is alarming that the Agency’s chief executive could not give us specific examples of the MCA’s influence on policy debates. It is clear from the evidence we took on offshore wind farms that the MCA is not engaging properly with the policy development process.”
Whilst the Government should consult the MCA, the MPs argue that “the principal onus is on the Agency itself to identify areas of emerging or deficient policy and to make coherent and pragmatic proposals to the Department”.
“On the evidence we have taken, the MCA has failed to intervene effectively in the policy debate. Its own policy proposals are made without proper analysis. Most damningly, when accidents and deaths are rising, it has both failed to conduct timely research into the reasons for this increase and appears entirely complacent about the consistent understaffing of its maritime rescue co-ordination centres.
“The new chief executive has serious problems to tackle; we are far from confident he recognises them.”
The MCA claims that the closure of three rescue co-ordination centres in Oban, Pentland and Tyne Tees have not jeopardised safety, but the MPs argue that a full assessment of the impact of closure should be carried out, saying that until then “the MCA’s claims that safety has not been jeopardised will be impossible to verify”.
Serious concerns were expressed about the staffing levels in the Agency, saying: “Our inquiry revealed a routine acceptance that coastguard stations will frequently be staffed at, or even below, the minimum complement. The Agency has defined staff competences, but has no system for ensuring that under qualified staff are not called on to provide cover for long periods.”
Over the period March 2003-Febuary 2004 8.6 per cent of watches were staffed below minimum levels, and the MPs argued that “It is unacceptable that, month after month, nearly a third of all watches are operating at or below minimum levels. We expect to receive a full briefing on the results of the staffing review when it is reported.
“Given the seemingly inexorable rise in the number of incidents, accidents and deaths, we would need to hear very convincing arguments before condoning any diminution of recommended or minimum staffing levels.”
The MCA said that it will be giving the report “careful consideration” and responding in full later. It though fiercely rejects criticism of station closures, saying: “There has also been no reduction of Coastguard Rescue Teams on the ground locally, and there has been no evidence of safety being jeopardised.”
“The Agency has recently upgraded all its Rescue Centres to employ state of the art digital systems. Appropriate risk assessments are also carried out to decide on the number of people needed at any one time to manage rescue co-ordination, depending on the known and expected levels of coastal activity and back up arrangements that can be called on in the event of more incidents than expected.
“Because of its approach to assessing the risks involved, the Agency is fully satisfied that at all times it has the right mix of skills and experience in rescue co-ordination centres to deal effectively with any incident.”
It argues that more people are using the coastline and it has been proactive in promoting sea safety and encouraging reporting of incidence, therefore “it is not surprising then that incident reports are on the increase.”
