Memorandum by Kevin Hutchens, Labour Party
Spokesperson for Moray (SAR 07)
SEARCH AND RESCUE
1. I am making this submission in my capacity
as a democratically elected Labour Party spokesperson for Moray
which is a constituency in the north of Scotland based around
Elgin, and extending inland to the Cairngorm Mountains. Most importantly
from the point of view of this submission it includes a varied
and busy coastline from Culbin to Cullen and includes the important
RAF bases of RAF Kinloss and RAF Lossiemouth. As well as being
Labour Party Spokesperson for Moray I hold several other offices
relevant to this submission, most importantly I am Chairperson
to the Kincardine and Mearns Community Safety Committee which
serves to promote community safety in Kincardine and the Mearns
working alongside a wide range of emergency services including
the Grampian Police, Her Majesty's Coastguard Service and Maritime
Rescue International which provides the lifeboat service in Stonehaven.
I should however emphasise that this submission is clearly made
in my capacity as Labour Party Spokesperson for Moray.
2. It may help the committee to know how
my interest in Search and Rescue has become particularly important
over the past few years. In November 2000 while in Arbroath on
a day off from work I was involved in a lifesaving incident (of
a young man who was clearly in danger of being stranded by the
incoming tide) which was later acknowledged in a letter from HM
Coastguard. This led to an interest in how to prevent such incidents
and promote safety by the sea.
3. One of the best ways to prevent accidents
by the sea and in the process to avoid the need for expensive
and time consuming search and rescue operations having to take
place is to promote sea safety by such campaigns as the Sea Smart
campaign led by Her Majesty's Coastguard. The key messages of
safety by the seaside, on the cliffs and out at sea are simple
and basic including advice for parents to keep a close eye and
where necessary hand on their children when by the sea, and advice
to swimmers not to eat or drink before swimming. All too often
though such basic advice is ignored and/or forgotten which can
lead to accidents which cause the search and rescue services to
be called out. It seemed to me that the need existed to get the
basic message of the Sea Smart Code across again and again so
as to emphasise its important and basic message. So in the Autumn
of 2001 I began a small piece of voluntary work with the Kincardine
and Mearns Community Safety Committee to promote and publicise
the Sea Smart Code, this was largely inspired by Daryll White,
the Sector Controller for Her Majesty's Coastguard in the Montrose
sector who insisted weekly publicity was crucial to get the message
of the Sea Smart code across. A local press launch was arranged
in the Royal Hotel, Stonehaven. Leaflets were distributed to all
the guesthouses, Hotels and Bed and Breakfasts in the area, press
releases were put out every week and as a consequence publicity
occurred somewhere every week. Schools were informed, Head teachers
were utilised and the Coastguard themselves were actively involved.
The world wide web was used and articles appeared on Anglers websites
and the RNLI website. The help of Sir Jimmy Saville was also recruited
when he lent his name and a quote to the campaign. The relevance
of this campaign to Moray and all such coastal constituencies
is that it shows how search and rescue agencies such as HM Coastguard
can work alongside local communities and key agencies such as
the RNLI to promote safety by the sea.
4. A separate paragraph has to be given
to the RNLI. In Moray the key source of lifeboat cover is provided
by the RNLI station in Buckie which covers all the area from Burghead
to Macduff. As such its role is vital in saving lives at sea.
Its existence owes much to the dedication, commitment and enthusiasm
of volunteers and it is to their credit that lives are saved year
after year. The question has to be asked though as to whether
such vital and crucial services should have to depend on volunteers.
Just as importantly the role of employers in allowing release
of staff for lifesaving duties needs to be looked at, their willingness
to enable such release at any time of the day or night deserves
praise. However such support is not universal and the question
needs to be asked as to whether, if and how this situation could
be improved in order to enable a bigger pool of volunteers to
be involved in helping rescue lives with the RNLI.
5. The role of the Coastguard in saving
lives in coastal constituencies such as Moray is crucial. Although
very dependent on part time Auxilliary Coastguards it has a dedicated
professional team of paid staff whose expertise and professionalism
have helped save many lives over the years. I have already briefly
referred to their role in promoting sea safety. Having been on
Patrol with HM Coastguard I also appreciate how important such
routine patrols are to maintaining safety on the coastline. However
it is not always realised that such preventative work is dependent
on the goodwill of those taking part as such preventative work
is not usually recognised by employers. It is therefore vital
that due consideration is given to finding ways of increasing
the number and frequency of patrols in coastal constituencies
such as Moray so as to give early warning of the need for search
and rescue services and thus save lives. The role of HM Coastguard
in searching cliffs and saving the lives of people stranded on
cliffs and by incoming tides deserves particular praise, and the
amount of time given to practice sessions is much to the credit
of all the individuals concerned. More publicity needs to be given
to the role of HM Coastguard, it is my understanding that their
press office is small, but local communities can help give more
media attention to their vital role in search and rescue.
6. Within Moray, and indeed throughout Scotland
and the rest of the United Kingdom the role of RAF Kinloss is
crucial to saving lives. It is not widely recognised that the
Aeronautical Rescue Co-ordination Centre (ARCC) at RAF Kinloss
provides air sea rescue cover for all of the area from Faeroes
in the north to the mid Atlantic in the West and to the south
into the English Channel and beyond. Importantly for Moray it
also serves as an important base for Mountain rescue operations.
Nearly 1,500 people are assisted annually in 2,000 incidents.
One factor that cannot be ignored in terms of its strategic location
is the close proximity of the North Sea Oil industry. Although
hopefully unlikely the chances of a terrorist attack on the North
Sea Oil rigs cannot be ignored, indeed it is understood a recent
emergency exercise co-ordinated by Grampian Police recently focused
on this possibility. Given this it is crucial that this important
facility is maintained for the foreseeable future. As with other
aspects of Search and Rescue it deserves more publicity. While
the Select Committee on Transport may not be able to find the
time to visit this very important and crucial facility I would
hope that the members of the committee might find time to hear
witnesses to speak about its valuable work. The role of the Nimrod
MR2 and other aircraft and helicopters based at bases such as
RAF Kinloss and RAF Lossiemouth cannot be underestimated. What
has particularly impressed me is the skill of the pilots, what
brought this home to me was personally seeing a helicopter from
one of the RAF bases in Scotland lifting a stretcher off the Orkney
ferry, such skill deserves the fullest of praise.
7. I have not commented on the vital and
crucial role of the Police, Fire, Ambulance service and hospital
staff in search and rescue. Needless to say their dedication and
commitment to teamwork in emergency situations deserves the fullest
of praise.
8. In conclusion search and rescue in coastal
constituencies such as Moray owe much to the valuable work carried
out by all search and rescue services. Nevertheless much of their
work owes its successful co-ordination to key facilities such
as the ARCC at RAF Kinloss, such work deserves the fullest of
praise for the dedication and commitment of all of its staff and
deserves the fullest of publicity. Given its crucial location
it is vital this key facility and all its associated support aircraft
are maintained at its present location in Kinloss. Through this
many lives will continue to be saved and a close eye kept on the
North Sea Oil Industry. On the front of community services such
as the RNLI and HM Coastguard new ways need to be found to boost
the number of people who can be involved from the local community.
This will release more time for routine patrols and education
work, thus saving lives. Needless to say the dedication, commitment
and bravery of all concerned cannot be overstated.
January 2005
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