---

Dept of Transport

Answer

Mr. Welsh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) co-ordination and (b) staff training took place in the Coastguard service related to the transfer of emergency position indication radio beacon administration from the Marine Safety Agency; and what staff and at what grades worked at the Coastguard agency on the date of the transfer. [20845] Mr. Bowis: [holding answer 19 March 1997]: The transfer of the emergency position indicating radio beacon--EPIRB--administration from the MSA to the Coastguard Agency took place on 24 February 1997. (a) The co-ordination of the transfer was conducted by the appropriate operations managers of both organisations at a series of meetings and involved: (i) conversion of the MSA database to operate under Coastguard software; (ii) one month period "double entry" on the MSA and Coastguard databases to ensure consistency in the input process; (iii) the familiarisation and training of Coastguard staff on the database system. (b) Coastguard staff training related to the transfer covered a five-day period from 13-17 January 1997, and included: (i) familiarisation on the background to the EPIRB registration database; (ii) the general administration regime of the database; (iii) data input training. In addition to the "double entry" period during which Coastguard staff improved their familiarity with the database, they also received appropriate software application training on 13 December 1996. The Coastguard staff involved with the EPIRB database on 24 February were: One coastguard station officer; one administration assistant; one part-time clerk/typist.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

292 c753-4W;292 c752-3W; 20845

Session

1996-97

Subjects

Emergencies Staff Radio Training Coastguard Agency Marine Safety Agency