Select Committee on Transport Written Evidence


Memorandum by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (SAR 09)

SEARCH AND RESCUE

1.  INTRODUCTION

  The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) was founded in 1824 and incorporated by Royal Charter in 1860.

  The Charter of Incorporation granted to the RNLI in 1860 referred to the original object of the RNLI being met by the establishment of "efficient lifeboats on the points of the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland most exposed to shipwreck, and organising and training crews ready to man the lifeboats at all times in case of wreck".

  Nearly 145 years later the basic requirement is much the same except that the pattern of sea use has seen great change. Pleasure craft account for the majority of lifeboat services to vessels and all weather and inshore lifeboats are located on a "fixed point" basis where an operational requirement exists.

2.  PURPOSE

  The purpose of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution is to save lives, promote safety and provide relief from disaster at sea and, secondly, to save lives, promote safety and provide relief from disaster on inland waters. The work of the Institution is primarily carried out in and around the United Kingdom, Isle of Man, Channel Islands and the Republic of Ireland.

3.  CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS

  The RNLI saves lives at sea throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland by providing:

    —  a strategically located fleet of all weather lifeboats which are available at all times and tactically placed inshore craft which are subject to weather limitations;

    —  a Beach Lifeguard service on a seasonal basis where appropriate; and

    —  safety education and accident prevention,

to a defined standard of performance, commensurate with the resources available, using trained and competent people who, wherever possible, are volunteers.

4.  STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

  The RNLI aims to:

    —  Achieve an average launch time of 10 minutes from notification to the RNLI.

    —  Reach all notified casualties where a risk to life exists, in all weathers, out to a maximum of 100 nautical miles.

    —  Reach at least 90% of all casualties within 10 nautical miles of Lifeboat stations within 30 minutes of launch in all weathers.

    —  Reach any beach casualty up to 300m from shore within the flags on RNLI lifeguard patrolled beaches, within 3½ minutes.

5.  TARGETS AND TARGET SETTING

  Key Performance Indicators are set to measure the RNLI's overall effectiveness and Performance Indicators are set for each business area of the RNLI by which the effectiveness of elements of our work may be measured and benchmarked.

  The Indicators are regularly reviewed as part of the Business Planning Process and through the RNLI's Quarterly Performance Review. Targets are set to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Trackable within a timescale.

  Operational targets include:
Achieving station target call out times 80%
Availability of station lifeboats90%
Percentage of casualties within 10 miles of lifeboat Station reached within 30 minutes 90%
Percentage of non effective services less than 40%
Percentage availability of crew call out system 99%
% unscheduled lifeboat off service time 0.25%

6.  LIFEBOAT FLEET

  The RNLI operates a fleet of lifeboats mainly with volunteer crew. There are approximately 4,500 volunteer crew members and 219 full time lifeboat crew members (This figure includes 30 full time crew at three of the River Thames lifeboat stations). In addition there are 1,100 enrolled volunteer shore helpers, to assist with the launching of lifeboats and 1,760 volunteer lifeboat Station Branch Officials who provide the management infrastructure at the individual lifeboat stations.

  The capital cost of lifeboats range from £25,000 for a D class inshore lifeboat to £2,000,000 for a Tamar class all weather lifeboat.

  The current number of lifeboat stations is 233 operating 332 lifeboats and the RNLI fleet comprises:

  128    All weather station lifeboats supported by 40 relief lifeboats.

  208    Inshore station lifeboats (including 4 hovercraft) supported by 96 relief inshore lifeboats (including one hovercraft).

  In 2003, RNLI lifeboats/hovercraft were launched, on service, 8,109 times and rescued 7,987 persons. In the same year RNLI lifeboats saved/brought in craft to the value of £86 million.

  All lifeboat services are co-ordinated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency who are responsible for initiating and co-ordinating all civil maritime Search and Rescue measures for vessels and persons in need of assistance in the UK Search and Rescue Region. Although requests to launch will normally come from the Coastguard Co-ordination Centre, Lifeboat Operations Managers have discretion to launch a lifeboat in response to a report received from any other source, that a vessel and/or lives are in danger. If this is the case the Co-ordination Centre will be advised at the earliest opportunity.

  In 2003, of the calls received by the Coastguard, requesting a rescue vessel, RNLI lifeboats responded to 87%.


7.  CHARITABLE STATUS

  The RNLI is an independent charity that relies on voluntary donations to run its service. In 2003 the total cost for running the RNLI was £110.4 million. The Institution receives no money from HM Government.





8.  RECENT ADDITIONS TO SERVICE PROVISION

Inland Waters

  In 2000 Inland Waters were identified as an area where the RNLI could help save more lives. A number of possible locations from which to operate a lifeboat were identified and to date three RNLI lifeboat stations have been established at Enniskillen (Northern Ireland), Oulton Broads (Suffolk) and Lough Derg (Republic of Ireland).

Hovercraft

  In 2000 Hovercraft were identified as having a role to play in the SAR Operations of the RNLI. A feasibility study was conducted and a hovercraft developed specifically for RNLI use. To date, RNLI hovercraft operate from Morecambe, Hunstanton, Southend and New Brighton. They have proved their worth in operating in areas of sand and mud where it is impossible for lifeboats to gain access due to lack of water.

River Thames

  On 2 January 2002 the RNLI established four lifeboat stations (Gravesend, Tower Pier, Chiswick and Teddington). This was in response to a request from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency following the "Marchioness" disaster and the findings of the subsequent Thames Safety Inquiry conducted by Lord Justice Clark. In 2003 Thames lifeboats carried out 731 services rescuing 273 persons.

Beach Lifeguarding

  An RNLI Beach Lifeguarding service was established in 2001 with the aim to save more lives. The RNLI, in its honest broker role, was able to bring a standard approach to the provision of a beach lifeguard service on our beaches. In 2004 the RNLI operated 57 lifeguard units in the South and South West of England employing 300 lifeguards. The local District Councils make a subvention to the RNLI towards the cost of providing this service.

  The aim of the RNLI Beach Lifeguard service is to contribute significantly to safety on beaches. Although this is achieved principally through prevention and education in the four years since the RNLI introduced its Beach Lifeguard service, 2,779 persons have been rescued and in total, including first aid incidents, 27,384 persons assisted.

9.  AREAS OF CONCERN

 (a)   Volunteers

Issue

  The RNLI undertakes to do everything it can to look after its volunteers properly and provides them with safe, modern and efficient lifeboats and equipment, excellent training and the best support possible in the event of injury.

  This duty of care together with the demands of EC legislation, Health and Safety Regulations and training requirements is making it more difficult to maintain our voluntary ethos. There is a trend in today's increasingly litigious society, for people, whom we regard as volunteers and who regard themselves as volunteers, to seek recourse to Employment Tribunals to resolve local issues. The Employment Tribunals do not seem to draw any distinction between volunteers and employees. The RNLI consider this to be wrong and would like the volunteer vs. employee status issue resolved.

Reliance upon volunteers

  The RNLI relies on volunteers and voluntary contributions to operate its lifesaving service. There are over 7,000 volunteers involved in operational roles at lifeboat stations. These include lifeboat crew members, shorehelpers, who help to launch and recover lifeboats and others who provide the management at a lifeboat station.

  The number of volunteers involved in active fundraising, on behalf of the RNLI, is approximately 30,000, although this number ebbs and flows as many involve themselves in specific fundraising efforts, such as running a marathon as a one-off fundraising contribution. Of this 30,000, many are members of the 1,163 RNLI Fundraising Branches or Guilds.

  At the majority of locations the lifeboat station plays an important part in community life and the volunteers are drawn from the local community. In the case of volunteer crew, it is a prerequisite that they live or work within close proximity of the lifeboat station in order that they can respond quickly to service calls. Crew members are almost invariably drawn from local volunteers attracted and committed to the cause of saving lives at sea.

  The voluntary ethos serves the RNLI well and it would not be possible to provide the same level of service without volunteers. The voluntary ethos is the great strength of the Institution as it attracts talented and committed people from all walks of life who would not be available to the service if they were required in a full time paid capacity. The RNLI is investing a considerable amount of time and effort in improving support to staff working with and managing volunteers.

Volunteer costs

  If it became necessary to replace volunteers with full time lifeboat crews, then the costs would escalate markedly to provide the same level of service. The likely outcome would be a reduction in the number of lifeboat stations and as a consequence a reduction in the lifeboat cover provided. This would place more sea users at risk. As an example of the costs involved the salary related payments at Chiswick (River Thames Lifeboat Station), which is operated by full time crewmembers, is £326,000 per year against a standard volunteer lifeboat station where allowances, of £6,000 are provided. (For example for personal equipment maintenance.)

  The volunteer is our most valuable resource and there is a great deal to be gained through volunteer expertise and knowledge. The link to the local community is also powerful and provides the flexibility to provide a lifeboat service within a community network.

Training costs

  At the majority of the 233 lifeboat stations there are facilities for crew training and at Poole the new "Lifeboat College", complete with Survival Centre has recently been built and commissioned. As well as providing classrooms and conference and study facilities the Lifeboat College provides a 60-room hotel for those attending courses. In 2003 the cost of operational training was approximately £4 million.

  Operational training courses are, wherever possible, benchmarked against recognised external courses except where the expertise in the subject matter rests with the RNLI. The process of assessment for competence training is accredited through the National Award Scheme and the delivery of the majority of RNLI courses result in the award of external accreditation. Where competence based training contributes to the operational effectiveness and safety of lifeboat operations, members of the RNLI's Inspectorate, who are all professional mariners, monitor it regularly.

Other operational costs

  In 2003 the RNLI's equipment running costs were £42.1 million. (Running costs include operational maintenance costs and depreciation of equipment and shoreworks).

10.  BEACH SAFETY RESPONSIBILITIES

Issue

  The issue is: Who is responsible for safety on beaches? The RNLI provides a lifeguard service on 57 beaches and the Local Authorities make a subvention towards the costs of providing this service.

  Some Local Authorities are now taking the view that they do not have responsibility for safety on the beaches in their area (this includes private beaches) and therefore assert that funding the lifeguard service is not their responsibility. The RNLI would like this issue of responsibility to be resolved, nationally, as a matter of urgency as it is creating uncertainty as to the continuance of current services and its resolution is also a pre-requisite to any further widening of its Beach Lifeguard service in the UK.

RNLI Beach Lifeguards—Background

  The RNLI became involved in Beach Lifeguarding in order to save more lives as there are over 200 beach related deaths reported each year. Beaches are considered to be one of our great natural resources, however there has never been a statutory duty to provide a lifeguard service and this has led to a lack of a co-ordinated approach from local and national government.

  Traditionally the main providers of volunteer beach lifeguarding in the UK have been the Surf Life Saving Association of Great Britain (SLSA) and the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS). Historically, the formation of a lifesaving club with voluntary patrols had been in response to a perceived local need, often as a result of loss of life.

  The number of visitors attracted to beaches has resulted in many, but by no means all, Local Authorities (LAs) employing seasonal lifeguards to provide a lifeguard service throughout the summer season. This is done with the LA as the "beach operator", on the basis of a "Duty of Care" that the operator accepts by encouraging access to the foreshore for the purposes of recreational bathing. However, because there is no statutory requirement to provide a lifeguard service this has led to the creation of a non-unified, LA specific lifeguard service with no national agreement on standard signage, uniform, patrol hours, equipment, training or communications.

  In recent years, the voluntary life saving bodies and the professional lifeguards themselves have become increasingly disillusioned with the lack of investment and in many cases the reduction in expenditure, in the lifeguard service and beach safety.

  This led to the RNLI becoming involved in an attempt to improve and standardise the service on the basis that it does so on behalf of Local Government. The RNLI is content to do this but not to wholly pay for the service that it provides. The cost of providing seasonal lifeguards must rest with the local authorities.

11.  IRRECOVERABLE VAT

Issue

  During 2003 the RNLI incurred additional costs of £3.9 million in respect of irrecoverable VAT. The RNLI believes that as a charity devoted to saving lives that it should be able to recover all VAT charges.

January 2005





 
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