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Written question asked by Lord Hain (Labour) on Monday, 29 June 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 13 July 2026. It was answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Labour) on Thursday, 9 July 2026 on behalf of the Department for Transport.


Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Emergency Calls

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government how many miles of coastline the Maritime and Coastguard Agency monitors for emergency call outs.

Answer

The UK mainline coastline is 11,073 miles (source Ordnance Survey), increasing to 19,491 miles if larger offshore islands are included. However, the coastline of the UK is fully encompassed by the UK Search and Rescue Region (UK SRR) which HM Coastguard continually monitors for distress and urgency calls.

Total Maritime and Coastguard Agency Resource Budget:

2024/25 £447.7million

2023/24 £416.6million

2022/23 £416.2million

Total Spend on Volunteer Payments

2024/25 £5.7million

2023/24 £5.2million

2022/23 £4.5million

Total spent on Staffing Costs for the last 3 years:

2024/25

£78.9million

2023/24

£72.4million

2022/23

£65.4million

There are approximately 3,000 volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officers.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL1403
Session
2026-27
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Emergency calls Maritime and Coastguard Agency
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk