HC Deb 21 October 1992 vol 212 cc307-8W
Mr. Lord

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what conclusions he has reached on the future basing structure of the RAF search and rescue force; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

I have given careful consideration to the future deployment of the RAF SAR force in the light of the reduction in military flying flowing from the conclusions of "Britain's Defence for the Nineties" and the civil helicopter coverage criteria agreed by the helicopter coverage group in 1986. These proposals have been discussed with colleagues at the Department of Transport who have agreed my proposed way forward.

The size of the RAF SAR helicopter force, which is funded from the defence budget, is based on the wartime requirement. Taking all the relevant factors into account I have confirmed that the RAF now requires an all Sea King SAR fleet of a minimum of 25 aircraft to meet the war requirement in the United Kingdom. The intention to order an additional six Sea Kings was announced by the then Minister of State for Defence Procurement in the House on 19 February, Official Report, column 332.

The RAF Sea King force makes an important contribution to the civil SAR services for which the Department of Transport and others are responsible. SA R helicopters are also provided by both the Royal Navy and Her Majesty's coastguard, through a contractor. All these elements combine to provide the Great Britain civil SAR helicopter service.

In order to maximise the flexibility of response to SAR incidents in Great Britain, the practice of basing two aircraft at each flight to provide back-up will be continued. This approach allows flights to respond to concurrent incidents, and in the case of major rescues, to maintain area SAR cover while several SAR helicopters are deployed to assist. It also represents the most cost-effective means of providing area SAR cover. In accordance with the criteria agreed by the helicopter coverage group, during the day one helicopter will continue to be at 15 minutes notice and a second at 60 minutes notice at each station. At night one helicopter will continue to be at 45 minutes notice. As at present, the very great majority of our territorial waters can be covered within this time scale.

The new basing structure is based primarily, as now, on both the areas of high-intensity military flying and the established civil SAR criteria. The RAF assets will be deployed so far as possible to maximise the military contribution to the civil SAR response which is the responsibility of the Department of Transport. This will involve some new arrangements; a new SAR flight will be established at RAF Wattisham, while RAF Chivenor and Valley will benefit by upgrading of their flights with Sea Kings. RAF Leconfield, Lossiemouth and Boulmer will retain their Sea King flights. The flights at RAF Brawdy, Coltishall, Manston and Leuchars will be withdrawn or transferred. This deployment will ensure that the RAF continues to make virtually the same contribution to meeting the criteria laid down by the helicopter coverage group as at present. The flights at RAF Brawdy and Manston will not be withdrawn until April 1994 and mid-1994 respectively, shortly before the RNLI's planned deployment of new, more capable, fast all-weather boats to south-west Wales and Kent later that year.

Complete details of the changes and an explanation of the reasoning behind them are set out in an open government document entitled "The Future Provision of RAF SAR Helicopters", copies of which I have placed in the Library of the House.

The move to an all Sea King SAR helicopter force represents a significant improvement by making this highly capable aircraft more widely available throughout Britain for civil and military missions. Without compromising its military effectiveness, the RAF has sought to deploy these assets in a way which maximises their effectiveness for civil and military SAR operations. The future force will therefore continue to make a very substantial contribution to civil SAR in and around Great Britain.

My Department is also considering the future arrangements for the co-ordination of the military response to SAR incidents by means of the rescue co-ordination centres. Once I have reached my conclusions on this issue I shall inform the House.

The Ministry of Defence and the Department of Transport believe that with the military and the Department of Transport helicopters, the RNLI and HM coastguard a good SAR service will continue to be provided to meet the requirements of the civil community.