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Written Question
Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Emergency Calls
Thursday 9th July 2026

Asked by: Lord Hain (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many volunteers are involved in emergency call outs for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The UK mainline coastline is 11,073 miles (source Ordnance Survey), increasing to 19,491 miles if larger offshore islands are included. However, the coastline of the UK is fully encompassed by the UK Search and Rescue Region (UK SRR) which HM Coastguard continually monitors for distress and urgency calls.

Total Maritime and Coastguard Agency Resource Budget:

2024/25 £447.7million

2023/24 £416.6million

2022/23 £416.2million

Total Spend on Volunteer Payments

2024/25 £5.7million

2023/24 £5.2million

2022/23 £4.5million

Total spent on Staffing Costs for the last 3 years:

2024/25

£78.9million

2023/24

£72.4million

2022/23

£65.4million

There are approximately 3,000 volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officers.


Written Question
Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Emergency Calls
Thursday 9th July 2026

Asked by: Lord Hain (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many miles of coastline the Maritime and Coastguard Agency monitors for emergency call outs.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The UK mainline coastline is 11,073 miles (source Ordnance Survey), increasing to 19,491 miles if larger offshore islands are included. However, the coastline of the UK is fully encompassed by the UK Search and Rescue Region (UK SRR) which HM Coastguard continually monitors for distress and urgency calls.

Total Maritime and Coastguard Agency Resource Budget:

2024/25 £447.7million

2023/24 £416.6million

2022/23 £416.2million

Total Spend on Volunteer Payments

2024/25 £5.7million

2023/24 £5.2million

2022/23 £4.5million

Total spent on Staffing Costs for the last 3 years:

2024/25

£78.9million

2023/24

£72.4million

2022/23

£65.4million

There are approximately 3,000 volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officers.


Written Question
Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Finance
Thursday 9th July 2026

Asked by: Lord Hain (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was (1) the total budget of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, and (2) the total spent by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on volunteer payments for emergency call outs, in each of the last three financial years.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The UK mainline coastline is 11,073 miles (source Ordnance Survey), increasing to 19,491 miles if larger offshore islands are included. However, the coastline of the UK is fully encompassed by the UK Search and Rescue Region (UK SRR) which HM Coastguard continually monitors for distress and urgency calls.

Total Maritime and Coastguard Agency Resource Budget:

2024/25 £447.7million

2023/24 £416.6million

2022/23 £416.2million

Total Spend on Volunteer Payments

2024/25 £5.7million

2023/24 £5.2million

2022/23 £4.5million

Total spent on Staffing Costs for the last 3 years:

2024/25

£78.9million

2023/24

£72.4million

2022/23

£65.4million

There are approximately 3,000 volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officers.


Written Question
Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Staff
Thursday 9th July 2026

Asked by: Lord Hain (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much the Maritime and Coastguard Agency spent on staffing costs in each of the last three financial years.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The UK mainline coastline is 11,073 miles (source Ordnance Survey), increasing to 19,491 miles if larger offshore islands are included. However, the coastline of the UK is fully encompassed by the UK Search and Rescue Region (UK SRR) which HM Coastguard continually monitors for distress and urgency calls.

Total Maritime and Coastguard Agency Resource Budget:

2024/25 £447.7million

2023/24 £416.6million

2022/23 £416.2million

Total Spend on Volunteer Payments

2024/25 £5.7million

2023/24 £5.2million

2022/23 £4.5million

Total spent on Staffing Costs for the last 3 years:

2024/25

£78.9million

2023/24

£72.4million

2022/23

£65.4million

There are approximately 3,000 volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officers.


Written Question
East West Rail Line
Tuesday 17th June 2025

Asked by: Lord Hain (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government why the new Oxford–Cambridge railway line is classified as an England and Wales project.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The UK Government is responsible for heavy rail infrastructure across England and Wales so spends money on this in Wales rather than funding the Welsh Government to do so through the Barnett formula. This approach applies to investment in heavy rail by the Department for Transport, including HS2 and East-West Rail, and is consistent with the funding arrangements for all other policy areas reserved in Wales as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.


Written Question
Railways: Wales
Thursday 7th November 2024

Asked by: Lord Hain (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage funding for rail infrastructure spending was allocated to Wales from 2011–12 to the most recent financial year for which figures are available, relative to (1) the total rail infrastructure spending, and (2) population.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The UK Government is responsible for rail infrastructure across England and Wales. Decisions on investment in rail infrastructure are taken to ensure that the railways are funded to operate safely and efficiently and in line with the strategic goals of the government.

From 2011/12 until 2023/24, the population of Wales represented, on average, 5.26% of the total population in England and Wales. For the same period, an average of 5.03% of the total investment on the conventional rail network in England and Wales (i.e. excluding HS2) was spent on rail infrastructure in Wales.

The table below shows the percentage in each year:

% Population of Wales

Wales route funded infrastructure

2011/12

5.43%

3.70%

2012/13

5.39%

3.76%

2013/14

5.35%

3.79%

2014/15

5.31%

3.99%

2015/16

5.27%

4.72%

2016/17

5.25%

6.29%

2017/18

5.23%

6.46%

2018/19

5.21%

6.49%

2019/20

5.22%

5.99%

2020/21

5.21%

4.66%

2021/22

5.20%

4.74%

2022/23

5.20%

5.31%

2023/24

5.20%

5.03%