RNLI and Independent Lifeboats: Covid-19

Duncan Baker Excerpts

Tuesday 13th October 2020 Westminster Hall

[Duncan Baker (North Norfolk) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Hosie, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Totnes (Anthony Mangnall) for having brought such an important debate to Westminster Hall. Much like everybody else, I will begin by paying tribute to the volunteers, and particularly to the six lifeboat stations in my constituency: the RNLI crews at Wells, Sheringham, Cromer and Happisburgh, and the independent lifeboat stations in the picturesque villages of Mundesley and Sea Palling. My coastline—as most MPs will realise, because they visited my constituency for their summer recess—is a stunning 50 miles, with six blue flag beaches. To myself, who grew up there, it is the best coastline in the country—[Interruption.] We can be controversial, occasionally.

The year 2020 has been very challenging. Tried and tested lifesaving procedures have had to be adapted to take account of covid-19, and additional personal protective equipment has been required. Life-changing decisions have had to be made about whether the risks of administering CPR outweigh the risks to the crew, and personnel have had to engage in time-consuming cleansing and disinfecting routines for all equipment. There has also, as we have heard, been a rise in demand for services this year. Although a staycation culture has provided a welcome boost to the local economy, it has also meant vast increases in numbers of visitors to the coast, and a much higher number of incidents to respond to. All of this is happening in a climate where the break in regular training regimes has risked skill fade—the gradual loss of the highly practised and rehearsed mechanisms that lifeboat crews put into operation every time they launch—and at a time when traditional methods of fundraising, through shop events, normal events and face-to-face appeals, have reduced greatly, or even stopped entirely.

Carrying a pager 24/7 is a heavy responsibility and a great imposition on the everyday lives of our volunteers. That they continue to give so much of themselves, in spite of these challenges, is inspirational. They deserve all the support that we can give them.

As we have heard, the RNLI faces a shortfall in funding of about £20 million this year. Independent lifeboat stations typically have operating costs of about £30,000 to £40,000 and are in a similarly precarious position. In considering how we might help, we need to bear in mind that the RNLI and independent stations have traditionally resisted asking for or accepting Government funding. For instance, the RNLI has been self-sufficient for the entirety of its 196-year history.

Although there have been huge technological and technical advances in life saving, the business of saving lives at sea is much the same as it always was. Lifeboat organisations are cautious about accepting money from Government because they do not want their work to be influenced or adversely affected by external changes in policy, politics or funding that might put their vital work at risk. Put simply, they want the freedom to do what they do best, in the way that they know best—and it is the best. Britain’s lifeboat crews lead the world and, increasingly, are responsible for training lifesaving operations and organisations in other countries.

If we are to provide meaningful forms of financial support, we must first establish the strong principle that there are no strings attached to it and that the Government will not seek, as we have heard time and again today, to influence those organisations. We must also consider not just lifeboats, but all voluntary lifesaving organisations around the country that are in similar positions to the RNLI and independent lifeboat stations. What about mountain rescue teams, dog search and rescue, and drone piloting groups assisting with coastal and inland search? All those organisations have had to bear the additional cost of PPE, cleaning fluids and equipment, which have been a necessary part of lifesaving during covid-19. None would have been able to anticipate these costs, or build them into its fundraising plans for 2020.

Some kind of grant fund—possibly, as we have heard, the rescue boat fund—to reimburse those costs would be fair and reasonable, but only if it is open to all voluntary lifesaving organisations, recognising the fact that it is not only lifeboat crews that have had to incur this kind of expenditure.

In conclusion, we owe all our life savers an immense debt of gratitude. Not only do they save lives at sea and elsewhere, but they do so at enormous personal cost.