§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress he has made with the National Water Safety Committee towards guidelines for local authorities on coastal safety. [14787]
§ Mr. Nicholas BakerThe National Water Safety Committee was consulted in the course of the preparation of the joint publication by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and the Royal Life Saving Society UK of the report entitled "Safety on British Beaches—Operational Guidelines". The Government welcomed that publication, which was circulated free of charge to each local coastal authority, and commend it to all those responsible for the safety of visitors to the British coast.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what plans he has to reduce the number of drownings on Britain's coastal resorts; and if he will make a statement; [14815]
(2) what resources are made available to local authorities in order to provide coastal safety guidance and procedures towards the cost of coastal lifeguard provision; [14817]
(3) if he will introduce a national standardised flag system to enable bathers in coastal areas to gauge tidal and other water hazards; [14814]
(4) what encouragement and guidance he issues to local authorities in coastal areas on the issue of coastal safety and lifeguard provisions. [14818]
§ Mr. Nicholas Baker[holding answers 20 March 1995]: The Government support the water safety efforts of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents with a grant. We hope that the campaign which ROSPA proposes to launch at the beginning of the summer covering general water safety will help to reduce the number of drownings on Britain's coastal resorts.
The publication "Safety on British Beaches—Operational Guidelines" published in 1993 jointly by ROSPA and the Royal Life Saving Society offers guidance and advice to local authorities and other beach 311W operators on coastal safety and lifeguard provisions. That publication also includes details of the two interacting flag systems which have been adopted in many countries worldwide to warn bathers about sea conditions and designating specific activity areas within a supervised system. Central Government do not make any resources available to local authorities in coastal areas specifically to assist them with their work in connection with coastal safety.