§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has for changes in the operation of, and what assessment he has made of future employment levels at, the air-sea rescue service from HMS Daedalus. [18881]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonHMS Daedalus was a former naval base and is where the Coastguard Agency leases accommodation for Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopter facilities from the Ministry of Defence. Following the announcement of HM Coastguard' s five-year strategy, there will be no change to the Coastguard helicopter provision at Portland and Lee-on-Solent. New five-year contracts have been let recently to Bristows Helicopters Ltd. for the provision of Coastguard (SAR) helicopters at both locations thus ensuring their continuing presence until at least 2002. There are no plans to relocate these major SAR resources. The crewing of these helicopters is a matter for the contractor.