All at sea over coastguards

If the Government had been prepared to listen to the wisdom of coastguards in the first place, rather than Shipping Minister Mike Penning forbidding them from speaking out because he regards them as “junior civil servants”, then the coalition might not be all at sea on yet another area of policy.

This is becoming a recurring theme. Having announced that he was cutting the number of 24-hour bases from 18 at present, including the Humber, to just three, Mr Penning had to halt this process to avoid being sunk without trace.

Yet it has subsequently emerged from the political wreckage that this lifeline is just a temporary reprieve, and only one or two coastguard centres are likely to be saved.

It is clear that Mr Penning does not understand the importance of the service that he is ultimately responsible for. If he did, he would realise that local knowledge is essential when rescues are launched, whether it be from a geographical perspective or the intricacies of the prevailing weather conditions in the dead of night when visibility can be non-existent.

It is totally unrealistic to expect staff in Aberdeen, Dover and Southampton or Portsmouth to have sufficiently detailed knowledge of the stretch of the coastline from the Scottish border to The Wash that currently comes under the auspices of the Humber coastguards in Bridlington, and whose base will operate only during daylight hours in the future if Mr Penning has his way.

That said, neither the coastguards, nor the Transport Select Committee, are averse to change. Quite the contrary. The challenge is managing this process in a way that does not jeopardise the lives of sea users, holiday-makers or the rescue services. Mr Penning needs to take this point on board rather than belittling the coastguards about their status. They are the professionals – and their concerns deserve to be treated with respect before there is any prospect of safety being compromised in the name of cuts.