Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has made of the potential impact of moving to a volunteer-with-expenses model for Coastguard Rescue Officers from September 2026 on recruitment, retention and operational readiness in Northern Ireland.

Plans to move the Coastguard Rescue Service to an expenses-only volunteer model in September will not go ahead.

We will now take time to gather the robust information required to understand the full operational implications of future decisions, as well as the impact on individual Coastguard Rescue Officers (CRO) and the choices they will make. This will involve engaging with CROs directly and ensuring that their views inform the decisions that we will take on the shape of the Coastguard Rescue Service.