Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, at what point responsibility for a small boat in difficulty transfers from French search and rescue authorities to HM Coastguard.

Responsibility for a small boat in difficulty transfers from French search and rescue authorities to HM Coastguard when it crosses from the French Search and Rescue Region into the UK Search and Rescue Region. The Search and Rescue Region is a defined geographic area assigned to the UK, as a coastal state, to manage maritime and aeronautical emergencies. The coordinates are agreed with and published internationally by the United Nations International Maritime Organisation.