Written question asked by Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party) on Tuesday, 30 January 2024, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 1 February 2024. It was answered by Guy Opperman (Conservative) on Wednesday, 7 February 2024 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Fishing Vessels: Safety

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the Maritime and Coastguard Agency spent on (a) flights, (b) legal action and (c) staff in relation to the monitoring of fishing vessels for compliance with regulations on the wearing of personal flotation devices in 2023.

Answer: In 2023, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) incurred £31,104 in legal costs associated with issuing notices relating to breaches of the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Personal Protective Equipment) Regulation 1999. This is in addition to estimated staff costs in the range of £5,000 to £10,000. Flights support all areas of MCA operations, including search and rescue, counter-pollution, and law enforcement/assurance. As such, it is not possible to provide a specific cost breakdown for flight operations.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 12080
Session: 2023-24
Transferred: Yes
Subjects: Aviation Expenditure Fishing vessels Legal costs Legal opinion Staff Surveillance Safety Maritime and Coastguard Agency Buoyancy aids
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk