Safety off our shores

The close relationship that people in Banffshire & Buchan Coast have with the sea, whether through recreational sailing, working in our fishing industry or our proximity to the offshore oil and gas sector means that we all have a healthy respect for the need to stay safe at sea.

When things go wrong, lives depend on a well co-ordinated response reaching them as swiftly as possible. That is what makes the UK Government’s decision to cut the provision of Coastguard Marine Rescue Coordination Centres (MRCC) in Scotland extremely damaging and disappointing.

Scotland is home to 60% of the UK length of coastline yet as a result of decisions to close coastguard stations on the Forth and the Clyde, will be home to only 33% of Coastguard stations.

On top of this, and of particular concern to the North East, the level of staffing in Aberdeen will drop by 25%. Coastguard staff in Aberdeen have built up an invaluable expertise in working with the oil and gas industry during emergencies and that experience will be severely disrupted by the decision to reduce staff. That expertise can simply not be replicated by additional staff working remotely from other coastguard stations or from their headquarters near Portsmouth in the event of a major oil industry incident.

Aberdeen MRCC is now expected to cover a far larger area with significantly fewer members of staff. It is a move that will cause a great deal of concern to many people in Banffshire & Buchan Coast and has come at the end of a process that has been characterised by poor handling and short-sightedness.

The original proposals would also have seen either Stornoway or Shetland MRCC close in addition to the closures that are taking place, and it is welcome news – not least to the fishing industry – that they will remain open. Yet just because the closures are not quite as severe as originally intended does not by any means make these moves anything other than severely damaging.

These moves have come soon after the scrapping of the fleet of fixed-wing long-range search and rescue aircraft and at a time when the future of the air rescue coordination centre at Kinloss is in doubt. There can be little doubt that safety at sea is being reduced in the name of the UK Government’s cost-cutting.

When lives are at stake, it is simply not acceptable and the UK Government’s approach is completely unjustifiable. If they are not prepared to ensure that such a vital service is provided as fully as possible, then they should be prepared to see it devolved so that the Scottish Government is able to in their place.

Confidence in Scotland

Recent weeks have seen a lot of hot air and scaremongering from the UK Government regarding the confidence that businesses have when it comes to investing in Scotland, in light of the coming independence referendum.

What is notable from these assertions is that not a single individual or company has been identified as previously considering investing in Scotland and now refusing to do so. This is in stark contrast to the long and growing list of major companies which clearly have no concerns over what Scotland’s future will be, given that they have made major investments and brought important jobs to Scotland.

The fact of the matter is that Scotland is the most supportive business environment in the UK and continues to work hard to support businesses of all sizes. Perhaps the many companies that have recently invested are simply convinced we can do even more with the powers of independence.