A UK Government minister has played down fears about staffing levels at Scottish coastguard stations amid warnings a “disaster is waiting to happen”.
Concerns have been raised repeatedly about coastguard centres at Aberdeen, Stornoway and Shetland being understaffed since a shake-up led to the closure of stations on the Clyde and Forth three years ago.
Western Isles MP Angus MacNeil secured a debate on the issue at Westminster, and questioned the service’s ability to respond to a potential incident involving transport of nuclear material from Dounreay to Sellafield, or oil tankers.
The SNP’s transport spokesman told fellow MPs that a coastguard officer had claimed the loss of experienced staff at the centres was a “a disaster waiting to happen”.
He added: “The current situation cannot be allowed to fester. That is how it feels to many at the moment.
“Some in the service feel that it could be a cack-handed way to save money, but I am not sure it is that sophisticated.
“Perhaps it is mismanagement, or I might be a bit kinder and say that it is not mismanagement but people cleaving to a system and a model idealised for some time, which they think should be delivering for the coastguard.
“However, it is not–it is simply not cutting the mustard.”
Transport Minister John Hayes responded to the claims on behalf of the UK Government.
“I appreciate that there are always issues with this kind of radical programme, but I want to assure the House that after each transitional closure, there is a period of review, to learn lessons and improve the process before moving on to the next transition,” he said.
“I can further reassure the House that I will continue my regular face-to-face meetings with Sir Alan Massey (chief executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency) and HM Coastguard officers to scrutinise and challenge the agency’s progress against that blueprint, including monitoring any particular pressure points, so that we can all have confidence that Her Majesty’s Coastguard continues to deliver the first-class service that we have all come to expect.”
The Conservative MP added: “Senior managers closely monitor staffing on a daily basis and take action to ensure that safety is not jeopardised. That is certainly true for a lot of the west coast of Scotland and at Aberdeen.”