Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average number of staff working the night shift at the National Maritime Operations Centre in Fareham was in the period October to November 2014.

The average number of staff working the night shift at the National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC) in Fareham in the period October to November 2014 was six.

It should be noted that due to the flexibility offered by the new National Network the NMOC and Coastguard Operations Centres (CGOC) do not have fixed geographic boundaries. Workload is managed at the network rather than individual centre level as is the case with Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres (MRCC). Therefore, the operational area the NMOC covered during this period varied:

· From 1 October 2014 to 3 October 2014, the NMOC covered the operational zones relating to the former Solent and Portland MRCC areas of operation;

· From 3 October 2014 to 17 October 2014, the NMOC covered the operational zones relating to the former Solent, Portland and Falmouth areas of operation (the Falmouth CGOC site was undergoing its planned refurbishment); and

· From 17 October to 31 October, the NMOC covered the operational zones relating to the former Solent and Portland MRCC areas of operation (CGOC Falmouth was operating the operational zones relating to MRCC Falmouth’s former operational area).